How do employee assistance programs work?

An Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provides confidential support to employees for various issues. An Employee Assistance Program lets workers speak with a third-party provider for advice on any problems in their work or personal lives. It can provide counselling sessions for mental health support and act as a problem-solving service, signposting your team to the right advice and support for their needs.

An EAP can be a standalone service or add it to your employee health insurance, depending on your needs and budget. Health insurance providers also differ in their eligibility requirements for EAP services.

An employee assistance program can benefit your business performance and your team's well-being. Here are some benefits an EAP offers your business and employees.

Business benefits of EAP services

EAP services can improve business performance by helping employees feel supported. However, these aren't the only advantages of investing in an EAP.

Helping you meet your duty of care to employees

Employers have a legal duty of care to protect their workforce with a suitable health and safety strategy. Your approach to health and safety must consider risks of physical harm or injury in accordance with the relevant regulations. However, workplace issues can also lead to poor mental health, meaning it's also wise to develop a stress management strategy.

Providing mental health support via EAP services lets your employees seek advice for workplace and personal issues. It can form part of your overall approach to stress management and help you fulfil your duty of care towards your team. However, it isn't a complete solution and should form part of a broader strategy that includes stress awareness training, effective workload management and a positive company culture.

Increased employee engagement

Improving employee engagement has various benefits, and there are many ways to achieve it. An employee assistance program can give you more engaged employees by demonstrating your commitment to their mental health and well-being in their work and personal lives.

Higher employee engagement levels can also help reduce staff turnover as employees can address concerns rather than seek a new role elsewhere. This is great news for your business as it means less time and money spent on recruitment. Engaged workers also typically build good relationships with customers and stakeholders, which leads to better customer service.

Reduced absenteeism

Mental health issues are a significant cause of workplace absence and were the fifth most common reason for sickness absence in 2022. Providing your team with mental health support gives them an outlet for stressful situations and provides an early intervention for concerns that may escalate over time.

We can also experience stress from time to time. However, if stress becomes chronic, it can lead to burnout, which is potentially very serious. Burnt-out employees will likely need extended sick leave and may leave the workforce altogether while they recover. Providing support for employees with mental health issues can reduce sickness absence but also prevent the loss of a valued employee.

Greater productivity

EAP services tailored to your team offer high-quality mental health support, leading to more highly engaged and motivated employees. We've already mentioned the benefits this provides in terms of reduced sickness absence, higher employee retention rates and better customer service. An EAP can also support improved productivity. Mental health issues can impact an individual's ability to manage their personal and work responsibilities, including their ability to work effectively.

The Government's Thriving at Work report analysed the cost of poor mental health at work, examining various factors that impacted business growth. The report found that mental health concerns cost UK businesses between £33 billion and £42 billion annually, with the cost to the UK economy being between £74 billion and £99 billion. Its conclusions recommended that employers adopt six standards to support good mental health in the workplace, which include encouraging conversations about mental health, the support available and routine mental health monitoring.

The recommendations don't include providing an EAP or other mental health support. Conversations about mental health concerns could involve signposting employees to free support services, such as their GP, telephone helplines or mental health charities. However, providing an EAP lets you offer them quick access to confidential support when needed.

Well-being reports and data

EAP providers vary in the services offered. However, most will provide data showing how many employees are using the service so you can assess take-up compared to your investment. You may also be able to access anonymised data on the types of concerns raised when employees use the EAP.

An EAP is a confidential third-party service, so your EAP provider must maintain patient confidentiality and can't reveal personal information. However, they can often provide information showing the types of workplace and personal issues your staff raise. The data lets you consider what additional support your employees may need and can help you design training sessions to address common concerns.

Support for your team

The main benefit of an EAP for your employees lies in its support for their well-being.

Confidential counselling sessions

As a society, we're becoming more open about mental health. However, a fear of stigma remains. Your team may be reluctant to discuss mental health symptoms at work unless they have close relationships with their colleagues. They may also worry about discussing sensitive information with their manager, fearing it will impact their work or future prospects.

An EAP provides confidential counselling sessions, meaning your employees can discuss their concerns knowing that their counsellor won't disclose any information to their employer without their consent. It can also help them find a solution or consider what help they need from their manager. For example, they may benefit from a reduced workload or flexible working arrangements. You can then support employees with targeted solutions when they're ready to share information with you.

Support for personal and workplace issues

An EAP has various methods to support employees, including counselling and financial and legal advice. Personal challenges can cause workplace stress, but your team may be reluctant to speak to managers for fear of judgment. For example, they may be embarrassed to reveal they are facing financial challenges outside work.

Sometimes, the issue is with the workplace, either because of the work itself or due to personality clashes with colleagues. Counselling sessions can help employees navigate workplace issues and find solutions to workplace relationship issues. It can also help them consider how best to approach their supervisors and managers to raise concerns if they need further support.

Depending on your chosen provider, an EAP can provide various support services. You'll typically find counselling with most EAPs, but additional services support employees with other concerns. Here are a few of the services your employee assistance program could provide.

Counselling

As we've mentioned, counselling is a mainstay of most Employee Assistance Programs. Employees can typically access counselling via face-to-face sessions, by telephone or online video call. You can decide how many sessions you want to provide as part of the EAP. Some psychotherapists provide EAPs that only offer counselling as a standalone service, while other providers offer additional resources.

