Changes over the past decade have produced many promising trends in workplace mental health, although certain problems remain. That is the consensus of a recent research project that examined the evolution of workplace mental health policies and strategies in Canada between 2007 and 2017. The study focused on the five areas of legal advances, shifts in business priorities, changes in education and training, media trends, and research priorities.

This Research Note reviews the major types of services that are provided by employee assistance programs (Individual, Managerial, Organizational and Administrative), the different kinds of service delivery models that are possible (Internal, External, Blended and “Free”), and the different communication channels used to provide EAP services (In-person, telephone and Internet).

Sexual harassment in the workplace has been around for as long as men and women have been working together. Many employers have "no-tolerance" policies in place as there are legal consequences for companies that fail to take prompt and appropriate action. However, since nearly every US organization - 94% - (SHRM, 2018) has a sexual harassment policy, clearly the problem is bigger than policy. EAPs have run training programs for years on the legal aspects of sexual harassment.

For the past 30 years, the first author has been training Employee Assistance Program (EAP) professionals. As the director of the EAP specialization at the University of Maryland School of Social Work, she was frequently asked about EAP training opportunities domestically and internationally. To meet this need, the author developed an online certificate program with Catholic University in Washington, DC. Subsequent to this writing, the program has moved to the School of Social Work at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (USA). The program has been offered for three years and has enrolled students from more than 25 countries and the United States. Most of the students are indigenous to their country, whereas some are U.S. civilian employees living and working overseas. The reader will see a firsthand account of how EAPs operate around the world, as viewed by local EAP practitioners. The second author is Technology Associate, Masi Research Consultants, Inc., and Program Coordinator, Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. He is a technology business analyst and consultant implementing effective solutions for people, systems, and processes. He has worked in the public sector and private industry.

This Research Note reviews the issues concerning different ways of how to measure the use of employee assistance program services and which utilization rates are most useful for understanding the effectiveness of the program. They key metrics for utilization to consider include the clinical case rate, the all people use rate and the all activity use rate.