Employee assistance programs have been around for decades as a way for companies to provide assistance that contributes to the health and well-being of employees.
Originally, EAPs were designed to help employees struggling with substance abuse problems, but over time they have expanded to include a number of ways of counselling and helping employees and their families — from referral for mental health services to grief counselling, stress reduction, anger management, help with legal problems, credit counselling and health maintenance consultations.
Many groundbreaking in-house EAPs were created in large industries, such as auto manufacturing, as joint projects between employers and unions; both had a stake in avoiding labour strife by helping “problem employees” rather than firing them.
Subsequently, companies specializing in delivering EAP services were developed to provide counselling and referral to companies on a contractual basis. EAPs provide some services (assessments and grief counselling for instance) themselves, but also refer employees to more specialized services in the community.
Adding an effective EAP to a company may not be easy, but it can reap a tremendous return on investment.
The ROI part of EAPs is becoming increasingly simple. With employee shortages in a number of industries, companies do better to keep a good employee than to fire, hire and train a new worker. And every “problem employee” affects not only himself, he also likely hurts the morale and the productivity of other employees in the company. In other words, it is often worth spending money to help employees solve whatever problems they have.
But that’s where simplicity ends, says Jeff Wilbee, executive director of the Alcohol and Drug Recovery Association of Ontario (ADRAO). Wilbee has seen two sides of the complexity — as head of ADRAO representing scores of addiction programs in Ontario, and as a front-line manufacturing plant supervisor early in his career.
“An EAP will achieve little unless there is a culture of concern in the company,” says Wilbee.
But a culture of concern about what? Wilbee points out that employees with problems — particularly stigmatizing ones like addictions — are tempted to conceal their problems from supervisors.
“For many workers, losing your job is not much different than losing your life,” says Wilbee.
Terry Patterson, president of T.A. Patterson and Associates, an Ontario-based substance abuse counselling and consulting firm, points out that front-line supervisors may wrongfully believe it is better to overlook the early warning signs of distress and deteriorating job performance rather than confront the employee, hoping the problem will go away without embarrassment to employee or employer.
In fact, they often behave the way family members do when there is an in-family problem. Patterson says that in many small firms where the supervisor is also the company founder and owner, a mix of misplaced entrepreneurial spirit and genuine concern for employees may lead the boss to try to be therapist and counsellor.
Supervisors are often uncomfortable asking employees if they have a drinking problem or a mental health problem, says Patterson. He contends the supervisor is more effective when he frames the problem in performance terms, not therapeutic ones.
Wilbee agrees, pointing out that while the threat of job loss may be a reason why employees hide the problem, the possibility of workplace discipline or even dismissal is often what is needed to motivate an employee to seek help through a company EAP. Patterson points out that misplaced loyalty on the part of a fellow worker or a supervisor can make it harder for counsellors to help an employee once she becomes involved with the EAP.
There are three strategies crucial to making sure an EAP becomes embedded in an organization: supervisor training, early intervention and selecting a credible EAP.
Proper orientation and training of front-line supervisors
While some employees may approach an EAP on their own, many others need a helpful but firm nudge in that direction. “Helpful and firm,” however, is a mix of skills that needs to be learned. As well, supervisors, just as much as senior executives, need to believe the EAP is not just a perk to coddle employees, but is an indispensable part of doing business.
Ultimately, the supervisor will be most likely to support both the employee and the EAP if she believes the EAP’s activities ultimately make her job of supervising easier.
But training is a two-way street. An EAP’s personnel, whether they are in-house or working on a contract, also need to be trained to understand the nature of the business and its workplace culture. They need to understand the impediments to providing EAP services in the company. Front-line supervisors can often be the educators on these matters.
Early intervention
It is easier for a company and its EAP to help an employee with a problem when it is a little one. For one thing, the damage an employee can cause to himself and to the company may go on for months if intervention is late rather than early. But dealing with the little problems are often harder than dealing with the big ones, since both employees and supervisors may be reluctant to face preliminary and fragmentary evidence that there is a problem.
Again, training is essential to encourage early intervention, both to minimize the chances that the intervention will be seen as merely meddlesome, and to help an employee understand that seeking help at the early stage of a problem is less traumatic than when the employee is clearly labelled a problem.
Patterson points out that sometimes, even in companies with EAPs, problems are allowed to escalate until the situation is “no win” for both employee and employer. In those instances, it is easy to blame the EAP for not performing, when in fact the company’s culture has not allowed the EAP to make its contribution at the time when it can make a difference.
EAP credibility
Opinions in a company about the credibility of an EAP may vary. While die-hard opponents of the concept may not be potential converts, many executives, as well as front-line managers and employees, may want some demonstration that an EAP they purchase, or one they develop internally, meets acceptable standards.
The EAP industry in Canada and the U.S. tackled this issue in the mid-1980s by creating the Employee Assistance Society of North America (EASNA), an organization that has developed standards for EAP accreditation in seven areas of practice: administration, program design and implementation, record keeping, confidentiality procedures, case management, staffing and staff development, and evaluation and research (see www.easna.org for more information).
Wilbee and Patterson both say that the credibility of an EAP can also be damaged if a company’s leaders believe the EAP is “second best,” and that it’s necessary only because the publicly funded health and social safety net is deficient. However, both agree the chances of these safety nets influencing the internal affairs of companies is unlikely and undesirable.
“You’ll have a long wait if you expect the public system to meet your needs,” said Patterson. And as Wilbee points out, the public system is “one-size-fits-all,” owned not by the company but by the government or its agents. It is a necessary adjunct to EAPs, but cannot replace them.
John Butler, a regular contributor to Canadian HR Reporter, is president of the Agora Group, a Markham, Ont.-based HR and health care management consulting firm. He can be reached at (905) 294-9762.
