Study confirms effectiveness of EAP counseling

Citation

Kinder, A. (2013), "Study confirms effectiveness of EAP counseling", Strategic HR Review, Vol. 12 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/shr.2013.37212caa.008

Study confirms effectiveness of EAP counseling

Article Type: Rewards From: Strategic HR Review, Volume 12, Issue 3

Short case studies and research papers that demonstrate best practice in rewards

Andrew KinderBased at UK Employee Assistance Professionals Association.

Research commissioned by the UK Employee Assistance Professionals Association (UK EAPA) confirms the effectiveness of counseling through EAPs to support and promote employee health and wellbeing and to reduce growing levels of psychological distress in the workplace.

The 2012 study, “Benchmarking key service quality indicators in UK Employee Assistance Program Counseling: a CORE System data profile,” reviews the outcome of over 28,000 counseling interventions undertaken as part of employee assistance program referrals (UK EAPA, 2012). It compares the effectiveness of the clinical interventions against published benchmarks for NHS primary care services (NHS is the UK’s National Health Service), as well as UK higher education student counseling services.

Following are the headline findings from the study:

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  A total of 70 percent of EAP clients are demonstrably shown to recover or improve following their counseling intervention.

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  A total of 92 percent of EAP clients are accepted for treatment in just nine days (on average) compared with a 64 day wait for treatment via NHS primary care services.

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  A total of 88 percent of clients presenting to EAP counseling services score above clinical cut-off level, which means they are similar to NHS outpatients. This confirms that EAPs are seeing and supporting clinical patients who would otherwise need to wait for treatment from primary care providers.

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  A total of 80 percent of EAP clients are estimated to have completed their counseling intervention. The benchmark figure from previous studies reviewing NHS and higher education interventions is approximately 50 percent.

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  On average, EAP clients attend four treatment sessions, with 88 percent attending five sessions and 95 percent of EAP clients attending six sessions (data analyzed cumulatively). In comparison, 23 percent of patients receiving care in an NHS primary care setting attended four treatments or less.

The impact on business and the workplace

Every organization is affected in some way by mental health issues, whether it is the impact of an individual employee’s psychological distress on a business or the impact of this distress on an individual’s colleagues. The Department of Health’s (2011) website reports mental health as the largest single source of disability in the UK and according to The Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health (2007) one in six employees experiences depression, anxiety or problems relating to stress at any one time.

The cost to an organization of mental health problems among its employees, therefore, is significant. The Department of Health (2012) estimates the cost of mental health to the UK economy is over £30 billion per year, which equates to over £1,000 per employee.

The impact of mental health within the workplace by its nature is varied and may be evident in a number of different ways; for example, by increased levels of absence, deteriorating levels of performance or productivity or with increased levels of staff turnover. But regardless of how the issue of mental health might manifest itself in an organization, the large cost that may be incurred as a result of not addressing it sooner is one that no employer can afford to ignore.

A positive impact on employees’ mental health

In recent years, EAPs have developed a track record for helping employees to manage issues relating to their personal or professional lives that threaten to impact on their attendance or performance at work. And in light of the costs associated with mental ill health in the workplace, EAPs are an investment that can enable employers to mitigate some of the costs associated with this.

An employee who is absent from work and awaiting access to talking therapy from their local NHS primary care provider, for example, represents a significant cost to their employer. However, EAPs can offer early intervention and swift action for employees who make contact with or are referred to their organization’s confidential employee assistance helpline and are assessed and referred for counseling.

In such a case, an employee can access counseling in an average of nine days compared to 64 days with the NHS (UK EAPA, 2012). With 2011 absence figures published by the CBI showing the cost of each absence at £117 per day (median £760 per day of absence and 6.5 days) there is a significant cost saving for employers in using an EAP (CBI, 2011). Combine this with a higher level of completion of therapy in EAPs compared to the NHS (UK EAPA, 2012) and the cost savings for a business mount up considerably. And the faster access to therapy and the manner by which quicker treatment is completed should result in faster return to work and further cost savings for employers.

Increasing employee utilization of services

This UK EAPA commissioned research study strongly positions EAPs as a sound investment for employers who are primed to assist members of their workforce who may be suffering symptoms of psychological distress. Even in the current climate of austerity where organizations are under pressure to cut costs and minimize spending wherever possible, many employers have taken positive action to implement a new EAP offering or to retain their existing EAP and ensure it is available to support employees.

Of course, any employee assistance service is only effective if employees are aware of the offering and motivated to contact the helpline in their time of need. In light of this, the findings of this recent UK EAPA commissioned study represent a call to action for employers to maintain efforts to promote their EAP to all employees. Significant investment is made in the promotion and communication of EAPs at the launch of the offering. Yet, ongoing communication is vital to retain awareness of the support function available and engage with employees who may need to access services.

As such, an effective EAP communication program will regularly demonstrate to employees that their employer is serious about their health and wellbeing. It will highlight the support services available via the confidential EAP helpline and will often provide examples of the issues that the service might help to address.

Employers that see the highest levels of EAP utilization make use of a wide range of media and communication channels to ensure that the greatest numbers of employees are aware of the program and thus likely to use it when they have problems. Employees who remain at work and use the EAP will avoid absence and reduce presenteeism, the cost of which is estimated by The Work Foundation (2010) to be 1.5 times the cost of absence to an organization.

For more information

For more information on the UK EAPA commissioned study and to access a copy of the full research report, go to www.eapa.org.uk/news–research-confirms-effectiveness-of-eap-counselling-intervention.html

About the author

Andrew Kinder is vice chair of the UK Employee Assistance Professionals Association. He is also chief psychologist at Atos Healthcare and a co-author of this research paper. Andrew Kinder can be contacted at: andrew.kinder@atos.net