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By Jon C.
McIntire, LCSW, CEAP
An Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a
workplace-focused program paid for by employers with the goals
of providing for the well-being of their employees and the
family members of their employees, and maximizing productivity
by promoting a positive working environment comprised of happy
and healthy employees. Employers contract with external
providers like REACH EAP & Workplace Solutions to provide EAP
services for their organization. EAP services are delivered by
masters-prepared, licensed behavioral health professionals who
specialize in addressing workplace issues as well as in offering
assistance with person, family and job-related issues at
confidential locations away from the workplace.
What Services Do
EAPs Offer?
EAPs make available to employers a wide variety of services
depending on the program design. The most common services
available are client services that include confidential
assessments and short-term problem resolution assistance by
appointment, 24/7 phone access to EAP professionals for
immediate assistance with crises, employee education seminars
that cover wellness as well as home and work issues, management
training focused on improving supervisory skills and
understanding and supporting employees, management consultation
regarding employee and work group issues, and Work/Life services
to assist employees with both home and work responsibilities.
Is the Program
Confidential?
Although employers pay for the service—there is no cost to
employees for EAP services—EAP client services are absolutely
confidential as mandated by law. No information about an
employee’s or family member’s participation in the employee
assistance program can be given to an employer without the
express consent of the EAP client in the form of a signed
Release of Information. EAP firms are accountable to employers
for the services provided by providing periodic statistical
reports to employers that never contain names but do show the
level of EAP service activity for each service period.
How Can EAPs Help?
EAPs are in an ideal position to assist
employees who have job-related issues by the fact that their
employers place their confidence in their EAP provider to advise
them on how to best help their employees with substance abuse
and other issues that can negatively impact their job
performance. Employers contract for EAP services to identify,
treat, rehabilitate, and restore their employees to full
productivity, not to find reason to terminate them. EAPs,
therefore, perform the important role of helping employees keep
their jobs.
What About
Substance Abuse Problems?
With regard to substance abuse issues, most employers today
have substance abuse policies that specify whether employees who
test positive for drugs or alcohol with be given an opportunity
for rehabilitation or will be terminated. If your company’s
policy states that these employees will be given an opportunity
to seek help, they are normally referred to the EAP who will
conduct an assessment and guide them through the treatment
process and participate actively in the employee’s return to
work. There is a particular advantage of having an EAP in your
company for those who have substance abuse issues or other
problems that, if not addressed, could result in the loss of
their jobs. Employees can obtain confidential assistance from
the EAP on their own before the problem is identified through a
drug test or otherwise shows up in the workplace. Help with the
same issues available to employees is also extended to their
immediate family members.
What If My
Employer Doesn’t Offer an EAP?
If your spouse has an EAP at his or her
workplace, chances are that you are eligible for services
through their employee assistance program. If not, contact your
Human Resource Department and tell them of your interest in your
company implementing a program. Don’t think that will work? In
our experience, your voice, and the voice of your co-workers,
can and has made a difference. Employers can find an EAP
provider that serves North Carolina by contacting the North
Carolina Employment Assistance Professionals Association (link
to eapa.com). President Karen Molli says their organization is
there to provide information about EAP services, value, and
selecting an EAP.
Jon C. McIntire works for REACH
Workplace Solutions, an organization on the leading edge for
providing state-of-the-art, comprehensive workplace services.
They offer a comprehensive package of client services, on-site
workplace management support services, and wellness programs.
The Reach National Call Center and corporate headquarters are
located in Virginia. Contact Reach EAP at 800.950.3434 or
www.reach-eap.com.
The Next
Step
Editor: Leanne
Murray
Writer: Cathy Swing
Designer: Virginia Hart
Partnership for a Drug-Free
NC
665 W. Fourth Street
Winston-Salem, NC 27101
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