Employee Assistance Programs

Abstract

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) are employer-sponsored services designed for assisting employees with personal, family or work problems. Most workplaces today have an EAP, as over 80% of medium and large size employers in the United States provide EAP benefits to their workforce. EAPs play an important role in helping troubled employees to balance the demands of work and personal life, while also supporting the employer’s goals for improved or sustained levels of workplace productivity. Common areas of need include stress, mental health disorders, substance abuse, other behavioral addictions, parenting issues, emotional problems, problems at work, and personal financial and legal concerns. EAPs they also support individual managers and the organization as a whole. This later kind of support includes efforts at prevention, training, management consultation, organizational development and crisis preparedness and response services. To accomplish these goals, EAPs often partner with other employee benefit programs including work/life, occupational health and wellness and disability claim management.