Employees will turn to other troubled employees when their security and future is at risk.
An Employee Assistance Program may be a solution to the existing problems between management, the employee, and the organization as a whole. These problems that have the potential to cause mental disorders in the industry constitutes one of society’s most costly and universal problems. Progress in coping with mental disorders in business has been slow. The problem is too complex and is rooted in our beliefs; however, Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) may provide insight into the improvement of the problems or if not, the solution. Employee Assistance is a term used for any combination of programs that involve full or part-time, public or private counseling, and rehabilitation of troubled employees’ problems, in or outside of work. Prevention and confrontation are the two main approaches to Employee Assistance Programs (EAP). Prevention is helping a potentially troubled employee before he becomes a problem employee, in that it would not escalate to major disruptions in production. This is the best approach and would be most beneficial for the employee and for the supervisor. The other approach, confrontation, deals with facing the employee’s problems and helping a problem employee who has job deficiencies. Regardless which approach is used, EAPs are used primarily for economic reasons and secondly, for humanistic reasons. For example, rather than fire an employee suffering from a mental disorder who exhibits poor job performance, corporations are using EAPs to discover a solution that is more humane and almost always more cost effective. According to Steve Gordan, Executive Director of TEAM, Inc., “a company that uses EAP’s full service has a wide range of members and services. The cost of these programs range between $18.00 and $48.00 per employee per year, depending on the size of the organization and the services requested. These prices and services are cost effective and beneficial to a company who struggles with the cost of workplace accidents, inadequate production, high turnover rate, absenteeism, and troubled employees.”
Deteriorating job performance is usually the basis for referring an employee to an EAP. It is the function of the EAP practitioners or counselors to determine what the underlying problem may be. If an employee has unsatisfactory job performance, a supervisor will recognize and document the problem. If the problem continues, the program coordinator and supervisor will conduct a "corrective interview" with the employee. If the condition does not improve, a second interview will be conducted and the EAP will provide assistance. At this point, the employee may accept or refuse program participation. If accepted, professional evaluation and a plan of action with a counselor will be developed. Satisfactory progress should lead to improvements in job performance and later acceptable job performance.
Throughout this whole process of recovery, there are procedures that the supervisor must keep in mind. An employee must be advised of the criteria of the program: first, work performance is the primary concern of the company; second, problems will worsen without professional help; third, confidentiality is enforced when making the referral; and fourth, management will be objective, fair, consistent, and decisive. On the other hand, a supervisor must not diagnose, discuss the employees’ personal problems, counsel the employee, or conceal the employee's mistakes.
The supervisor's cooperation is essential to the success of the Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Rather than firing, transferring the “problem” employee to another department, or counseling the employee, management should know the techniques and the EAP process of the EAP. Most importantly, the supervisor should leave the counseling to the counselors of EAP. The EAP counselor is the person responsible for providing the troubled employee with the assistance necessary to resolve the problem. This counselor coordinates treatment, monitors job performance through the supervisor, and provides ongoing and motivational counseling.
The benefits and value of having an EAP are both economic and humanistic. The organization's financial analyst can evaluate the program's effectiveness in terms of cost, while management can determine success through job performance.
" In all, it seems clear that more and more employers will assume responsibility for the rehabilitation of the troubled employee as the most constructive, humane and least costly path available. By adopting the EAP program, the employer will be able to convert non-productive employees into productive ones. Further, the employer will be able to reduce company losses attributed to the non-productive employee by identifying these employees, honoring the company’s obligation to rehabilitate these employees and terminating employees who cannot or will not comply. In the long run, the Employee Assistance Program will benefit employers as well as employees."
While there are many positive aspects of EAP, there is no such thing as a perfect program. Some improvements could be made when dealing with Employee Assistance Programs. For example, there are fuzzy areas between the point at which job performance is clearly affected and where job performance is barely affected. Supervisors find it difficult to answer the question, at what point do they refer an
employee. We are taught not to judge when we are young and yet a supervisor has to judge on what is normal or not normal behavior. If an employee is referred by the supervisor and the counselor finds nothing wrong, then what is the next course of action? This can be improved upon by teaching the supervisors about the signs of a troubled employee, prior to starting the EAP. Yes, management will have to make the final judgment when it comes to referring or not referring an employee, but with knowing the basic signs, queues, and symptoms, they can be somewhat accurate when making referrals. Labeling can also occur. Will a supervisor look at the previously referred employee as weak or incompetent? Management is not to judge but after all they are human. These fuzzy areas and drawbacks can cause anxiety among employees or with the supervisor, or even more distress within the organization. Employees, supervisors, and all humans move in and out of problems in life, at what point do these problems become worthy of a referral or counseling? What about the employees with emotional or mental problems that do not have performance deficiencies? Since, it is rare for the sufferer of mental illness to be aware that anything is wrong, where does self-referral come into play? These are questions that the Coordinators and participators must be aware of when creating an EAP. The biggest importance of an EAP is the marketing aspect. Organizations must market and implement the program for all employees to take advantage of it. EAP should not be seen as negative, or for only troubled employees, but for “normal” people as well, so people are motivated to participate. While drawbacks could arise if management is not informed of rules, regulations, and guidelines, EAPs are necessary for any organization to survive the anxieties and stresses of life.
There are several reason and benefits to providing EAP for the employees and the happiness in the workplace. Psychologists have learned that satisfactory work experience is often the greatest force in happiness in the workplace. Ideally, no man who has shown his worth in productive work should be cast out when transitory emotional disorders throws him out of gear. We must repair our human resources as well as our machines. This approach will encourage each employee to seek help for those emotional conflicts that he can not solve alone and will provide industry and professional psychology with the knowledge needed to prevent irreparable emotional breakdown.
Sources
1. Noland, R. 1977. Industrial Mental Health and Employee Counseling. New York,
New York: Behavioral Publications.
2. Shain, M. 1980. Employee Assistance programs. Lexington, Mass.:
LexingtonBooks, D.C. Health and Company.
3. Myers, D. 1984. Establishing and Building Employee Assistance Programs.
Westport, Conn.: Quorum Books.
4. (E-mail interview) Gordon, S. Executive Director of TEAM, Inc.
5. Scanlon, W. 1986. Alcoholism and Drug Abuse in the Workplace. Westport, Conn.: Praeger Publishers.
Noland, Robert, Professor of Psychology, University of Dayton.
Shain, Martin, Employee Assistance Programs, pg. 66.
Myers, Donald, Establishing and Building Employee Assistance Programs, pg. 3.
Gordon, Steve, Exec. Director, TEAM Inc.
Scanlon, Walter, Alcoholism and Drug Abuse in the Workplace, pg. 103.