Kate Nowlan, CEO of CiC and EAPA UK member talks about the experience of supporting workers on the frontline during this global pandemic

Abstract

EAPs have been in the thick of the pandemic response since the beginning of lockdown in March; each call opens up another individual perspective on a global crisis, another tangle of anxieties. All providers will have had their own particular challenges as call volumes fluctuate and companies seek increased support delivered in new ways. At CiC we deliver EAP services to well over a million employees across the globe, and to every sector. NHS staff in the UK approach us for support with issues of bereavement, exhaustion, anxiety, fear of contamination, lack of PPE and overload. The hospitality sector need a listening ear as they worry about financial matters, mortgage payments, the risk of redundancy, homelessness. Staff from every industry phone in to talk of feelings of isolation, finding comfort from the support an experienced clinician provides. Global news agencies and NGOs express their need for support when being evacuated from overseas postings or when stuck abroad far from home and family. Working from home has presented a vast range of challenges, and the EAP provides invaluable help – signposting to financial and legal advice or family care experts as well as providing much needed emotional support. Home life is different now. Fractious relationships might lead to domestic abuse, isolation can lead to severe depression. Parents struggle to combine home schooling with work demands. Teenagers fret at the loss of freedom.