Employee assistance programmes (EAPs) provide organisations with counselling services to assist in the identification and resolution of employees' personal and work issues which affect work performance. They can reduce an organisation's costs due to employees' work stress and absence and increase workers' efficiency and commitment and overall work performance.

A review commissioned by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) in 2001 found that EAPs can reduce employees' work stress by over 50 per cent and absence by 25-50 per cent. The review also found that most users were satisfied with EAP services and would use them again, as well as recommend them to colleagues.  

James Rye, a BACP Accredited Counsellor experienced in providing EAP counselling, says: "In my experience, EAP clients can really benefit from discussing their situation with a professional outsider. They often come to understand why, for example, the work situation is provoking so much stress, anger or depression. And they are able to plan significant and practical changes."  

The advantages

Organisations face pressures and demands from increasing competition, heavier workloads and longer hours, which can cause problems both for organisations and their employees at a personal level.

EAPs help employees cope with the issues that impact on their performance at work, as well as help organisations improve productivity and workplace efficiency, decrease work-related accidents, lessen staff turnover, promote workplace co-operation, reduce grievances, improve employees' morale and motivation, reduce risk of litigation, as well as demonstrate a caring attitude to employees. 

"Counselling may be thought of as a method of relieving distress undertaken by means of a dialogue between two people. The aim is to help the client or patient find their own solutions to problems, while being supported to do so and being guided by appropriate advice," according to the Oxford Handbook of Psychiatry (published in 2005).  

A wide range

EAPs are most frequently accessed through an employee self-referring, but can also be accessed by an employee being referred via a manager, health and safety or occupational health services.

EAPs offer employees a range of contact methods with a counsellor, including face-to-face counselling. The advantages include the presence of visual cues which are missing in telephone counselling, and the employee is provided with a designated time and space away from both the home and workplace. However, it can be difficult to find time to travel to sessions and an employee may find a face-to-face meeting too daunting, preferring telephone counselling instead.  

The advantages of telephone counselling include being able to speak instantly to a counsellor, and as telephone counselling is nationwide, it is much easier to find a local counsellor. However, telephone counselling may not be appropriate for some more severe problems.  

With internet use now being a common part of employees' lives, some EAPs offer online counselling services. Communication between the employee and the counsellor is either conducted via secure email or internet relay chat (IRC). An employee can access a counsellor from anywhere they have an internet connection and can reflect on a record of the counselling.

According to a recent survey of EAP users by employment researchers IRS, the most commonly supplied services are by telephone, followed by face-to-face. In 2005, the Employee Assistance Professionals Association (EAPA) estimated that more than 1,000 UK organisations provided employees with assistance programmes, meaning that around 2.26 million employees had access to EAPs, with an additional 1.7 million employees with access to telephone-only counselling helplines. 

Focusing on a more positive, preventative programme of information, advice and training enables and empowers employees and organisations to work and live better.

For more information, email richard@rscpp.co.uk; or visit www.rscpp.co.uk/eap