Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) - not the employee mental health solution you thought they would be

It’s no surprise mental health issues are on the rise. More people are working from home and the work-life balance is becoming skewed. Our kitchens are doubling up as offices. And for some, even our bedrooms are now where we take Teams calls.?

Because we’re all at home, it’s also becoming hard for employers to notice when employees are struggling. The tell-tale signs are harder to spot when we’re no longer in the office and this is having a serious affect on working relationships, productivity and overall morale.

Luckily, many companies are ahead of the curve and putting steps in place to help their employees. One of which being an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP).

An EAP is an employee benefit programme offered by employers to help their staff deal with any mental health and wellbeing issues that may be impacting their work. Unfortunately, however, even with EAPs, it seems people still aren’t getting the right help.?

EAPs are a very linear, reactive approach to helping people with their mental health. They don’t always offer the best support and don’t have companies’ or employees’ best interests at heart. Appointments can take ages and the pricing system typically only offers around 3-6 counselling sessions per employee.

According to the EAP Association, nearly half of the UK workforce has access to an EAP. Yet, research carried out by Dr Zofia Bajorek for Work Foundation showed that an average of only 5% use theirs.?

Naturally, in 2021/22 EAP utilisation soared. Because of the pandemic, people have struggled with the impact it’s had on finances, relationships, wellbeing and work culture, including remote working. But when it comes down to it, EAP treatments fall short. With no targeted unique matching service, employees fall into an outdated ‘one-size-fits-all’ system and are ‘matched’ based on availability instead of tailored support for their needs.?

We recently spoke to someone who’s had first-hand experience of using an Employee Assistance Programme. Here’s what they had to say.

“A lot of the time I was told to call back later as the EAP was ‘too busy to take calls’. I was once told that the EAP counsellors were ‘busy dealing with higher risk people and to call back later’. Once I was finally assigned a counsellor, the service felt rushed and I had to persist on getting further support. I also didn’t have any say in who I received the support from.”

Being assigned a counsellor based purely on availability isn’t enough, especially when availability is tight to begin with. It means employees aren’t getting dedicated support, if any, and their mental health is taking an even bigger hit as people are left feeling disheartened by the service.?

When it comes to finding the right support with the best outcome, employers must take a more proactive approach. Employees need a dedicated system which puts their mental health first and which works to understand their needs in order to get better results.?

To do this, we must focus on creating and maintaining strong relationships with counsellors. Counsellors who understand people’s needs and value their thoughts, feelings and experiences.

We match employees to mental health support based on relevance, personality fit and availability. Three key factors for successful relationships and positive outcomes. We also believe everyone should have a say in who they receive specialist support from. After all, having control over your own mental health is an extremely important part of recovery. It’s how we make sure your people are matched with someone they feel a connection with. Because the better the match, the better the outcome. It really is that simple.

There’s no waiting around or being told to call back later. And, instead of only offering help when a problem has peaked, we provide early intervention of support to prevent further declines in mental health and productivity.?

If you want your employees to get unique support for their mental health, then get in touch today.?