Faculty and Staff Issues

Floyd SylvesterEmployee Assistance Program

Faculty Stressors• Teaching• Research• Publications• Grant writing• Managing grant money effectively• Working towards tenure• Managing staff and students• Working with colleagues• Personal life

Staff Stressors• Economic Uncertainty• Dealing with Evolving Demands on Campuses

UNL Employee Assistance Program• Internal program, housed on-campus• Benefits of healthy employees

– Happier– Higher work performance– Works more cooperatively

• Serve entities simultaneously– Employee/client/family member– Organization

• No cost

EAP Counselors

• Licensed MH Practitioners or Counselors plus work performance specialists

• Understand underlying issues• Develop a plan• Short v. long-term process

– Chemical dependency– Psychological issues

Roles of EAP• Manage an Employee Emergency Loan Fund• Employee evaluations• Employee terminations• Reduction in Force (RIF) assistance

– Secure new employment– Maintain emotional/psychological stability

• UNL Threat Assessment Team• Disaster Behavioral Health• Educational training (i.e., dealing with stress)

Benefits of EAP• Help employees and family members resolve

issues• Beneficial for both the university and the

individual• Employees who utilize services are less likely

to pose a threat

EAP Interventions• Offer employees assistance through:

– Education– Solution-focused coaching– Counseling and/or referral as needed

• Evaluate safety concerns and develop a plan

Strategies for Assisting Faculty and Staff• Creating a detailed vision of how they want

their life to be.– What are the steps needed to get to where

they want to go?– Break it down to daily tasks, if possible– Recognize each step accomplished– Avoid self-criticism. Life gets in the way

and there will be days

Key Roles

• Partnership-Supervisor/EAP consultation and training

• Work performance focus• Communication Liaison

– Supervisor/employee– Referral source and organization re: work

performance• Micro/Macro intervention

– Conflict Resolution between employees/departments

• Training-educational topics regarding life and/or work challenges

Integration: Threat Assessment Team• Managing Employee Termination• Assisting with voluntary terminations• Managing Conflict• Coordination of outside mental health

resources

©2007 The Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska. All rights reserved.

Floyd Sylvester LMHP, CEAPDirector, UNL EAP

402-472-3107FSylvester2@unl.edu