The impact of employee assistance services on workplace outcomes: Results of a prospective, quasi-experimental study.

Abstract

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) are widely used to help employees experiencing personal or work-related difficulties that impact work productivity. However, rigorous research on the effectiveness of programs to improve work-related outcomes is lacking. The current study represents a major advance in EAP research by using a prospective, quasi-experimental design with a large and diverse employee base. Using propensity scores calculated from demographic, social, work-related, and psychological variables collected on baseline surveys, we matched 156 employees receiving EAP to 188 non-EAP employees. Follow-up surveys were collected from 2 to 12 months post-baseline (M = 6.0). At follow-up, EAP employees had significantly greater reductions in absenteeism (b = -.596, p = .001) and presenteeism (b = -.217, p = .038), but not workplace distress (b = -.079, p = .448), than did non-EAP employees. Tests of moderation of baseline alcohol use, depression, anxiety, and productivity indicate that for the most part, the program works equally well for all groups. However, EAP did more to reduce absenteeism for those who began with lower severity of depression and anxiety at baseline. Results provide the scientific rigor needed to demonstrate EAP impact on improved work outcomes. In the first study of its kind, findings confirm the value of EAPs to help employees address personal and work-related concerns that are affecting job performance. (PsycINFO Database Record

Barriers to frontline manager support for high-trauma workers

“…It is well accepted that organisational P a g e |2 factors can influence the prevalence and severity of such problems, and promote improved outcomes. For example, evidence supports the positive influence on health and wellbeing of formal support systems such as professional counselling and resilience training (see for instance, Richmond, Pampel, Wood, & Nunes, 2017) and programs whereby peers are trained to provide counselling and support to one another (Revicki, Whitley, & Gallery, 1993;Scully, 2011). Relationships with colleagues and frontline managers (FLMs) can also be instrumental in reducing the severity of symptoms and encouraging positive post-traumatic growth (Oginska-Bulik, 2015;Prati & Pietrantoni, 2010;Somville, De Gucht, & Maes, 2016).…”

Integral Organizational Wellness™: An evidence‐based model of socially inspired well‐being

“…Studies have documented the effectiveness of employee assistance programs to help employees with stress and mental health problems address those concerns and return to work as productive employees (Attridge et al., ; Jacobson, Jones, & Bowers, ; Nunes, Richmond, Pampel, & Wood, ; Richmond, Pampel, Wood, & Nunes, ; Sharar & Lennox, ). One example of such programs is critical incident stress debriefing, which has been found be effective (Attridge & VandePol, ; DeFraia, ).…”

Recovering From Natural Disasters: Helping Museum Employees Return to Workplace Normalcy

“…These questions were asked to get a better insight on those who answered that their institution did have an EAP. According to the study conducted by Richmond et al [6], the majority of businesses indicated that they used their EAP in correlation with a disaster and incorporated the EAP as such. The data from this study contradicts Richmond et al slightly, where all respondents said that their EAP was located in a Human Resource document.…”

“…The occurrence of natural disasters in the workplace creates stress within employees, and EAPs are becoming an avenue to help them cope with the stressors of disaster [5]. While the amount of EAP efficacy research is thin, current studies show that EAPs can be beneficial and effective to the employees who choose to use them [6].…”