The Aging Workforce and EAPs

Abstract

The Employee Assistance Professionals Association's Standards and Professional Guidelines for Employee Assistance Programs states that EAPs are "worksite-based programs designed to assist (1) work organizations in addressing productivity issues, and 2) 'employee clients' in identifying and resolving personal concerns, including , but not limited to health, marital, family, financial, alcohol, drug, legal, emotional, stress or other personal issues that may affect job performance." The EAP Core Tchnology, meanwhile, emphasizes the need for EAPS to assist work organizations in a variety of contexts to enhance the overall health, well-being, and performance of the workforce. Implicit in these definitions is the notion that effective EAPs are capable of adapting to the changing needs of an organization based on shifts in resource allocations, workforce demographics, and organizational goals. One emerging need relates to the "graying" of the workforce and specifically the imperative for work organizations to accommodate this change. Work organizations are being challenged to modify their traditional views of older workers and to re-examine long-held stereotypes and beliefs regarding older workers.