Employee assistance programs (EAPs) were a great resource for employees even before Covid-19, but now that the pandemic has created an additional and heightened set of issues and problems for employers and employees, they may be more important than ever.
EAPs provide services for employees dealing with several issues, such as depression, stress, social anxiety and other impediments to employees’ mental and emotional well-being. Factor in financial and family issues, which EAPs also address, and you can see the value of such a tool that can help reduce the number of missed days and reduced productivity from employees who need a helping hand.
Getting people to utilize them, however, has been an uphill climb, mostly because employees just don’t know about them or the stigma still exists around seeking out help.
With a larger variety of offerings, as well as more convenient ways to deliver this service thanks to advances in technology, now is the time to take a look at what your company is providing and make sure your employees know EAP — and by extension, you! — are here for them.
The move to offer more digital options to make EAPs more useful began before Covid-19, but the pandemic has expedited those efforts and shown us, via online platforms like video conferencing, telehealth and even texting, that there are limitless ways to reach out and connect and take advantage of everything EAPs can offer.
