Aiding troubled employees: the prevalence, cost, and characteristics of employee assistance programs in the United States.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Employee assistance programs (EAPs) are job-based programs designed to identify and assist troubled employees. This study determines the prevalence, cost, and characteristics of these programs in the United States by worksite size, industry, and census region. METHODS: A stratified national probability sample of more than 6400 private, nonagricultural US worksites with 50 or more full-time employees was contacted with a computer-assisted telephone interviewing protocol. More than 3200 worksites responded and were eligible, with a response rate of 90%. RESULTS: Approximately 33% of all private, nonagricultural worksites with 50 or more full-time employees currently offer EAP services to their employees, an 8.9% increase over 1985. These programs are more likely to be found in larger worksites and in the communications/utilities/transportation industries. The most popular model is an external provider, and the median annual cost per eligible employee for internal and external programs was $21.83 and $18.09, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: EAPs are becoming a more prevalent point of access to health care for workers with personal problems such as substance abuse, family problems, or emotional distress.

Trial of the University Assistance Program for Alcohol Use Among Mandated Students

“…Historically, Employee Assistance Programs (Chan et al, 2004;Employee Assistance Professional Association, 1990;Masi, 2005;Steele, 1989) were developed primarily to treat substance abuse among employees (Hartwell et al, 1996;Masi, 2002Masi, , 2005Moore and Forster, 1993). However, the scope of services has broadened beyond problem substance use to address all types of personal problems, including mental health and family issues (Masi, 2005;Roman, 1980;Steele, 1989) through assessment, brief intervention and counseling, referral services, employee orientation, employee outreach and education, and critical incident services (Masi, 2005).…”

“…However, the scope of services has broadened beyond problem substance use to address all types of personal problems, including mental health and family issues (Masi, 2005;Roman, 1980;Steele, 1989) through assessment, brief intervention and counseling, referral services, employee orientation, employee outreach and education, and critical incident services (Masi, 2005). Despite the breadth of services provided within Employee Assistance Programs and their broad adoption by employers (Hartwell et al, 1996;Masi, 2005;Walsh et al, 1991), its effi cacy has not been well studied (Colantonio, 1989;Masi, 2005;Moore and Forster, 1993;Osilla et al, 2008). The limited research available has produced mixed support for the effi cacy of Employee Assistance Program services, in part because of the broad variety and variable quality of services delivered in these real-world settings (Chan et al, 2004;Osilla et al, 2008;Reynolds and Lehman, 2003;Walsh et al, 1991;Zarkin et al, 2001).…”

Giving Commitment: Employee Support Programs and The Prosocial Sensemaking Process

“…Accordingly, scholars and practitioners continue to share a deep interest in understanding how affective commitment to organizations develops. This pursuit is a foundational task for organizational scholarship (Mowday & Sutton, 1993).Searching for new ways to strengthen employees' affective commitment, many organizations have adopted employee support programs (Hartwell, Steele, French, Potter, Rodman, & Zarkin, 1996). Employee support programs are formalized practices designed to improve employees' experiences at work by providing emotional, financial, and instrumental assistance beyond the scope of standard HR pay, benefit, recognition, and training and development programs.…”

“…Searching for new ways to strengthen employees' affective commitment, many organizations have adopted employee support programs (Hartwell, Steele, French, Potter, Rodman, & Zarkin, 1996). Employee support programs are formalized practices designed to improve employees' experiences at work by providing emotional, financial, and instrumental assistance beyond the scope of standard HR pay, benefit, recognition, and training and development programs.…”

The differential effects of alcohol consumption and dependence on adverse alcohol-related consequences: implications for the workforce

“…These programs now serve over 1/2 of the US workforce employed in companies with more than 50 workers (Hartwell et al, 1996b). Research has indicated that alcohol problems are reported as the presenting, contributing or related problem among approximately 1/3 of all clients served by EAPs (Blum et al, 1993).…”