An Employee Assistance Program (EAP) refers to an understanding amongst companies, institutions, or government agencies and their employees in providing multiple programs of support for their employees. Mostly EAPs imply resolving to work-related problems, but they are sometimes used to assist employees who have difficulties originating outside the place of work and which adversely impact their performance and attendance in the job.
This concept had its origin in the 1970s when efforts were made to lessen substance and drug abuse at the place of work. Since then, the scope of EAPs has been widened to include several other problems related to marital discord, management of anger, nervousness, and ill-health. EAPS also provides services pertaining to retirement planning, drug, and alcoholic remedies, financial planning, legal aid, and career planning. EAPs are now known to have the potential for the provision of daycare facilities for worker’s children and care for the elderly parents of workers. Financial and legal aid is also made available under different schemes.
A unique quality of EAPs relates to the fact that most of the facilities in terms of reference and consultations are free of cost and are treated in confidentiality. Employers who opt for EAP schemes are at an advantage as compared to those who do not opt for these schemes since they can attract and retain better and talented workers (CCOHS, 2006).
The scope of present-day EAPs is constantly on the rise and is being effectively used for organizational development, worker compensation, children care, and management of catastrophic adversities. The changes happening in the corporate world are quite significant, and EAPs are being used to counter problems pertaining to workplace violence and stress management. All EAP services are paid for by the employer whereby a contract is made with a third-party company that manages all such functions.
If such programs are done properly, both the worker and employer stand to benefit since the ultimate goal is to help the worker in retaining his job and in getting help for the problems that adversely impact his performance at work or in his personal life at home. The effective use of EAPs enables employers to reduce costs on medical facilities to employees and entails lesser absenteeism and higher levels of productivity per worker (Money-zine, 2009).
EAPs help workers who experience personal and work-related problems by providing access to counseling services. A typical example of the effective working of EAPs is when an employee is bereaved with the loss of a loved one. The service provider takes care of the employee by sharing his sorrow and being empathetic, as well as preparing him to cope with the loss. Thus the employee feels his sorrow is being shared, which gives him the strength to get back to work with his initial vigor and confidence.
Counseling eliminates the distraction suffered by the worker in reaching his full potential and saves the organization from losing a worker because of his personal problems. Such programs instill confidence in the worker by making him realize that he is being given value by the employer. Another example of effective use of EAPs pertains to the rehabilitation of workers who have got into the habit of drug and alcohol abuse. The organization considers that humans do make errors and get astray sometimes. Once the employee leaves the habit, he has immense value for his organization, thus making him a more dedicated worker for the support that he received.
There are several instances of violence at the workplace which could have been avoided if the EAP systems had been used effectively in the given organization. An example pertains to a female employee who broke away from a romantic relationship with a male co-worker, but he was not willing to forget the relationship and eventually became violent by entering her office and hitting her, which made her fall from her chair and got serious injuries.
The ensuing commotion made the other workers call the police while the culprit ran away, and the female employee had to be sent to the hospital. Such a situation could never have occurred if there were EAP systems in place. The female employee would have taken the help of the EAP and made the male employee attend counseling from the EAP Counsellors. If he did not show signs of forgetting the girl, the organization would have taken stringent action against him, including removal from service (Browning, 1994).
There are several instances of attempted suicide by workers at the workplace that can be avoided if proper guidance and counseling are provided to workers who feel frustrated and helpless. An example is of the worker who went away in a huff, saying that he has had enough of pushing around by others in the office and that he cannot tolerate the humiliation anymore. Obviously, such behavior was the result of inadequate concern shown to the employee by his colleagues and superiors, and perhaps he was extra sensitive. While he was attempting to jump down from the toilet on the 14th floor, some workers rushed and rescued him.
If the organization had opted to include EAP systems, such a situation could have been avoided because the employee would have had the option to address his problems before counselors, who would hear him from a different perspective and with sympathy and concern. They would have informed the management of his difficulties, and solutions could have been found to avoid such an eventuality.
References
Browning Darrell, Stamping Out Violence, 1994, Human Resources Executive.
CCOHS, (Canadian Centre for Occupational Health & Safety), Employee Assistance, Programs (EAP), 2006. Web.
Money-zine, Employee Assistance Programs. Web.