Why does a company

need an

Employee Assistance       

Program?

Alcohol, drug abuse, stress, divorce, mental illness, bankruptcy, grief, suicide...these are familiar terms, but somehow, meaningless it happens to us or someone close to us. And, yet the chances that any individual can navigate life from birth to death without facing serious personal challenges are virtually zero. If it were possible for employees to separate their personal problems from their work life, or for employers to ensure that individual productivity was unaffected by personal situations, there would be no need for employee assistance programs. However, the simple fact is that problems affect people, and people affect productivity. As an example, this translates into: 70% of those who reported using drugs are employed; 10 million employed people are currently users of illicit drugs.

Despite ambiguity on what constitutes cost effectiveness, it is clear from various company results that employee assistance programs more than pay for themselves. Subjectively, there is no way to place a monetary value on a job saved, a family put back together, the gratitude of the employee helped, or avoiding the loss of a life. These are not part of any annual report, but these are a very real and satisfying return from loss to an organization. Managed properly, an EAP will prove to be a positive influence on labor-management relationships, employee turnover, productivity and the sense of identity between employee and employer.

NOTE: The above has been quoted from EAPA's Theory and Operation pamphlet