Employee Assistance Program Utilization

No abstract available for this article.     

Employee Crisis and Occupational Functioning

Abstract

This study focuses on how employees respond to acute life events and chronic stressors that threaten the maintenance of effectual occupational functioning and productive activity. A profile of employees that experienced the most distress and job disruption is offered. Additionally, this study examines the type of event and how certain employee characteristics relate to post-crisis functioning. Implications of these findings for supervisory and/or managerial personnel fall into three categories: training, intervention and policy development.     

Promoting Employee Assistance Program Services to Employees

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to examine the use of various types of employee assistance promotional tools, including the types of promotion used and their relationship to program type (internal or external), program utilization, and promotional budget.

Our study suggests that a variety of tools are used by both internal and external EAPs. Employee and supervisor training is the most popular form of program promotion. Statistically significant relationships were found between program utilization rates and several types of promotional activities. Our research suggests that promotional materials affect EAP utilization rates, and consequently, the interaction between promotional activities and/or promotional materials and EAP utilization deserves additional research.     

Needs Assessment for a University-Based Employee Assistance Program

Between 10-20 percent of the total employee population in any institution of higher education are troubled employees. The lack of visibility and the absence of structure, especially in faculty positions, are risk factors. Higher education has become proactive in developing Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) in response to organizational personnel problems. A needs assessment survey was conducted to ascertain the need for a university-based EAP in a state university in southern California. The findings suggested that EAP services were needed.     

Explaining Client Satisfaction with an Employee Assistance Program

ABSTRACT

The first objective of this paper is to explore the psychometric qualities as well as the usefulness of an employee assistance program client satisfaction scale. The responses obtained from 82 clients of an external service provider permitted a validation of the satisfaction scale and ultimately the selection of five items showing stronger convergent validity as well as high reliability (alpha = .89). The second objective is to explore the possible relationships between demographic (gender, age), treatment (referral-type, type of problem, urgency, degree of resolution) and organizational variables (unionization, job category, sector, size), and variations in client satisfaction levels. The results of bivariate analysis indicate that the type of referral, the type of problem, and the degree of resolution of the problem are related to client satisfaction. This study provides some support for the inclusion of treatment variables in a comprehensive explanatory model of client satisfaction. It is further argued that client satisfaction is an adequate measure of the success of an employee assistance program. Finally, some methodological issues surrounding the use of such surveys are discussed.     

Employee Assistance Program Evaluation in a Federal Government Agency

Demonstrating the efficacy of an Employee Assistance Program is an equally important endeavor in public and private sector work organizations. This paper discusses the cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness evaluation that was conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Employee Counseling Services program. Further, it details the components of the 30 month project relative to evaluation design, data collection processes, and strategies used to maintain employee privacy while analyzing personnel data. Results of the evaluation are also presented.     

A Comparative Analysis of In-House and Contractual Employee Assistance Program

This paper aims to expand the present state of knowledge regarding employee assistance programs (EAPs) through the presentation of the findings of a study which explored the existence and the nature of such programs in the New York Metropolitan Area. The identification of all EAPs in this area allowed for the development of a typology encompassing the identified programs, and for a comparative analysis of in-house and contractual EAPs in the finance/insurance, manufacturing, and service industries.     

A Comprehensive Employee Assistance Program [EAP] for Educators

The traditional employee assistance programs [EAP] focus on early detection and assessment of the teacher at risk for a health-related disorder; the value, financial and human, of servicing the needs of the teacher already on leave with a health disabling condition tends to go unrecognized. This article proposes a wellness or employee assistance program with an empowerment focus that responds to both the preventative and the remedial needs of educators at different phases of their careers. Accountability to all stakeholders, based on a built-in evaluation, research and development process, is also emphasized.     

