Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) are free services for insured workers that are aimed to give answers to personal concerns that may be hurting job performance or health. Employees who use an EAP often receive assistance through face-to-face, online, or telephone therapy with trained counselors (Attridge, 2019). EAP counseling services seek to help people restore emotional health or prevent it from deteriorating further. If left untreated, such issues can have serious consequences for employees’ quality of life and job performance. They may result in higher healthcare expenditures for companies as well as costs from lost productivity. Effective EAPs can enhance job performance by enhancing mental health, including reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression in comparison to a control group of non-users.
In addition to administrative recommendations, employees frequently “self-refer” to EAP services. Despite the possible benefits of using an EAP, not all employees will use one when they are in need. A variety of factors may impact whether persons in need seek EAP services, although they are little understood. A better knowledge of such aspects might aid in identifying possible barriers to EAP usage and developing measures to achieve unrestricted use rates. It has been discovered that EAP counseling services intersect with other forms of therapy-based psychological and mental health services. Many employees seek and present with mental health difficulties; in one research, 80% of EAP participants tested positive for depression (Attridge, 2019). In this setting, it is possible that difficulties in using EAP are comparable to those encountered with non-EAP psychological/mental health care.
Mental health diseases are among the most pressing public health issues in the United States. In 2016, nearly one in every five US persons aged 18 and above (18.3% or 44.7 million people) reported having a mental disorder (Assaf, 2022). Furthermore, 71% of people experienced at least one stress symptom, such as a headache or feeling overwhelmed or frightened (Assaf, 2022). Many persons who suffer from mental illnesses also require treatment for other physical health issues, such as heart disease, diabetes, respiratory sickness, and muscular, bone, and joint abnormalities.
Causes and Examples of stigma in EAP
The stigma of mental illness can arise from family, friends, the workplace, and society as a whole. It can make it difficult for those suffering from mental illnesses to seek care, integrate into society, and live happy and comfortable lives. Stereotypes, unfavorable, and hurtful depictions of entire groups of people can contribute to the stigma around mental health. They enable a person to quickly assess others based on a few distinguishing traits, and then they generalize their conclusions.
People suffering from depression, for example, are frequently regarded as sluggish, while those suffering from anxiety are viewed as cowardly. Many individuals are afraid of being called “crazy” for getting help from a therapist. None of these characterizations are accurate, yet they all inflict grief and hinder individuals from seeking the treatment they require. One frequently politicized stereotype about persons with mental illnesses is that they are aggressive or dangerous. However, a small percentage of those suffering from mental illness conduct violent acts. They are actually more likely to be victims of a crime, making them a vulnerable demographic that we should be supporting rather than frightening.
One possible barrier to using EAP services is conceived stigma, which is commonly recognized in regard to seeking professional psychological help. In the case of substantial personal issues, a worker’s sense of stigma, especially mental health stigma, may impact whether they opt to utilize EAP services. Mental health “public stigma” refers to the view that persons with mental illnesses are stigmatized in society in general (Secapramana, Hariyanto & Anggoro, 2020). They include perceptions of the general public’s unfavorable ideas and attitudes concerning mental illness. Such negative attitudes and beliefs can “inspire people to dread, reject, shun, and discriminate against those with mental illnesses” (Secapramana et al., 2020). Increased public stigma can diminish the willingness to seek psychiatric treatment.
Specific Solutions
Employee engagement is one of the most prevalent critiques leveled toward EAPs. According to the National Business Group on Health, barely 5% of workers use their employer’s EAP on a yearly basis (Milot, 2019). This number is comparable with other sources that report usage in the low single digits. This low involvement projection, of course, includes firms who have signed up for free EAPs as part of a disability insurance plan.
There are several methods for increasing EAP employee engagement, and a competent EAP provider should be eager to support people in their efforts. Building greater awareness, tailoring the EAP, senior leadership participation, making it part of the workplace culture, and reducing stigma are some examples of critical methods (Milot, 2019). Unfortunately, many employees who might most gain from the services of an EAP do not seek them out due to the stigma associated with mental health and EAPs. Making it a part of the culture and having senior leadership lead by example can assist in reducing the stigma and encourage involvement.
Emphasize Coaching to Help Overcome the Stigma
Another possibly more powerful strategy to eliminate the stigma associated with EAPs is to encourage workers to think differently about their EAP. EAPs are intended to address major behavioral health issues such as substance misuse and depression. Coaching programs may successfully address the most frequent challenges that workers face on a daily basis, including relationship troubles, financial worries, difficulty transitioning into a new role or location, and leadership issues (Milot, 2019). Any of these difficulties can have an impact on job productivity, engagement, and performance. Progressive EAPs provide a wide range of coaching services. Whereas some people see EAPs negatively, coaching is always perceived favorably. This implies that more of your staff will seek assistance.
Social Work Ethics and Stigma
The term ‘values’ is commonly used in talks of social work ethics to refer to ethical values – that is, certain sorts of ideas about what is seen as worthwhile or important for human wellbeing. According to Jönsson and Lian Flem (2022), “social work is among the most value-based professions,” founded on “concepts such as justice and fairness” (p.306). This pertains to the goals of social work, which in most countries include the transfer of resources and care to those in need, the encouragement of people to engage as fully as possible in society, and the control of persons who are likely to damage themselves or others. These goals are based on principles such as human worth, people’s communal responsibility to one another, and the significance of social order. While the specific configurations of values underpinning social work and how they are articulated vary among sources and nations, three clusters of complex values may be recognized in the contemporary social work literature (Jönsson & Lian Flem, 2022): Respect for dignity and the value of all people, promotion of welfare or happiness, as well as promotion of social justice.
In conclusion, EAPs have been beneficial since they provide immediate access to assistance for a variety of services to deal with all of life’s complex issues like mental health stigma. Furthermore, the changing dynamics of the workforce even call further for its implementation as evidenced by the research findings. However, its implementation has been faced with several barriers that have hindered its effectiveness in the workforce. Therefore, there is a need for specific solutions like coaching programs in line with social work ethics to address the matter.
References
Attridge, M. (2019). A global perspective on promoting workplace mental health and the role of employee assistance programs. American Journal of Health Promotion, 33(4), 622-629. Web.
Assaf, N. (2022). Employee performance impacted by mental health and employee wellbeing in INGOs Jordan. Journal of Business and Management Studies, 4(3), 170-178. Web.
Jönsson, J. H., & Lian Flem, A. (2022). Global social work ethics and international field training: The experiences and practice dilemmas of Norwegian and Swedish social work students. International Social Work, 65(1), 38-51. Web.
Milot, M. (2019). EAP treatment stigma as a barrier to employee help-seeking: predictors and validation of a brief scale for its measurement. EASNA Research Notes.
Secapramana, L. V. H., Hariyanto, V., & Anggoro, S. (2020). Employee assistance program as the supporting system of quality of work life to cope with occupational stress. Journal of Educational, Health and Community Psychology, 9(2), 97-115. Web.