An Employee Assistance Program
(EAP) is a system designed for employees and their family members to
intervene on personal problems before they interfere with workplace
productivity. EAP professionals help people address individual, family,
marital, financial, legal, drug, alcohol and mental health problems and act as
gatekeepers for community resources and services. Through early intervention
the EAP helps maintain employee morale, productivity, health and wellness while
protecting company resources and benefits.
Marriage problems, divorces, teenage rebellion, childhood depression, family
violence, single parent struggles, aging parent needs, illness, trauma, unemployment,
and financial burdens all cause employee stress. When not confronted, they can
escalate into severe problems resulting in absenteeism, spasmodic work
performance, costly mistakes, huge medical claims, workers' compensation
claims, accidents, loss of valuable employees and even workplace violence and
death.
Statistics suggest that at any given time 25% of a workplace population are
experiencing problems off the job which are interfering with their ability to
perform their job satisfactorily. More than half of those are using alcohol or
drugs abusively to cope. This causes serious and often undetected losses in a
company. EAP professionals assess the situations employee families present,
develop plans to find solutions and assist the individual in following through
to resolutions.
The EAC is here; it helps
employees with their problems and organizations with their bottom line.
