A content analysis of print Canadian employee assistance program promotional material.

Abstract

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) are services made available to employees and their family members for the purpose of assisting with both ordinary and extraordinary circumstances related to their work and personal lives. This includes issues of addiction, family problems, finances, grief and bereavement, mental health and concerns arising from the nature of work and the workplace, itself. A dominant method of program promotion to enhance service utilization, both historic and contemporary, has been and remains the rudimentary 8.5 x 11 inch three fold print brochure. The marketing of EAPs continues to rely upon information pamphlets that contain explanations of what the purpose of the EAP is, the types of issues it deals with, how to access the program and what services are provided. A content analysis was conducted on 54 brochures voluntarily provided by a range of Canadian organizations that were diverse in terms of their geographic location, sector and method of delivering EAP services. Each brochure was examined regarding problem focus, program access, counselling format, employee concern and graphics. A lack of consistency was found across all five units of analysis which speaks to the lack of a constant message being provided regarding EAP but also to a lack of best practice principles even in this fundamental domain of the field.