Supporting Employee Well-Being: Your Guide to the Employee Assistance Program
The EAP delivers federal employees 24/7 access to assessments, short-term counseling, referrals, management consultation, and coaching. As one federal HR manager said, EAP was of great help during a department reorganization by providing useful coaching on the handling of staff resistance to change and improving morale.
Personal problems can impact the lives of employees at work and at home. Federal Occupational Health (FOH) is the only federal service provider for EAP. FOH supports the wellness of hundreds of thousands of employees and their families around the country and abroad.
FOH’s EAP service is a comprehensive program aiming to help employees resolve their personal problems that are negatively affecting their work performance, health, and well-being while maintaining confidentiality and minimizing costs. Take a look at our blog to understand what is employee assistance program, benefits of EAP employee assistance program.
What is Employee Assistance Program?
An EAP is a work-based supportive service aimed at helping an employee cope with personal problems that have resulted in performance problems. It has, over the years, started from addressing the misuse of substances, and relationship problems and now covers broader issues like family care, relationships, financial, legal, wellness issues, and traumatic experiences.
EAP is free for employees and will be accessed through several alternatives, such as by phone call, video counseling, online chat, mail, or face-to-face meetings. EAP often provides additional services such as nurse advice lines, for example, legal consultation advice, or adoption services among others. EAPs are at the disposal of employees and, in most cases, any member of their family of immediate kin. They promote flexible, confidential support aiming to improve well-being as well as productivity through taking care of personal and job-related problems.
Employee assistance program EAP is available for all employees, managers, and their families and provides counseling and support on personal, team, and workplace issues. EAP offers counseling and support on the following areas of stress and work-related issues:
- caregiver support (child and elder care)
- Career management
- Family and marital concerns
- Health and mental wellness
- Addictions
- Financial or legal challenges
Benefits of EAP?
The EAP employee assistance program overall improves the health and wellness of the employees, helping them better respond to daily challenges. In return, employers may benefit from increases in productivity, customer service, and employee engagement. Additionally, it is common for employers to observe reductions in:
- Workplace violence and safety incidents
- Health Care Costs
- Employee Turnover
- Unplanned leave of absence
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How to Promote and Employee Assistance Program
Develop a unique brand identity for your EAP
A strong brand identity can further help in making the employees feel better about the program. Create appealing graphics, come up with a catchy name, and convey clear messaging to highlight the value of EAP services.
Promote through various channels
Email: Send regular updates about resources available and success stories.Social Media and Tools: Utilize Slack, Teams, or Yammer for sending reminders and encouraging conversations among employees about employee assistance program services.
Posters and Fliers: Display attention-grabbing materials in high-profile areas to remind employees about the values of the EAP employee assistance program.
Tips to Get the Best of It:
- Include information about EAP in hiring orientation.
- Offer employees assistance through multiple channels.
- Education for management so they look for symptoms of distress themselves and others and refer an employee.
- Follow-up support of an employee after they successfully deal with a personal challenge.
Organize employee training and workshops
Employee training and EAP-themed workshops significantly raise utilization rates. Instructing your employees about EAP benefits helps them to make intelligent decisions when they require assistance on matters such as:
- Steps to handle stress
- Strategies for resolving conflicts
- Work-life management techniques
- Financial problems
- Reducing anxiety at work
- Seeking legal advice
Accessible resources
Provide accessible resources for your workers to promote your EAP. Some effective ways of offering them information on the benefits and services of the program are listed below:
Provide Incentives
Incentives may motivate employees to exercise some of the benefits provided by an EAP. To best communicate reward opportunities, use channels such as electronic mail newsletters, company intranet announcements, and posters.
Incentive Ideas
Gift cards: Give the attendee gift cards to preferred department stores or restaurants when an individual attends employee assistance program eap workshops or accesses EAP services.
Extra time off: Give an extra personal day or paid hours for the employees who are meeting the EAP.
Raffles: Allow the employees who attend employee assistance programs to be included in a raffle to win large prizes.
