An employee assistance program (EAP) is a workplace benefit that is designed to help employees manage everyday challenges that could negatively impact work or life.
Employee assistance programs include counseling services to help address mental health concerns and information and referrals to help with life’s many other challenges.
Services are generally administered by a third party. Any personal information that an employee shares with the EAP provider remains private and confidential, following HIPAA rules and regulations.
How EAP services help employers and employees
Multiple studies have shown that EAP services are a win-win benefit. When employees have the support they need to manage everyday challenges, employers are more likely to have an engaged and productive workforce. Other studies have shown that employees who use their EAP are highly satisfied with their services.
Employee assistance programs (EAPs) were introduced in the 1930s as a tool to improve workplace safety and job performance by helping employees manage alcohol abuse. Over the years, EAPs expanded their services to address mental health concerns and drug and alcohol abuse. Today, many EAPs also provide information and referrals to help employees manage work-life challenges.
To learn more about EAP services, check out our EAP Program Guide.
What services are included in today’s EAPs?
EAPs services are typically available to employees, their family members, and the employer’s leadership teams. Here is a closer look at the services offered by today’s leading EAP providers:
Short-term Counseling Sessions
EAP counseling services can help employees and their family members address stress, anxiety, grief, depression, and substance misuse. EAP services can also help employees resolve problems related to personal relationships, conflicts, and work-life challenges.
Life Coaching
A life coach has training in helping people achieve more by forming healthy habits, learning new skills, and tapping into self-motivation and accountability. With the guidance of a life coach, employees can reach new goals, manage life transitions, improve stress management, and become more effective and productive.
Life coaching can also help employees succeed in intangible ways by helping them strengthen relationships, increase self-esteem, improve work-life balance, and live a more purposeful life. It can eventually support organizational health by promoting employee engagement, improving work performance, and enhancing workplace culture.
Financial Consultations
Left unaddressed, financial stress can have a negative impact on mental health, physical health, and overall well-being. A certified financial counselor can help promote financial wellness by helping employees with budget coaching, financial planning, and consultations on bankruptcy, homebuying, debt management, taxes, identity theft, retirement planning, and saving for college.
Legal Referrals
An employee assistance program (EAP) can help employees and their family members connect with a qualified attorney to consult on personal legal matters, such as estate planning, wills, real estate, bankruptcy, divorce, custody agreements, eldercare, and adoption.
Work-Life Resources and Referrals
A work-life specialist helps employees obtain resources and referrals for childcare, eldercare, pet care, adoption, and other family services. In addition, a work-life specialist can assist employees with special needs support, including referrals for education, enrichment activities, housing, transportation, and community resources.
Medical Advocacy
A medical social worker has specialized training to help employees navigate the healthcare system and understand health plans. This qualified professional can determine what is included in a benefits package or health insurance plan, explain claims and coverage, and secure doctor referrals, medical equipment, transportation, and options for transitional care, discharge, or follow-up services.
Organizational Support
An employee assistance program generally includes the services of an account manager who provides support services to human resources and leadership teams in the form of unlimited telephone consultations. Account managers also play a role in helping workplace leaders manage job performance and understand when to make “formal” and “informal” referrals.
Account managers can also help organizations secure training programs to support employees and leadership teams. The training programs discuss work-life balance, caregiving, adjusting to change, improving communication, overcoming compassion fatigue and burnout, navigating conflict, and promoting diversity.
Account managers can also help organizations by providing a Critical Incident Response (CIR) or a Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) to help organizations, leadership teams, and employees cope with natural disasters, an employee’s illness or death, workplace violence, layoffs, or other traumatic events impacting the workplace.
5 Ways EAPs Benefit Employers
When employees have easy access to mental health care and the support needed to manage life’s challenges, organizations are more likely to have an engaged and productive workforce. And when organizations, HR departments, and leadership teams have the support they need, they are more likely to benefit from a healthy workplace culture and the ability to focus on long-term success.
Here’s a closer look at five ways EAPs help strengthen organizations:
Improved Access to Mental Health Care.
By providing convenient and confidential access to mental health sessions (by phone, in-person, video and virtual counseling options), EAPs help reduce barriers to mental health care, break the stigma around mental health challenges, and offer inclusive support for all.
Greater employee wellness.
When people have the support they need to manage life’s challenges, they are more likely to avoid the common challenges related to long-term stress, including cardiovascular conditions and mental health conditions, such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PSTD), and burnout.
Reduced absenteeism.
Many employees face a variety of challenges that can interfere with their ability to focus on work. EAPs help reduce absenteeism by providing access to mental health services and resources and referrals for childcare, eldercare, and other common day-to-day issues and life challenges.
Reduced substance abuse.
As so many employees, families and communities are impacted by addiction and substance misuse challenges, it’s important for organizations to prioritize support, care and resources. In this way, the EAP is a resource that can help support employee whole health and recovery, as well as organizational health and safety.
Increased productivity, engagement and ROI.
When employees have whole health support from their EAP for mental health, family care, financial wellness, life coaching, life management issues, daily stressors, and all areas of well-being, everyone benefits. Employees may feel improved job satisfaction, focus, motivation, engagement, and total well-being. Stronger employees lead to stronger families and stronger workplaces.
5 Potential Challenges of EAPs to Consider
Despite their many benefits to employees and employers, studies show that many employee assistance programs remain underutilized. When selecting an EAP provider, it’s important to partner with a provide who can proactively address these common challenges:
Lack of Awareness.
Often, EAPs are overshadowed by health insurance and retirement benefits. Because EAPs are optional, new hires are not required to sign up for this benefit, making it easier for EAPs to get overlooked during the onboarding process.
People do not fully understand what their EAP program offers.
Many employees know that their EAP provides mental health services. However, they may not know that their EAP offers a more expansive approach to well-being, with services that address mental health, physical health, relationships, financial wellness, and many other issues that impact overall life satisfaction.
Employees are hesitant to seek outside support services.
It’s common for people to value self-reliance when addressing their concerns, thinking they can power through these issues on their own. While time and perseverance can resolve many challenges, reaching out for support can make the process quicker and easier and reassure employees that they’re not alone.
People are hesitant to seek mental health support.
While much progress has been made in reducing the stigma around mental health, biases remain, especially among some demographic groups.
People worry about their privacy.
Employees need to be reassured that their EAP services are completely confidential. No identifying information is provided to the employer. All EAP record-keeping follows federal HIPAA laws, which prevent unauthorized sharing of private health information.
The AllOne Health Difference
AllOne Health offers a whole health approach to wellness, which recognizes that mental health, physical health, and behaviors are all intertwined and are greatly influenced by relationships, surroundings, and other aspects of life.
As a result, AllOne Health employee assistance programs provide services to strengthen mental health, transform physical health, build financial wellness, support work-life balance, and help people and organizations unleash their full potential.
With over 50 years of experience, AllOne Health covers more than 6 million lives across thousands of organizations worldwide. For more information or to request a free quote from our sales team,click here.
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