An Elder Care Training Needs Assessment Among Employee Assistance Program Staff

A mail survey of 95 EAP staff members explored the issue of elder care (employee informal care and company formal policy) and collected data pertinent to training needs, competence to handle employed caregiver problems/questions, and company commitment. Major findings were: (1) EAP staff members estimated that one in five employees currently provides care for an older dependent; (2) most (74.5%) staff have not received any training relevant to elder care; (3) self-assessed competence to handle elder care problems was low for 14 of 17 problem-solving domains constituting the Elder Care Competence Index (ECCI), less than half of the respondents felt competent; (4) the few (13.8%) EAP staff members with extensive (2 or more sessions) elder care-specific training experience achieved ECCI scores nearly double those of other workers, p < .01; (5) most (78.8%) companies have not dealt with the issue in any formal way and only 7.6% of their EAP staff believe this inaction to be appropriate; and (6) company commitment (i.e., formal policy- issue studied, offered programs/services or benefits) is directly related to EAP training (p < .01) and consequently to staff competence ( < .05). The implications for training, policy, and future research are discussed.     

A Comparative Analysis and Evaluation of a University Employee Assistance Program

Abstract

The major goal of this presentation is to provide overview of evaluation results of the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) Faculty and Staff Assistance Program (FSAP). The major goal of the Pitt FSAP evaluation was to generate information pertaining to the program's service adequacy, program effectiveness, client satisfaction, cost-efficiency and cost-savings. Such an evaluation effort is becoming increasingly important due to the recent trend of organizational downsizing and coping with resource constraints. As Universities downsize, it can be challenging to justify allocating scarce funds to employee assistance programming. This study also includes review of EAPs among eighteen universities and colleges from around the country in order to compare program performance of the Pitt FSAP system.     

Predictors of Supervisors' Referrals of Employees to an Employee Assistance Program

The purpose of this study was to determine what variables are associated with supervisors' referrals or nonreferrals of subordinates to an EAP. Variables selected for the study included variables found in prior research to be associated with referral or nonreferral and additional variables suggested by the human performance model of Gilbert (1978). Supervisors at the Iowa Department of Transportation were surveyed through in-house mail. Supervisors were identified as referrers or nonreferrers based on the records of the EAP. Discriminant analysis was used to determine which variables were associated with referral. A factor analysis was performed on the predictor variables to determine which were significantly interrelated.     

Evaluating Organizations Through an Employee Assistance Program Using an Organization Development Model

This article describes one of the first accounts of an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) staffed by a social worker in industry in the United States. The author was the social worker employed in this EAP (called the Industrial Social Work Project) which was originally motivated by a vice president's concern over employee turnover. The article describes in detail how the EAP was operationalized and used to evaluate the organizational culture by using an organizational development model which involved five overlapping phases. These were: (1) orientation/information gathering; (2) individual treatment; (3) research on cultural change; (4) team building and O.D. projects; and (5) O.D. management training. The main contention of this article is that organizations do in fact contribute to the "professional suicide" of employees, and those who plan to evaluate ENS are remiss not considering the organization context of such programs and their possible impact on employees.     

The effect of product-harm crisis situations on firms’ spokesperson strategies: Evidence from China's emerging market economy

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence product-harm crisis situations have on, a firm's spokesperson strategies in China's emerging market economy. Through the content analysis of, 127 product-harm crises, crisis type is found to be a predictor of spokesperson strategies. Compared, with Chinese brands, foreign brands are less likely to employ top-executive spokesperson strategies, during product-harm crises. Crisis severity was found to have no impact on the adoption of, spokesperson strategies.     

The Development and Evaluation of a Case Management System in an Employee Assistance Program

This article suggests there is a lack of a conceptual framework for developing a system of intervention in an Employee Assistance Program (EAP). The author proposes that the development life cycle concept is a framework for planning a case management system of intervention in an EAP. Stages of the life cycle are used to describe the activities in planning and evaluating the activities of a case management system.     

