A Social Partnership Approach to Work Life Balance in the European Union: The Irish Experience

Abstract

Over the past number of years there has been considerable focus on the integration of Employee Assistance and Work Life programmes in the United States. A national survey conducted by EAPA, EASNA, and AWLP found there is a trend towards the integration of Employee Assistance and Work Life.

Many US providers and multi-national companies will seek to extend their EAP’s and Work Life Programmes globally. It is sometimes assumed that the EAP’s and Work Life models that operate in the US will transfer but this is often not the case. There is a cultural dimension to EAP’s and Work Life Programmes that is often overlooked. The European Union ( EU ) is involved in the greatest example of integration in recent history and an understanding of the EU and its legal system will assist those providing their services.

In the EU, EAP’s did not follow the same growth pattern as in the US. Professionals in European Countries working with business such as Psychologists, Social workers, and Counsellors did not recognise the need for EAP’s as, in their view, programmes to deal with personal problems in the workplace already existed.

The concept of Work Life is widely known and accepted in many European Countries, however there is little evidence of research specifically on the integration of EAP’s and Work life programmes.This article will look at one EU Country, Ireland and outline the history and development of EAP’s and Work Life and present case studies of Irish Companies who have developed Work Life Programmes.