Despite the fact that many employers perceive employee health and wellbeing as a cost, and that many are under pressure to reduce benefi ts costs, in reality today’s economic and cultural environment actually requires investment in staff wellbeing to maintain engagement, performance and productivity.
The value of such investment is underlined by research commissioned by the UK Employee Assistance Professionals Association, which shows the success of employee assistance programmes (EAPs) in delivering effective counselling interventions.
The findings highlight, among a range of positive impacts, that EAP users can access therapeutic counselling with an average wait of only nine days, and that 70% of users recover or improve post-counselling.
With impressive results like this, EAPs are certainly a valuable strategic tool that can help to deliver and sustain a healthy and productive workforce.
David Smith is chair of the UK Employee Assistance Professionals Association
