What Is An Employee Assistance Program?

An employee assistance program (EAP) assists employees with any personal or work-related problems that could be impacting their health, job performance or general well-being. EAPs are provided for free to employees by employers. They offer confidential assessments, counselling, referrals to other services and follow-up services depending on the employee’s specific requirements.

EAP counselors can also work collaboratively with managers and supervisors to address any employee and organizational issues and challenges that are affecting employee well-being. Whilst EAPs are mainly provided to help with work-related issues, they can provide a range of other services that assist employees with problems outside the workplace such as drug and alcohol rehabilitation or mental health services, for example. EAPs in the workplace have become more popular in recent years since they not only help improve workers’ productivity but also have social benefits outside the workplace.