MENTAL HEALTH IN THE WORKPLACE

WHAT IS AN EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (EAP)?

An EAP is a professional resource for confidential consultation, counseling and referral to help with problems such as emotional strains, substance abuse, work stresses, family issues, marital and financial concerns.

Through this service, employees and other members of the family are encouraged to find ways to better cope with personal and work difficulties resulting from the challenges of everyday life.

COSTS TO AMERICAN BUSINESSES: MENTAL ILLNESSES

The cost of occupational disability related mental health problems is estimated at $8000 per case.

American businesses lose $17 billion annually as a result of absenteeism and loss of productivity due to depression.

Depression is responsible for more days in bed and more physical pain than hypertension, diabetes, and gastrointestinal problems.

COSTS TO AMERICAN BUSINESSES: SUBSTANCE ABUSE

The cost of alcohol and illicit drug use in the workplace, including lost productivity, medical claims and accidents, amounts to $140 billion per year.

Seventy-one percent of all current illicit drug users age 18 and older were employed, including 5.4 million full-time workers and 1.9 million part-time workers.

Thirty-eight to 50 percent of all workers’ compensation claims are related to the abuse of alcohol or illicit drugs in the workplace.

EMPLOYERS SHOW THAT IN TODAY'S WORKFORCE, TROUBLED EMPLOYEES ACCOUNT FOR PRODUCTIVITY LOSSES TOTALING:

• 1-3% of gross sales• 61% of all absenteeism• 80-90% of job related accidents• 60-70% of dismissals• 78% of Worker’s Compensation claims• 40-60% of health benefits

PRODUCTIVITY LOSSES DUE TO TROUBLED EMPLOYEES

INVESTING IN AN EAP IS AN EFFECTIVE MEANS TO:

• Improve employee retention• Lower absenteeism• Enhance productivity• Increase morale• Improve compliance with a drug-free

workplace• Decrease work related accidents• Enhance communication with colleagues

and supervisors• Reduce worker compensation claims• Promote workplace cooperation

SUPERVISOR/MANAGER’S ROLE

5 basic procedures or processes a supervisor needs to be skilled in when considering the referral of an employee to the EAP.•OBSERVE•DOCUMENT•PREPARE•CONFRONT•FOLLOW-UP

OBSERVE

Decreased productivity•Unacceptable work•Uncharacteristic anger or belligerence•Accidents or injuries occurring on the job

Changes in mood•Inappropriate emotional outbursts•Uncharacteristic anger or belligerence

OBSERVE

Unusual absenteeism or tardiness•Unscheduled vacation•Excessive sick leave•Repeated tardiness

Frequent and/or prolonged absences from the work area•Changes in habits•Deterioration in personal appearance•Unreliability

Preoccupation with personal problems Increased personal phone calls•Talks with co-workers about problems•Confides in supervisor

DOCUMENT Name____________________ Date_______________

Time_____________________ Place______________

Incident Description________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Actions Taken_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Witnesses__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Supervisor Signature ____________________________________

Employee Signature _________________________________________

PREPARE

Once the supervisor has observed deteriorating work performance or unfavorable changes in personal or work patterns, the supervisor’s options to confront an employee include:

Discussing changes in job performance with the individual before the changes become more serious.

PREPARE

Be prepared that no one can tell you how an employee will respond. Therefore, confronting an employee about a job performance or conduct problem is not easy.

Utilize the EAP for consultation if you feel you may need assistance in knowing how to best deal with the problem.

PREPARE…

Unless the supervisor or the employee feel it is necessary, the first meeting usually does not result in a supervisory referral to the EAP.

The employee, however, should be made aware of the availability of the program at every appropriate opportunity. That way, the employee maintains the option to contact the EAP representative on his/her own before further performance problems develop.

CONFRONT ADDRESSING PERFORMANCE PROBLEMS

• Be specific about the employee’s behavior when discussing job performance.

• Be consistent in the evaluation of all employees.• Be fair by referring solely to job performance, not a suspected personal

problem.

SELF AND SUPERVISORY REFERRALS

Self-Referrals:Occur at the employee’s own initiative. No feedback is given to supervision under this type of referral, unless approved by the employee.

Supervisory-Referrals:Initiated by supervisors. When they recognize serious job performance problems, supervisors may refer an employee to the EAP. Supervisors are given feedback about the employee’s level of cooperation in dealing with the personal problems that may be causing poor performance.

BACK-TO-WORK CONFERENCESIf the supervisor has been informed about an employee’s inpatient or intensive day treatment process, a back-to-work conference is often scheduled at the time an employee is discharged from treatment. This meeting usually includes the employee, his or her counselor, and the supervisor or another company representative. Sometimes a union representative will want to be included in the meeting, if applicable.

BACK-TO-WORK CONFERENCES

The purpose of a back-to-work conference is to ensure that the employee knows the employer’s expectations once the employee returns to work. These expectations are often explained in a written contract that the employee signs. The recommendations of the treatment center staff are usually incorporated into the contract to ensure that the employee continues to stay free of alcohol and other drugs.

EXAMPLE OF DOCUMENTATIONOn January 25, 2006 about 2:50 p.m. I observed John Doe, second shift driver heading toward the truck. As he crossed the yard, a distance of about 70 feet, he walked very unsteadily. He weaved back and forth, stumbled and almost fell two times. When he reached the truck cab, he had considerable difficulty getting into the seat. I walked immediately to his truck to prevent him from driving away. I opened the cab door, got up on the step, reached in, and pulled the keys from the ignition. As I reached across John to get the keys, I smelled the odor of alcohol. I stated that I was taking the keys because it wasn’t safe for him to drive the vehicle. John began pushing and swearing at me stating that I was “the worst damn supervisor he ever had.” His speech was slurred and his manner was threatening. I asked him to come to my office immediately and implemented the substance abuse screening procedures.

Practice exercise

Think about an incident where you were in the position of needing to document an employee’s performance problems. Using the example above, in the space below practice documenting this incident.

INVESTING IN AN EAP IS AN EFFECTIVE MEANS TO:

• Improve employee retention

• Lower absenteeism

• Enhance productivity

• Increase morale

• Improve compliance with a drug-free workplace

• Decrease work related accidents

• Enhance communication with colleagues and supervisors

• Reduce worker compensation claims

• Promote workplace cooperation