What is EAP?
During your career, you may experience personal or professional situations that may affect your ability to perform. EAP can help you through the set of knowledge and resources intended to contribute to your personal well-being. Whether it’s how to navigate through transitions and changes, EAP is a program in which employees and managers enter voluntarily, free of charge, in complete safety and confidentiality. Together with a psychotherapist or coach, they work to navigate through personal or professional challenges that affect well-being.
EAP includes testing, counseling, psychotherapy, coaching to address difficulties such as: stress, financial or legal difficulties, young or elderly people in care, relationship difficulties, conflicts, alcohol consumption or substance abuse.
EAP value
Benefits for employees and families:
- It offers fast and confidential access to resources and experts.
- Increases the ability of employees and their companions to respond to various challenges.
- Reduces stress.
- Reduces medical expenses related to stress, depression or other difficulties in the area of mental health.
The benefits for companies:
- It increases the productivity and motivation of employees.
- It reduces the need for unpaid leave.
- Improves employee retention rate.
- Facilitates the return to work after a short or long period (extended medical, maternity or paternity leave).
- Develop skills and competences to manage stress at work and improve teamwork.
- It successfully facilitates adaptation to a new working state following restructuring, crises, staff reductions, layoffs or other events that produce change.
- Facilitates the creation of a risk-free, diverse and inclusive work environment.
Four ways in which EAP can help you
-
Counseling, psychotherapy and coaching
The program offers short-term evaluation and counseling for employees and often for family members at no personal cost. You can have support for the difficulties you encounter at work, in the family, personal, legal, financial and/or other matters that affect your well-being.
-
Personal and family life
Work-family balance is very important. Conflicts arising from an imbalance in this area can have negative effects on your behavior, emotions and health. The program can help both you personally and your family members in finding resources to face challenges including child care, adoption, moving to a new place, caring for an older person or someone with special needs.
-
Legal consultations
-
Financial education
From specialized literature we learn:
There are several factors that contribute to the deficit in the profitability of organizations:
- lack of effective training programs (responsible for 39%-48% of the loss of profitability);
- poor management strategies (responsible for 42%-59% of the loss of profitability);
- physical and emotional health problems, stress, mental exhaustion (responsible for 66%-71% of loss of profitability).
Studies Stewart, W., F., Cost Of Lost Productive Work Time Among US Workers, JAMA, 289: 3135-44, which investigated productivity losses due to the health status of employees show that 86% of total work time unproductive is due to presenteeism.
The working days lost due to presenteeism or absenteeism represent the total unproductive work time. This unproductive work time generates enormous costs for the company.
EAP is useful in the following situations:
- neglect by employees of job responsibilities
- inefficient management of working time by employees
- postponement of tasks by employees
- systematic exceeding of deadlines
- errors or accidents in work tasks
- extended breaks during the program
- interpersonal conflicts
- faulty communication
- harassment/aggression at work
- lack of interest, involvement and focus on solving problems
- unsatisfied customers
- low productivity (employee has below normal performance)
The gender dimension at work
The EAP programs addressed to employees must take into account socio-cultural gender norms and integrate the gender dimension. The introduction of the gender dimension considerably increases the effectiveness of VET programs because it allows the flexibility of socio-cultural gender norms in order to develop healthy social relationships, the ability to self-regulate (emotional control, decision, problem solving, critical analysis) and a healthy lifestyle.
EFT HUB, through its network of professionals, recommends: EFEAP, the employee assistance program with a focus on emotional management.