So what is an EAP? It’s support and guidance, it’s a sympathetic ear; specifically, it’s your employee assistance program, and it’s a way to access short term counseling to improve the quality of your life on and off the job; and, it’s free and confidential.

So how does EAP work?

Simple. You call the toll-free number 24/7 any day of the year; a friendly experienced licensed counselor answers, and together you figure out how to approach whatever concerns you. You may only need one call or you might decide to go for further counseling; or, the counselor may help you find services in your community or through your medical insurance. It all depends on what you want what you need. EAP can help with legal and financial issues, too; starting with a free 30-minute consultation with lawyers and financial experts.

Now you may be thinking, “Okay, but really what can the EAP do for me?” Well, you might have concerns about parenting, relationships, finances, depression and anxiety, problems with a coworker, your teen’s college education, or anything else that’s on your mind. And here’s the thing, your EAP can help with all these concerns and dozens more.

Usually, we can handle life’s challenges on our own, but occasionally personal problems can overwhelm us and interfere with our daily life. An Employee Assistance Program or EAP is a benefit fully paid by your employer to help you find resources to resolve problems and improve your quality of life.

The short video below is an orientation to give you a better understanding about EAP and how to use the free Employee Assistance Program that your employer has set up for you and your dependents.

EAP Benefits

Employee Assistance Programs offer free services and resources for virtually every problem you may encounter; your EAP will continue to help you until your problems are resolved. Counseling services cover a wide range of issues including:

• Stress, anxiety, depression, grief, or other emotional problems
• Addiction and substance abuse
• Difficult life decisions and everyday challenges
• Family and parenting issues
• Special needs children and adoption
• Divorce and child custody
• Caring for an elderly loved one
• Debt counseling and financial management

For more information read EAP Benefits.

Ever wish you had a little help dealing with life’s challenges? You do! You have this great benefit that offers access to counselors and experts who have one job … making your life easier. All your actions with them are completely free and confidential; this benefit is your employee assistance work-life programs, though your organization may call it by different name.

So how does it work?

It’s simple: first you contact us; you can discuss whatever is on your mind with a knowledgeable, sympathetic, helpful person, and they’ll tell you how we can help. Need to find care for your elderly mother? An adult care specialist will do the research for you and provide you with with referrals and educational materials. Feeling stressed or overloaded? A counselor will be glad to help you. Planning a vacation? A convenient services specialist can find you the best flight, a list of fun things to do, even tickets to the big game! We can help you deal with concerns about your relationships, finances, parenting, problems with a coworker, or your child’s college education; we can help you find a dog walker, housekeeper, supermarket, a dry cleaner that delivers in your neighborhood, a party planner, or a gym that has the classes you want; we can find an accredited child care center in your neighborhood or plumber for that leaky faucet. These are just examples; maybe your situation is a hundred percent different. No problem. We’re here to help you in the ways that you want and need.

Employee Assistance Programs increase productivity and employee satisfaction by taking care of employees, their families, and your company. EAPs are shown to resolve up to 70% of modern issues. Watch this video to learn more about EAPs and how they support a more productive and happier workplace.

Advantages of EAP

What if you cut absenteeism by 59 percent? What if you had 21 percent fewer workers comp claims? What if turnover was cut by 35 percent? You’d see sixty-two percent higher productivity and a number of happier faces around the office.

With an employee assistance program you can take care of your employees, their families, and your company at the same time. Help is as close as the telephone, available for issues like stress, marriage, finance, legal issues, and more. Calls are confidential and employees pay nothing.

How Employee Issues Affect the Workplace

Take depression, it affects nineteen million Americans each year; that’s nearly 10 percent of us. Then there are legal and financial issues which half of us face each year. Stress of course, is a word we all know too well; stressed-out employees are three times more likely to consider quitting their jobs. Let’s not forget all the other demands on us like caregiving and personal issues such as problems with marriage. Employee assistance programs can resolve up to seventy percent of our modern problems, and most employees will tell you that your help means a lot to them. Employee assistance programs for your employees, for your company.

Employee Assistance Programs offer counseling, help, tools, and resources to employees and their family members to address a wide range of problems and issues including:

• Adoption
• Aging Issues and Elder Care
• Alcohol and Substance Abuse
• Balancing Work and Family
• Cancer, Diabetes, and Other Illnesses
• Child Care and Daycare
• Children with Special Needs
• Consumer Problems and Rights
• Debt and Debt Restructuring
• Eating Disorders
• Education and Tuition Planning
• Estate Planning, Probate, and Wills
• Family Violence
• Financial Planning
• Fitness Programs
• Gambling Addiction
• Health and Wellness
• Health Risk Assessments
• Homeownership and Mortgages
• Interpersonal Skills with Family and Co-workers
• Legal Issues and Family Law
• Loss and Grief
• Mental and Behavioral Health Issues
• Nutrition Counseling
• Personal Development and Training
• Real Estate and Tenant/Landlord Concerns
• Retirement and College Savings Planning
• Separation or Divorce
• Smoking Cessation
• Stress and Coping with Change
• Taxes and the IRS
• Traffic Violations
• Weight Loss
• Wellness
• Wills and other Legal Issues
• Women’s and Men’s Health

Your Employee Assistance Program offers a full range of free services and problem solving tools to you and your covered family members. Help is available for virtually any and every issue you may encounter; no problem is too big or too small.

What does EAP help with?

Counseling services cover a wide range of issues including stress, emotional problems, substance abuse, family and parenting issues, caregiving, finances, or simply dealing with a particularly difficult life decision. For example, if you are a caregiver for an elderly parent, an EAP can find elder care resources and support for you; if you are overwhelmed by money problems, a counselor can arrange debt counseling or other help.

While counseling is the primary focus of EAP, there are many other benefits that can helpe you deal with everyday issues and challenges. Sometimes you may simply need more information to make a good decision or solve everyday issues like finding good daycare provider or balancing your budget. Read a full list of common issues that EAP helps resolve.

Privacy and EAP

Confidentiality is the cornerstone of Employee Assistance Programs. Although EAPs are paid for by employers, EAP counselors work with employees personally and privately to help manage their circumstances and resolve their problems. EAPs simply would not work if the services were not confidential.

EAP is an opportunity for employees to quickly and easily get help with virtually any problem they are experiencing. In video below, Donald Martin, LPC, CEAP, clinical manager for the Employee Assistance Program at Optima Health, explains how EAPs can help during difficult times.

Why do companies offer EAPs?

Employers realize that happier employees makes for a more productive workplace. EAP is offered to help meet employees’ needs and address their concerns so they can be the valued employee that the company expects. Although EAPs are provided by employers, the services are completely confidential and personal for each employee.

How do you know when you need help?

If work is affecting home or home is affecting work, contact your EAP.

When you walk into work carrying problems from home such as kids acting out, relationship issues, or other family-related stress, then you can’t be the effective employee that your employer wants. Likewise, if you walk out of work at the end of the day and you can’t focus on your children, spouse, and family needs because your mind is wrapped around issues and concerns at work, then you’re not doing well at home. The goal of EAP is to achieve a work-life balance so that neither has a negative impact on the other.