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Employee Assistance Programs

did not shake and who did not drink on the job did not and employees, there are differences in how they do it.
receive help. Boiled down to the essentials, these differences come
Today, most EAPs pay close attention to the specific under two headings: who is helped and how that help is
needs of clients. For example, until recently few EAPs provided.
dealt with gambling-related issues; but now counselors are
being trained to deal with gambling addiction and related SINGLE-ISSUE PROGRAMS
problems. A number of companies also have EAPs that Single-issue programs aim to help only employees
offer financial and legal referrals to employees with con- impaired by a specific problem. Their focus is clear, and
sumer credit or bankruptcy problems and legal concerns. they are generally small enough to cost the employer rela-
These services are in addition to assistance offered for
tively little. A disadvantage of single-issue programs is that
emotional, family, work, and substance-abuse problems.
they may become stigmatized because of the negative con-
Another area that EAPs frequently deal with is criti- notations of terms such as addiction and alcoholism.
cal incident intervention—helping workers handle deaths, Some people may be afraid to use the program for fear of
suicides, hostage situations, major accidents, and natural being labeled drunks or addicts. Since the per-person cost
disasters, including fires, earthquakes, mudslides, floods, of an EAP decreases with the number of people who use
and hurricanes. Employees often need assistance in deal- it, this stigmatization is an important issue to consider.
ing with the emotional and physical trauma of these nat- Furthermore, supervisors tend to look only for symptoms
ural disasters. of abuse instead of concentrating on declining job per-
formance.
MODERN PROGRAMS The greatest weakness of single-issue programs is
Organizational development, managed care, workers’ their lack of preventative power. Late-stage alcoholics and
compensation, child care, and catastrophic disasters are addicts have the highest relapse rate and the least chance
just a few of the issues that are expanding the scope of for permanent recovery. Single-issue programs tend to
today’s EAPs. The changes going on in corporate America find these late-stagers, but recognizing those in the early
are tremendous. As a result, the role and scope of the com- stages for whom help can be most effective is much more
pany’s employee assistance program has evolved with the difficult.
times. Some EAPs offer workers professional organiza-
tional counseling. This service runs the gamut from coun- BROAD-BRUSH EAPS
seling work-group members who are having problems Broad-brush EAPs offer help to employees suffering from
getting along with one another to counseling survivors of all kinds of problems, including chemical dependency. For
downsizing on how to handle stress.
example, a broad-brush program may provide crisis-man-
Managers may have to terminate good employees as agement services for those whose problems can be dealt
well as difficult ones. Besides the emotional effects, there with over the short term. Sometimes all that is needed is a
is also a practical side to letting workers go: There is doc- chance to talk a problem over with a sympathetic listener.
umentation and a procedure to follow. Human resources The great advantage of broad-brush programs is their abil-
staff members are stretched to the limit in some cases. ity to uncover drug and alcohol problems in their early
Many EAPs provide disability management services. stages. Often early-stagers come to their EAP presenting
Companies today want to complement the traditional dis- problems that make no mention of alcohol or drugs. At
ability arrangement with a whole-person approach. In first clients complain about financial trouble, a stressful
many cases workers’ self-esteem is tied to their jobs. As marriage, or abuse of problem children. It is only after
workers sit at home recuperating from injuries or disabil- working with a skilled counselor that the truth is revealed:
ities, they may become bored and depressed. In some cases cocaine bankrupting an executive; a marriage in trouble
their disabilities may put financial strains on their fami- because the wife drinks and the husband enables her; chil-
lies. Therefore, there is a need to supplement the medical dren acting out because they cannot get the nurturing
care a person is receiving with counseling on issues he or they need from addicted parents.
she is facing. The goal is to keep the worker connected to One disadvantage of broad-brush programs is that
the workplace. they are usually more expensive than single-issue pro-
Today’s EAPs have grown in size and sophistication. grams. There are, however, ways to minimize costs by
In some businesses EAPs are operated through employee designing a program customized to specialized businesses.
associations. Sometimes professional groups or similar Costs can be reduced when multiple businesses form an
businesses and small industries unite to form a consor- EAP alliance. In the long run, EAPs can save businesses
tium. Although all EAPs aim to help both management money by making them more efficient and productive,

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BUSINESS AND FINANCE, SECOND EDITION 237