FINANCIAL RETURN ON EAPs 2023 MANAGING THE RISE OF COMPLEXITY AND EMPLOYEES AT RISK

Abstract

In the post-pandemic workplace, even more employees are making use of their EAP: the average usage figure has now topped 12%, compared with 11.4% last year (and the typical average from previous years of 10.4%). As a consequence, organisations are reporting more savings in terms of reduced staff absence and gains in productivity. Figures from the period between October 2021 and October 2022 show that for every £1.00 spent on an EAP in the UK, employers have seen an average ROI of £10.85. This com- pares with a previous average of £8.00 in the previous year, and £7.27 in 2019. Our evidence comes from HR professionals making use of the EAPA UK ROI calculator (www.eapa.org.uk/roi-calculator): the biggest data set on EAP usage, impact and financial re- turns in the UK: more than 4,100 calculations made via the EAPA UK ROI calculator since the beginning of 2019, repre- senting anonymised information from 11 million employees. There has been no sign of any ‘return to normality’ in the 2022 EAP figures. The cost-of-living crisis; political and eco- nomic instabilities; climate change; remote working rou- tines. All of these factors, alongside the ongoing fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on work and home lives, have combined to undermine the foundations of mental wellbeing in the UK workforce. Employees are more likely to be feeling a lack of control. They are more aware of the importance of mental health than ever before, more self-reflective and willing to speak up.