Counselling can help with various issues, including symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression, or personal challenges such as bereavement, divorce or other family problems. It can also offer advice on work-related problems like workplace violence, bullying or stress and help employees speak with their managers.

The beauty of a confidential counselling service is that it lets your employees discuss their personal problems and work-related issues as needed. It can also provide an impartial sounding board and let them develop problem-solving strategies for their work-life balance or work performance concerns.

Financial guidance

Financial problems can cause significant stress, affecting an employee's mental health and work performance. However, many workers are reluctant to discuss financial issues with their employers. Wagestream's State of Financial Well-Being Report 2024 found that 60% of employees surveyed had financial worries, but 74% of those hadn't discussed them with their employers either because of shame, a reluctance to admit they were struggling, a lack of trust or from fear of discrimination.

An EAP can provide specialist financial helplines that employees can contact in confidence. Many services only offer factual information and signposting to further advice rather than tailored guidance. Financial services and advice are regulated to protect consumers' interests, meaning telephone helplines can only recommend suitable services rather than providing advice.

Legal support

Legal support helplines work similarly to financial helplines in that they will only provide factual information and advice on suitable sources of professional guidance. A legal helpline can typically offer information on family matters, consumer issues and general guidance on wills and taxation. However, it doesn't provide legal representation, so employees must see a lawyer or other legal professional.

Health and well-being advice

An NHS GP, the 111 service or a pharmacist is often the first port of call for advice on physical or mental health symptoms. However, some EAPs can also provide well-being advice, particularly when offered as part of your employee health insurance. Health insurers typically provide telephone helplines for self-help information and guidance on the treatment available via your policy. However, they can also suggest other sources of treatment if necessary.

Access to self-help resources

Access to self-help resources operates similarly to health and well-being advice within an EAP. Health insurance providers offer various resources, including articles, health calculators and videos on health and well-being topics. Employees can learn about common conditions and ways to improve their health and access services via their health insurance coverage as needed.

Some providers, such as Bupa, also offer manager training to their health insurance customers via interactive training sessions on well-being.

An EAP provides face-to-face, online or telephone support depending on your employee's needs. Depending on your chosen provider, employees can contact your EAP by telephone, online or via an app when they need support.

Sometimes, an adviser can offer immediate help by providing information or suggesting a third party your team member can contact, such as their GP, a charity or a legal or financial adviser. Alternatively, if your employee would benefit from short-term counselling, the adviser can arrange a referral. Your EAP will assess each call on a case-by-case basis so your employees receive individual support based on their needs.

Various factors are involved in setting up a successful EAP, depending on your business needs and the type of support that will benefit your team. If you intend to provide employees with health insurance, it's wise to consider whether you want to add an EAP to your coverage or choose a standalone service. Health insurance providers typically offer additional services, such as health assessments and more counselling, if you choose extended mental health coverage.

Firstly, decide what you want your EAP to achieve and set some metrics to assess its impact. For example, you could monitor sickness absence, productivity and engagement. This approach lets you monitor ROI for financial reasons and evaluate whether the EAP fulfils its intended purpose.

Consider the level of support your business needs

We've described various support services an EAP can offer. Whilst they all provide short-term counselling, some offer additional services such as health assessments and well-being resources. Consider what services you already have in place and what you want to add. It's also a good idea to identify challenges your employees may face, which an EAP can help with. You can do this by assessing data such as sickness absence records and asking your team via a survey, one-to-one conversations or a staff forum. The information gathered will help you determine what services to provide.

You'll also need to decide how many counselling sessions you want your EAP to offer. This will likely depend on your budget, so consider how much you have to invest before speaking with providers.

Choose a provider

If you already offer health insurance, speaking with your existing provider can be a good first step to see what's available. However, it's worth contacting standalone providers to compare costs and services. Specialist standalone providers typically focus on counselling, which may not be the right choice if you want a broader range of services.

When setting up an EAP alongside health insurance, you can choose a provider based on health insurance coverage and the services their EAP provides. In that case, speaking with a health insurance broker will help you compare quotes and make an informed choice.

Develop a communication strategy

When you've chosen your EAP and are ready to launch, create a communication strategy to let your team know what their EAP offers. Communications should include the launch itself, information for new starters, and ways to maintain awareness in the long term.

Ensure your team knows what the service provides and how they can access it, and emphasise that it is completely confidential.

Carry out staff training

Staff training sessions on accessing the EAP and its services should be part of your communications strategy. However, an education program focusing on well-being can also help to promote EAP usage. If staff are aware of the symptoms of mental health problems or the importance of a positive work-life balance, they're more likely to engage with the EAP for advice.

Management training will also help your managers identify potential issues amongst their teams and refer them to the EAP if necessary.

Review usage and metrics

Reviewing your EAP data shows you whether the service is making a difference. Your provider can give you usage data to assess engagement. You can also analyse the metrics you set out before implementing the EAP to see if it's made a difference.

We hope this article has helped you learn about Employee Assistance Programs and how they can benefit your team. If you'd like to discover how health insurance can help you support your team with an EAP, contact us today for advice tailored to your needs.