Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs)
Employee assistance programs (EAPs) were established in the late 1960s with the goal of maintaining productivity. EAPs provide employees with counseling and referral services for such problems as alcohol and substance abuse and other mental-health problems. As EAPs evolved they began to deal with a wider range of employee concerns, including health, marital, family, financial, legal, emotional, and stress-related problems. EAPs can also help employers with sexual harassment problems, drug testing, and violence in the workplace. A specific EAP may focus on one or more of these problem areas or be open to treat them all.
A wide range of businesses throughout the United States and abroad have EAPs. More than 90 percent of the Fortune 500 companies have employee assistance programs, and a 1995 survey indicated that more than 82 percent of companies with 1,000 or more...
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