Originally, EAPs were designed to help employees struggling with substance abuse problems, but over time they have expanded to include a number of ways of counselling and helping employees and their families — from referral for mental health services to grief counselling, stress reduction, anger management, help with legal problems, credit counselling and health maintenance consultations.
Many groundbreaking in-house EAPs were created in large industries, such as auto manufacturing, as joint projects between employers and unions; both had a stake in avoiding labour strife by helping “problem employees” rather than firing them.
Subsequently, companies specializing in delivering EAP services were developed to provide counselling and referral to companies on a contractual basis. EAPs provide some services (assessments and grief counselling for instance) themselves, but also refer employees to more specialized services in the community.
Adding an effective EAP to a company may not be easy, but it can reap a tremendous return on investment.
The ROI part of EAPs is becoming increasingly simple. With employee shortages in a number of industries, companies do better to keep a good employee than to fire, hire and train a new worker. And every “problem employee” affects not only himself, he also likely hurts the morale and the productivity of other employees in the company. In other words, it is often worth spending money to help employees solve whatever problems they have.
But that’s where simplicity ends, says Jeff Wilbee, executive director of the Alcohol and Drug Recovery Association of Ontario (ADRAO). Wilbee has seen two sides of the complexity — as head of ADRAO representing scores of addiction programs in Ontario, and as a front-line manufacturing plant supervisor early in his career.
“An EAP will achieve little unless there is a culture of concern in the company,” says Wilbee.
But a culture of concern about what? Wilbee points out that employees with problems — particularly stigmatizing ones like addictions — are tempted to conceal their problems from supervisors.
“For many workers, losing your job is not much different than losing your life,” says Wilbee.
Terry Patterson, president of T.A. Patterson and Associates, an Ontario-based substance abuse counselling and consulting firm, points out that front-line supervisors may wrongfully believe it is better to overlook the early warning signs of distress and deteriorating job performance rather than confront the employee, hoping the problem will go away without embarrassment to employee or employer.
In fact, they often behave the way family members do when there is an in-family problem. Patterson says that in many small firms where the supervisor is also the company founder and owner, a mix of misplaced entrepreneurial spirit and genuine concern for employees may lead the boss to try to be therapist and counsellor.
Supervisors are often uncomfortable asking employees if they have a drinking problem or a mental health problem, says Patterson. He contends the supervisor is more effective when he frames the problem in performance terms, not therapeutic ones.
Wilbee agrees, pointing out that while the threat of job loss may be a reason why employees hide the problem, the possibility of workplace discipline or even dismissal is often what is needed to motivate an employee to seek help through a company EAP. Patterson points out that misplaced loyalty on the part of a fellow worker or a supervisor can make it harder for counsellors to help an employee once she becomes involved with the EAP.
There are three strategies crucial to making sure an EAP becomes embedded in an organization: supervisor training, early intervention and selecting a credible EAP.
Proper orientation and training of front-line supervisors
While some employees may approach an EAP on their own, many others need a helpful but firm nudge in that direction. “Helpful and firm,” however, is a mix of skills that needs to be learned. As well, supervisors, just as much as senior executives, need to believe the EAP is not just a perk to coddle employees, but is an indispensable part of doing business.
Ultimately, the supervisor will be most likely to support both the employee and the EAP if she believes the EAP’s activities ultimately make her job of supervising easier.
But training is a two-way street. An EAP’s personnel, whether they are in-house or working on a contract, also need to be trained to understand the nature of the business and its workplace culture. They need to understand the impediments to providing EAP services in the company. Front-line supervisors can often be the educators on these matters.
Early intervention
It is easier for a company and its EAP to help an employee with a problem when it is a little one. For one thing, the damage an employee can cause to himself and to the company may go on for months if intervention is late rather than early. But dealing with the little problems are often harder than dealing with the big ones, since both employees and supervisors may be reluctant to face preliminary and fragmentary evidence that there is a problem.
Again, training is essential to encourage early intervention, both to minimize the chances that the intervention will be seen as merely meddlesome, and to help an employee understand that seeking help at the early stage of a problem is less traumatic than when the employee is clearly labelled a problem.
Patterson points out that sometimes, even in companies with EAPs, problems are allowed to escalate until the situation is “no win” for both employee and employer. In those instances, it is easy to blame the EAP for not performing, when in fact the company’s culture has not allowed the EAP to make its contribution at the time when it can make a difference.
EAP credibility
Opinions in a company about the credibility of an EAP may vary. While die-hard opponents of the concept may not be potential converts, many executives, as well as front-line managers and employees, may want some demonstration that an EAP they purchase, or one they develop internally, meets acceptable standards.
The EAP industry in Canada and the U.S. tackled this issue in the mid-1980s by creating the Employee Assistance Society of North America (EASNA), an organization that has developed standards for EAP accreditation in seven areas of practice: administration, program design and implementation, record keeping, confidentiality procedures, case management, staffing and staff development, and evaluation and research (see www.easna.org for more information).
Wilbee and Patterson both say that the credibility of an EAP can also be damaged if a company’s leaders believe the EAP is “second best,” and that it’s necessary only because the publicly funded health and social safety net is deficient. However, both agree the chances of these safety nets influencing the internal affairs of companies is unlikely and undesirable.
“You’ll have a long wait if you expect the public system to meet your needs,” said Patterson. And as Wilbee points out, the public system is “one-size-fits-all,” owned not by the company but by the government or its agents. It is a necessary adjunct to EAPs, but cannot replace them.
John Butler, a regular contributor to Canadian HR Reporter, is president of the Agora Group, a Markham, Ont.-based HR and health care management consulting firm. He can be reached at (905) 294-9762.
