EAPs, or Employee Assistance Programs, are work-based intervention programs designed to identify and assist employees in resolving personal problems that might adversely affect their work performance, health, and well-being. Comprehensive employee assistance programs offer employee support through convenient access to work/life assistance, talk therapy, life coaching, substance abuse counseling, childcare support, financial counseling, and wellness programs.
Ideally, programs that include easy access to services through multiple modalities including phone, face-to-face, and web-based services, as well as tools and resources that address a broad spectrum of life issues will be the most effective at improving the well-being of an organization’s workforce. Including EAPs in an overall benefit package helps to improve employee engagement and productivity and may reduce absenteeism and turnover.
When determining which employee assistance program best suits your organization’s needs, explore companies that offer comprehensive EAP features such as:
- A core program of confidential assessments, referral management and short-term counseling
- Substance abuse treatment and sobriety support programming
- Ease of access to a nationwide network of providers
- Crisis response planning
- Printed and/or web-based educational resources
- Wellness programming
- Work/Life Services such as financial counseling, legal help, and caregiver support
- Management consultation to help supervisors identify employees in need of support
- Descriptive internal marketing materials
- Support with internal communication
- Reporting tools with access to general employee usage data and types of problems addressed
- Integration with other benefits programs
- Competitive program costs