We’ve been told it would be a good idea to introduce an Employee Assistance Program, but we don’t even really know what it is – help?!
An Employee Assistance Programme or EAP as they are often referred to, are there to help employees by providing support for any mental or financial problems employees might have. EAPs help employers to provide:
- Short-term counselling
- Referral services
- Health & wellbeing programmes such as guided meditation
- Incentives or financial rewards & discounts.
EAPs help employees deal with personal problems that might negatively impact their work performance, health and wellbeing. An EAP will most-likely involve assessment and short-term counselling; as well as referral services for employees and any of their immediate family.
In days gone by, employee health and wellbeing programmes were often only implemented by larger companies who had the cash to splash on looking after their people.
Fortunately, employee health and wellbeing strategies that encourage good physical and mental health at work are now well and truly part of HR and SME business owners and managers’ goals, because they have huge benefits for both the employer and employee and they have become much more affordable in recent years too.
What are the benefits of an EAP?
It goes without saying that employee health and wellbeing is an intrinsic cog in the running of any successful company. Staff that feel happy and secure are naturally going to more productive at work.
Moreover, including your people in the process for managing or overcoming their own health and wellbeing concerns, reinforces both trust and respect, and the best place to start building up your business is from the inside, with the people who work there.
How much do EAPs cost?
In the UK, Employee Assistance programmes typically cost between £3-£15 per employee per month, depending on the type of programme you choose and what’s included.
What are some examples of the support that an EAP can provide?
- Counselling services
Balancing the pressures of work with the needs of home and personal life can seem like a mammoth struggle if you’re working without enough – or the right – support. It’s times like these that we could really benefit from an extra pair of caring hands. Counselling is one way to help employees and managers alike learn how to cope when times are difficult.
Employee counselling services play a vital role in helping to resolve workplace issues and can help employees understanding how to manage their own mental health issues.
- Gym memberships
Staying active is important for living a healthy, happy life. To encourage staff to move more, some EAPs offer free or subsidised gym memberships. There’s lots of research out there, that teel us that Exercise is one of the main tools we have at our disposal to deal with mood disorders and mental health.
For the most part, staff who are fitter will have stronger immune systems. The knock-on-effect of that is that they’re less likely to need time off for illness and more likely to work firing on all cylinders.
- Workshops
We’ve found workshops that help employees understand stress and help them to manage stress, work-life balance and mindfulness are all really popular. From academic study to learning the benefits of laughing, breathing and dealing with anger, workshops are a great way to build confidence at work.
Holding professional workshops is great for building individual confidence. Courses Mental Health First Aid can help staff spot and manage signs of workplace depression.
The right wellbeing support for your team
Overall, EAP’s can help you to support your team members as part of a people-first company culture. Choosing the right EAP for your small business will be the one that provides the right benefits for your people. If you’re considering an Employee Assistance Programme, it’s a good idea to conduct a short, anonymous survey to find out what benefits & types of wellbeing support your team would like (and would actually use). This will point you in the right direction when it comes to the selection process.
If you’d like to chat to us about some of the EAP’s our clients use, what they offer and what they cost, then please get in touch with us HERE
