Employee assistance programs: a review of the management of stress and wellbeing through workplace counselling and consulting

Abstract

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) provide counselling and consulting services that focus on the prevention and/or remediation of personal problems experienced by employees, or members of their families. EAPs are currently considered one of the main vehicles for occupational stress management and are rapidly evolving into providers of holistic wellbeing programs in the workplace. This form of service delivery has, however, been criticised for focusing interventions at the individual rather than at the organisational level. This review examines the history and development of Australian EAPs, discusses issues unique to the delivery of psychological services in a workplace environment, and considers evidence for the effectiveness of EAPs. While research evidence is not fully supportive of the effectiveness of EAPs, data suggests that these programs do impact positively on employee mental health, and are perceived by employees as a desirable workplace resource.

The complexities of undertaking counselling evaluation in the workplace

“…Given the rapid expansion of employee counselling in the US and the UK over recent years, it is surprising that there remains a lack of rigorous research into the individual and organizational benefits of such schemes as identified as recently by McLeod (2001). Kirk and Brown (2003) reinforce McLeod's view and state ''EAP evaluations have not yet produced the quality of evidence that would enable an unqualified endorsement of EAP interventions in the management of stress and other personal and organisational issues in the workplace'' (p. 141). Kirk and Brown (2003) claim that this may have more to do with research designs in the workplace, an issue which is not unique to EAP evaluations, rather with the deficiencies with the nature of the services provided by EAPs.…”

“…Counselling Providers are extremely reluctant to grant access on the grounds of client confidentiality, but the reality is they simply do not want the intrusion (Kirk & Brown, 2003). There is no shortage of studies reported in the literature on EAPs; however, the majority of these so called ''evaluations'' comprise case studies in a single organizational setting, and are often conducted by the providers of the service, either internal or external who have some investment in the outcome (Cooper & Cartwright, 1994;Kirk & Brown, 2003). Client organizations are generally uninterested in supporting such independently conducted evaluations Kirk, 1998).…”

“…In the public sector, there is even less written on EAPs, and almost no evaluation materials are available'' (Cayer & Perry, 1988, p. 153). In addition, Klarreich, DiGiuseppe and DiMattia (1987) have also criticized the field for its lack of independent objective research, with almost all EAP research taking place within EAP provision. Furthermore, benefits are mainly described in testimonials or in cost-benefit terms, with individual measures mainly focusing on client satisfaction (Worrall, 1999).…”

Getting to Know You: Occupational Health Researchers Investigate Employee Assistance Professionals' Approaches to Workplace Stress

“…Some went further to present job stress as one of the most common problems or a primary area for EA professionals (Rich, 1987;Van Den Bergh, 2000;Yamatani, Santangelo, Maue, & Heath, 1999), a key reason for employers to have EAPs (Lee, 2005;Rich, 1987), or the leading reason that employees contacted a particular EAP (Masi & Jacobson, 2003). In fact, some have even suggested that growth in EAPs may be largely due to employer recognition of stress as a workplace phenomenon (Kirk & Brown, 2003).…”

Brinksmanship Redux: Employee Assistance Programs’ Precursors and Prospects

“…even when clients described problems that were work-related." Kirk and Brown (2003) noted that the tendency "to ignore the role of the workplace" as a causal factor in employee's behavioral problems is among "the most vehement criticisms of EAPs. "…”