You can never risk skimping on what an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) in your quest to drive business growth. For those who might not know, an EAP is a work-based intervention program designed to help employees resolve personal issues that may significantly affect their performance.
Employee Assistance Programmes traditionally have assisted workers with issues like substance misuse. However, the vast majority of them now cover a broad range of issues such as child or elder care, relationship challenges, financial or legal problems, to mention a few.
It is worth noting that these programs are delivered at no extra cost to employees by stand-alone Employee Assistance Programme vendors or providers who are part of comprehensive health plans. In most cases, the services are offered via phone, video-based counselling, email interactions, face-to-face, or even online chatting.
An Employee Assistance Programme may also include a wide array of services. Among the most notable ones include nurse advice lines, basic legal assistance, or adoption assistance. You should always keep in mind Employee Assistance Programme services are made available not only to the employee but also to the employee’s spouse, children and non-marital partner under the same roof with the employee.
Despite this, Employee Assistance Programmes offering benefits such as direct counseling and treatment rather than just referrals for counseling and treatment are regulated under ERISA and subjects to COBRA.
The good thing about investing in employee well-being is that it can result in greater returns for companies in the long run. For this reason, Employee Assistance Programmes, even with low utilization, generally show positive ROI regardless of company size. You might be wondering how an EAP works.
Well, Employee Assistance Programmes are mostly offered by a company to employees at little or no cost. In some instances, employes work with external EAP service providers to offer a range of services, but that’s not always the case.
Importantly, the range of offerings being included in the umbrella of Employee Assistance Programmes is growing and changing. Some companies may still think of an EAP as merely clinical care services, smoking cessation, and weight loss programs. However, others opt to include everything from the gym to financial counselors to the on-site food service.
Nevertheless, you should take it upon yourself to better understand what Employee Assistance Programmes entail before deciding on anything. It is then that you can get the most from it.
