Date
2021-08Journal
Journal of Employee AssistancePublisher
EAPAPeer Reviewed
noType
Article
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought significant emotional and social strain on employees and left employers looking to their EAPs for ways to expand support for their employees’ health. This heightened focus has resulted in unanticipated growth in the world of workplace mental health. Stigma around mental health has reduced and the demand for EAP services has increased. And yet EAPs find themselves under scrutiny, with skepticism about their value and readiness to respond. Mental health encompasses a broad range of conditions, from the routine to the disabling. In the context of the workplace, such problems present a significant cost burden in terms of HR and leader- ship time, organizational effectiveness, safety risks, and increased healthcare costs. EAPs are sold as a potential solution. When the EAP concept took hold roughly 50 years ago, they were delivered by actual employees of a given organization who engaged in a variety of supportive roles to help employees and mitigate the risks brought on by employee mental health and substance abuse. Over time, internal EA professionals began collaborating with HR, occupational health, wellness, security, and safety professionals to support functions such as: performance management, drug testing, fitness-for-duty, threat assessment, health promotion, and critical incident response.Description
articleCitation
Pompe, John. (2021). EAP at a Crossroads Pandemic Drives Business – but What’s Next? Journal of Employee Assistance. 3rd Quarter. pp 18-21.Sponsors
EAPARights/Terms
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 InternationalKeyword
behavioral servicesoutpatient mental health services
wellness
hybrid EAPs
internal EAP models
stigma
COVID-19
Health Care Costs
Occupational Health
Safety
Employee assistance programs
Identifier to cite or link to this item
http://hdl.handle.net/10713/16411The following license files are associated with this item:
- Creative Commons
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International