Why Invest in FCS EAP?

Many employers have learned that it is good business practice to help employees resolve personal, mental health or substance abuse problems that impact their work performance. Managers spend up to 20% of their time dealing with problem employees. Stress and substance abuse account for more than 25% of employer health care costs. Replacing an employee costs a company up to one third of the employee’s annual salary. Forty percent of industrial injuries and fatalities are linked to alcohol consumption or alcoholism. Employees who are stressed, depressed or using illegal substances or alcohol have decreased concentration and are more likely to have accidents or make mistakes.

Employee Assistance Programs have demonstrated the ability to decrease health care costs, improve productivity, reduce turnover and reduce employee accidents and mistakes. Companies with effective EAP’s have 35% reduced employee turnover and 14% improved employee productivity, according to Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services, 1995.

However, EAP’s being marketed today are often quite different from the programs that earned this reputation. The competition, consolidation and the concentration of more than 65% of the EAP market among five major behavioral healthcare companies has driven down both the price and the quality of Employee Assistance Programs, according to an article by Kenneth R. Collins, LCSW, in the Society for Human Resource Managers Information Center. EAPs have moved from the traditional role of helping companies deal with employees whose job performance problems were the byproduct of substance abuse, psychiatric, family or other personal issues. The contemporary network model EAP’s primary purpose has shifted from helping HR and supervisors manage problematic employees to providing low-cost, accessible short-term treatment. A 2000 study by Mcdonald found that “contemporary” EAPs had no impact on employee productivity.

Successful EAPs develop sound working relationships with HR and other staff functions and become intimately familiar with company culture, policies and procedures. Because

Family and Children’s Employee Assistance Program has remained relatively small and is a regional provider we are, therefore, able to develop close relationships with our client organizations. Our goal is to become integrated into the culture of the workplace enabling us to be more effective in reaching out to troubled employees. The more visible we are the more likely employees are to call us when they need help.

Family and Children’s EAP works with management to improve their ability to respond appropriately to workplace situations or issues, such as substance abuse, diversity, co-worker conflicts, death of an employee, etc. We are available to go on-site to support management’s response to workplace violence or trauma.

To learn more about our program call 410-281-1334.