Research: The evolution of employee assistance: investigating the use, impact and reach of EAPs in today’s organisations
Key findings:
- EAPs are most commonly used by employers for “soft” business reasons, as part of broader health and wellbeing offerings. As well as to be perceived as a “good” employer.
- Around 67% of HR managers said they implemented an EAP as part of the organisation’s health and wellbeing plan, with around half stating that it was introduced to reduce sickness absence.
- The most common uses of an EAP among the surveyed organisations were for depression (57%), and coping with family events (56%). Workplace issues were less reported, such as: difficulties with line managers (20%), workplace restructure (15%), bullying (6%).
The research suggests that, although EAPs work, they need to become a more effective wellbeing partner for organisations. This can be achieved by addressing cultural and structural workplace issues.
