About 80 percent of Canadian businesses have one, and it has come to be seen as a symbol of how much an employer cares for its employees. While offering an EAP as part of your employee benefits may or may not make your company more attractive to candidates that you are wooing, not offering one could certainly deter them. An EAP is, of course, only beneficial to employees who know they have access to it. Hold learning sessions for workers, distribute an EAP info sheet, and put up posters that give them a comprehensive overview of the program.
While employers may know when employees have participated in the EAP, all other information is private and never disclosed. Understanding this can offer comfort to workers who may be hesitant to make use of an employer benefit for sensitive issues, like mental health.
An employee assistance program is intended to ensure that employees can manage their daily lives while remaining productive, even in the midst of challenging circumstances or experiences. The bottom line? Including an EAP as part of a competitive benefits package makes good sense, both from a business point of view and a human one. DCM delivers effective industrial and commercial fabrication, construction, maintenance and shutdown services. Subscribe to the Safeopedia newsletter to stay on top of current industry trends and up-to-date know-how from subject matter authorities.
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Ambient Noise. Safeopedia Terms. Meet The Author with Chris Clearfield. Meet the Author with Robert J. Employee Assistance Programs EAP are designed to provide support for employees that are navigating life issues that may impact their ability to come to work and be productive in the workplace. An effective EAP can also help to combat absenteeism and maintain productivity. Is EAP really confidential? EAPs provide free, voluntary -- or self-referred, short-term -- counseling services to employees and their families.
As an employee, you can call your EAP program and speak to a counselor either over the phone or in person on a confidential basis -- meaning your employer and co-workers do not know about it. How do I promote my employee assistance program? Employers can help by offering an employee assistance program EAP. Here are four ways to encourage use:. Put it in writing — everywhere. Update educational materials, both electronic and print, to highlight EAP services and the issues they address.
Offer electronic entry points. Go public. Be comprehensive. Are employee assistance programs required? Answer: There is no federal law that prohibits an employer from requiring an employee to use an employee assistance program. Employee - assistance programs are incredibly effective in providing employees who have personal or professional issues in the workplace with an opportunity to improve their performance. What is a wellness program? A wellness program is a comprehensive health initiative designed to maintain or improve well-being through proper diet, exercise, stress management, and illness prevention.
Workplace wellness programs not only fight the upward trend of unhealthy employees, but also decrease medical care costs and insurance premiums. What is the EAP stand for? Learn more about employee assistance programs and how they might be right for your team. In a perfect world, employees' personal lives would never affect them at work. But the reality is that many workers spend time on the job worrying over personal matters that can reduce their effectiveness and curb their productivity.
This has led to the development of Employee Assistance Programs, which provide support and resources for struggling employees. An EAP is a unique employee benefit that works as an intervention program. It serves to identify and help employees resolve problems they may be facing in many different areas of life:. These are problems that interfere with employees' ability to perform their work to company standards. In some cases, the problem is serious enough to put the employee and the company at risk.
EAPs can help employees resolve these problems through evaluations, referrals to other professionals, and counseling. This way, employees can get back on track both personally and professionally. EAPs are strictly voluntary—that is, the employee under duress can choose not to participate. However, if they do choose to participate, the entire process is handled confidentially. This allows employees to get the help needed to overcome a problematic situation but also prevent third parties involved in the situation from retaliating against them or other employees at the firm.
In this sense, the EAP protects the interests of both the employee and the company. EAPs are often third-party services, as opposed to in-house services of the company where the employees work. These unique benefit programs come with expertise and resources beyond what a typical employer can offer, which takes the burden off the employer and reduces the personal risks posed if a manager or a co-worker were to attempt to mediate the situation themselves.
While no problem is too small for an employee to seek help from an EAP, these programs are particularly useful for employees who are under a great deal of emotional stress because of professional, marital, or familial discord.
They may be coping with a serious health issue with a parent, have an out-of-control child at home, be facing overwhelming student loan debt, or just need to talk with a caring counselor about a personal problem. For example, an employee might be experiencing domestic violence at home. Over a period of time, they might arrive to work late and stay long hours, and be less productive and more distracted. An observant manager at an organization with an EAP can refer this employee to the human resources department to receive information about the EAP and seek counseling or other support.
Because of the confidential nature of EAPs, the employee can get the help needed to escape the situation but can also prevent the spouse from showing up at the workplace unannounced and causing harm to them or someone else at work. In many cases, the spouse or partner of the employee can also obtain support from the EAP in sorting things out so that the employee can experience a more positive work and personal life.
Some EAPs also include access to free and low-cost legal aid and referrals to attorneys who work with people in the community. They generally cannot diagnose a health issue or replace traditional medical or psychological evaluation and treatment.
An Employee Assistance Program should be used to supplement—not replace—a comprehensive employer-sponsored health insurance plan.
EAPs are generally paid for in full by employers and are most often operated through an agreement with a third-party administrator.
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