The business case for an EAP

• The majority of people experienced a mental health decline during the pandemic and burnout risk tripled**. 
   
• The good news is that employees who perceived better employer support had better mental health scores**, raising the case for employer investment. 
   
• Mental health prevention starts by opening access for the entire population and engaging employees with their mental health.
   
• Investment in an EAP can be a pragmatic and effective step with research showing that brief counselling from EAPs is associated with statistically significant improvements in Presenteeism, Absenteeism, Workplace Distress and Engagement***. 
   

How to build a successful EAP programme

GEB and our EAP partner LifeWorks can provide tailored information to your business, contact us to arrange a free consultation. 

There are some simple and replicable things all businesses can do to improve the success of their EAP programmes. To see the results of these simple actions, read our client case study here.

1. Awareness 

• Train managers to talk about the EAP with their teams and include it in manager meetings every few months to keep it top-of-mind. 
• Work with your EAP to develop EAP champions empowered with the skills to drive word of mouth (ask your EAP provider if they offer this training) 
• Make the EAP visible and accessible in all employee touchpoints. For example, our partner integrates with MS Teams, so the EAP is only one click away during the working day.  

2. Relevance

• EAPs offer more than mental health counselling, including access to financial and legal advisors, as well as preventative wellbeing. When an EAP is combined with these services, engagement can increase more than 10 times. 
• Your EAP provider should provide a multi-wave communication plan to engage employees across different topics with proven messaging.
   

3. Accessibility

• Select providers with multichannel access, including ‘chat’ and preventative digital programmes for stress, anxiety and depression.
• Ensure all access points are in the employees' local language 
• Reassure employees that there are no financial liabilities and that the EAP is bound by confidentiality. 
   

* The International Employee Assistance Professionals Association
** Lifeworks Employers Connect Mental Health Summit 2021 
*** Workplace Outcome Suite© (WOS) Annual Report 2020