Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Basics

In an ideal world, employees would come to work with a clear mind, and function to the best of their ability to get their tasks done. But in the real world, there are problems, and your employees are bound to bring their problems to work with them. While you cannot prevent their problems, you can help them through an employee assistance program (EAP).

An EAP is a for-fee service, either offered through a third party administrator, health insurer or ancillary insurer, that helps employees maintain a balance between work and life. The focus for employees is on their mental and emotional health and well-being. EAPs focus on helping employees when they experience major problems in their lives. Some of these problems include:

• Major life events such as births, accidents and deaths
• Alcohol and substance abuse
• Financial difficulties
• Legal concerns
• Family and personal relationship problems
• Work and career issues
• Psychological disorders

EAPs offer services to employees through several means:

• Face-to-face meetings with counselors (usually a set amount of meetings per individual)
• Phone call to counselors (may or may not be a limited amount, depending on plan)
• Access to online tools, with educational materials and programs to help through hard times

Even if your company pays for an EAP program, confidentiality is still key. EAPs are supposed to maintain a strict policy in accordance with privacy laws and professional ethics. A manager may refer an employee to the EAP, if they feel there is an issue that needs to be addressed in order to function at the necessary level of that job. If an employee uses the EAP, you may not know of their usage, nor what issues may be involved. The use of an EAP is to maintain the proper balance of work and personal life for each individual employee.

By offering an EAP to your employees, you may benefit in several ways. Besides higher employee productivity and morale, employees who partake in EAPs may also result in lower medical costs, reduced turnover and less absenteeism.