EAP Evidence 5: Industry Differences in EAP Research and Use of Counseling Services
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Abstract
This article examined how different industries are represented in the EAP research literature overall and what we know about the users of EAP counseling in different industries. Going back over 50 years, there is a large evidence base that describes how EAP services are relevant to and used within specific industries. More recent “big data” applied research projects have shed more light on which industries are using EAP counseling. Although there are some differences in which industries are providing EAP as a benefit and thus have more or less total users (as found in all three studies reviewed), other tests of the clinical and work profiles of cases from different industries – both at the start of use and for improvement after use – do not reveal any serious differences associated with industry type. The one service component that did consistently have meaningful differences by industry is the use rates of supervisory referrals of select employees into the EAP for assessment and counseling after work-related incidents or personal behavior and distress. However, the reason for the greater representation of such cases from in the manufacturing industry appears to be related more to the gender mix and issue mix of those workers (males with substance use) who comprise a large share of the workers in that industry than in other industries.
