McRee Jayme
Benefits Q. 2017;33(1):37-42.
Studies of employee assistance program (EAP) clinical use across multiple industries and multiple EAP delivery models range from highs greater than 5% to lows of less than 1 %. Despite the range in utilization, the rates of employee behaviors that indicate a behavioral health issue are significantly higher, suggesting far too little use of EAPs overall. Studies of the costs to an employer for an employee with a mental health issue are as high as 37% lost annual productivity. EAPs have attempted to raise utilization through a variety of efforts, with mixed results. Most EAP utilization initiatives fail to address the impact of stigma, misunderstandings about mental illness and the reluctance of many employees to seek counseling as an option for better management of stress, work-life balance and overall mental wellness. For both employers and EAPs, addressing the impact of stigma and perceptions of mental illness is costly, requiring greater direct employee engagement and education. However, it is a more effective means of increasing EAP use than current practices and, ultimately, can result in significantly higher net gains in productivity while reducing employers' direct costs.
对跨多个行业和多种员工援助计划（EAP）提供模式的EAP临床使用情况的研究显示，使用率从高于5%的高位到低于1%的低位不等。尽管使用率存在差异，但表明存在行为健康问题的员工行为发生率要高得多，这表明总体上对EAP的使用太少。对雇主而言，患有心理健康问题的员工造成的成本高达年度生产力损失的37%。EAP试图通过各种努力提高使用率，但结果不一。大多数EAP使用倡议未能解决污名化的影响、对精神疾病的误解以及许多员工不愿将寻求咨询作为更好地管理压力、工作与生活平衡及整体心理健康的一种选择的问题。对于雇主和EAP来说，解决污名化的影响和对精神疾病的看法成本很高，需要员工更多的直接参与和教育。然而，这是一种比目前做法更有效的增加EAP使用的方法，最终可以在提高生产力的同时显著增加净收益，同时降低雇主的直接成本。
