The primary goal of an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) is to maintain and improve the mental health of employees so they can consistently contribute to the growth of the company. EAPs provide support to employees for a multitude of scenarios.
Avoiding Escalation
Work stress can build up over a period of time and can possibly lead to conflict with other employees or even escalate into a violent situation. With an EAP, the employee can seek help during the early stages of a problem, which can prevent it from turning into something more serious.
Personal Issues
An EAP can also help employees deal with issues outside of the workplace that can impact job performance. Many people deal with issues, including substance abuse, depression, marital strife and grief over the loss of a loved one. An EAP provides an outlet to help them resolve these issues, or at least learn to cope with them so they won’t impact job performance.
Employer Benefits
As the employer, an EAP can also provide benefits to you. Because employees have access to a resource that can remedy a potentially
debilitating problem, it can reduce absenteeism or even staff turnover. As a result, you’ll have a happier, more productive workplace.
Employee Assistance Programmes – The Facts
- 37% of stress-related sufferers are more likely to get into conflict with colleagues and 57% find it harder to juggle multiple tasks
- 80% find it difficult to concentrate
- 62% take longer to do tasks
- 50% are potentially less patient with customers/clients
- 92% of employees admit that personal problems often spill over into work hours, adversely affecting workplace performance
- Almost a third of unscheduled absences are due to family issues
- Easily treated stress-related problems are the number one cause of employee absenteeism
- Up to 68% of all workers will, at some time, experience workplace problems severe enough to prevent them from coping with day-to-day duties
- Depression is leading cause of absenteeism. Depression can lead to substance abuse to self-medicate for their pain or anxiety
- Depression is the single leading cause of disability in the workplace
- Research has shown that depression is the condition having the greatest negative impact on work performance, followed by chronic fatigue and then anxiety