Institutional crisis assessment and mission-driven response in practice: One religious-affiliated university’s response to the Catholic priest sexual abuse and cover up crisis

An institutional crisis occurs when individuals and organizations fail to perform the routines and roles that produce the collective interests and social order of the institution. The institution of the Catholic Church continues to endure a crisis of priest sexual abuse and those in positions of leadership covering up these incidents. The crisis reached another eruption point in 2018 when a Pennsylvania grand jury produced a report that documented these crimes. Any organization within the institution could proactively decide that it must respond to maintain its credibility, while also helping repair the reputation of the institution. A response to an institutional crisis should be driven by an organization’s assessment of events as well as its mission, values, and sense of responsibility to its stakeholders. The response should also use the unique skill and resource capabilities of the organization. This case study focuses on the response of one religious-affiliated university that was prompted by the Pennsylvania grand jury report. The appeal of studying a religious-affiliated university is that it serves dual missions: that as part of the larger religious institution and that of a higher education institution. In response to this institutional crisis, the university has a focus on victims’ concerns from the religious mission perspective and is using its capabilities of amassing and disseminating knowledge from the higher education mission perspective.     

Incorporating competition and comparisons into crisis communication: How competing organizations respond to industry crises

Crisis communication research typically focuses on how a single organization strategically responds to crises based on its own set of situational factors. However, it is common for multiple competing organizations to be involved in responding to the same crisis. By analyzing two industry crisis cases in China, this study provides insights into what we termed competitive crisis communication, which involves not only crisis response timing and strategies but also competition and comparisons among the different organizations involved in the same crisis. The analysis of organizational statements on social media reveals the extent of differences in crisis response strategies adopted by competing organizations. Findings from an analysis of online media coverage and public posts on social media further suggest that stakeholders’ comparisons of different organizations’ crisis responses can influence stakeholders’ emotions and reputational perceptions of the organizations. Finally, the competitive advantages for an organization to respond as the first mover or late mover in industry crisis communication are discussed.     

高职院校心理危机干预中启动社会支持系统的必要性研究

新环境的适应不良、性心理的不成熟、人际交往困惑、现实社会和自己的期望不符、学习困难、就业前景严峻、家庭经济困难的压力等等造成大学生心理危机的增多。社会支持系统与大学生的身心健康有着密切的关系,社会支持能够有效预防危机的形成,能够配合危机干预工作更好地达到目的。因此对社会支持系统的利用是大学生心理危机干预系统的重要内容和发展的必然趋势。     

The Effects of Corrective Communication and Employee Backup on the Effectiveness of Fighting Crisis Misinformation

Crisis misinformation, including false information about a crisis or a crisis-stricken organization, has become a fundamental threat to organizational wellbeing. Effective crisis response geared toward fighting crisis misinformation demands a more systematic approach to corrective communication. Grounded in misinformation debunking theory, this study aims to advance misinformation research in public relations and organizational crisis communication. An online experiment using a U.S. adult sample (N = 817) was conducted to examine the effects of corrective communication strategy (simple rebuttal vs. factual elaboration) and employee backup (present vs. absent) on perceived message quality, organizational reputation, and perceived crisis responsibility. Results show: 1) the use of factual elaboration and the presence of employee backup were direct contributors to crisis response effectiveness; and 2) perceived message quality mediates the effect of corrective communication. This study provides insights into advancing crisis communication theory and offers evidence-based recommendations for practitioners to combat crisis misinformation more effectively.     

Hierarchical consistency of strategies in image repair theory: PR practitioners’ perceptions of effective and preferred crisis communication strategies

ABSTRACT

Drawing from image repair theory and situational crisis communication theory, this study advances crisis communication theory by analyzing nearly 800 public relations professionals’ perceptions of 15 image repair strategies. A national sample of US public relations professionals evaluated communication strategies for their effectiveness and preference for use in three crisis scenarios (accidents, product safety, and illegal activity). Compensation, corrective action, and mortification were the most highly ranked crisis response strategies, regardless of attribution of organizational responsibility or culpability, across 3 different types of accidental and preventable crises. This hierarchical consistency suggests that using communication strategies for maintaining and strengthening an organization’s relationships with its publics may be the best protection for sustaining and repairing positive reputation long-term.