Return on Investment of an EAP
When considering introducing an EAP in the workplace, HR and management need to ensure that there will be a significant Return on Investment to justify the program. Happily, much research has been done on the effectiveness of an EAP, and how much it can benefit employees, and improve their efficiency and effectiveness at work.
In this article, Sandra Caffo, a senior director at the insurance firm LifeSolutions, was asked what the potential payoff was of using an EAP. She stated that a study found, for every dollar spent in a typical EAP, there was a return of between $5.17-$6.47 in increased work productivity.
Employees struggling with personal problems are often absent from work. But even when they turn up, they can suffer from “Presenteeism” – being at work, but not being productive. The study cited by Caffo revealed that “Presenteeism” can account for 80% of a company’s costs from low-productivity.
While EAP can assist employees suffering from stress at work, a recent study showed they can also help employees suffering from domestic problems, especially family to work conflict. The study, conducted anonymously, showed that two-thirds of respondents reported requiring time away from work for domestic reasons in the past 5 years, leading to significant drops in overall productivity. It concluded that EAP were found to be beneficial by 70% of users.
EAP can also support employees (like ex-Forces and Military) who are suffering from PTSD. A recent article in Brainline suggested that an EAP is “a good place to seek counsel and assistance for workers struggling with TBI, PTSD and/or other disabilities”. In another study, of over 300 on-site and off-site workers, the majority reported “a positive change in their work lives after speaking with an EAP Counsellor”.
More and more UK companies are offering EAP to their employees. This simple addition is boosting not just employees’ wellbeing, but the overall status of the businesses themselves. In a 2013 Corporate Adviser article, it was revealed that 23 of the top 25 companies listed in the Sunday Times’ Best Companies offered an EAP to support mental health and wellbeing.
If you’d like a chance to discuss the possible Return on Investment that an EAP could make in your business or organisation, please contact us.
Further reading:
- Benchmarking key service quality indicators in UK Employee Assistance Programme Counselling
- Stressed out at university
- The digital age: How people are accessing EFAP services
- US Employers could use a very low-cost employee assistance plan (EAP) to certain staff to avoid a huge penalty under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
- Weigh outcomes against objectives to gauge employee assistance programs
- Bringing EAP to Faith Communities
- Understanding the Antecedents of Role Stressors in the Safety Professional
- Economic evaluation of a weight control program with e-mail and telephone counseling among overweight employees
