Overview

Employee assistance programs (EAPs) address a wide array of concerns affecting mental and emotional wellbeing, such as depression, stress, anxiety, grief, family problems, relationship issues, and alcohol or other substance abuse.

To employers, the value proposition of an EAP is based on the understanding that employees with the aforementioned concerns often have troubles in their professional and personal lives that ultimately impact a company's bottom line. Historically, EAP providers have used a variety of metrics to illustrate their ability to resolve or mitigate these concerns, such as employee utilization rates, referrals to external resources, satisfaction surveys or website visits. While these measurements are effective tools to evaluate the reach of the program, they don't truly measure the impact of the EAP on employee health, wellbeing and productivity.

In an effort to quantify the true impact of an EAP, CuraLinc developed a proprietary assessment and follow-up process that measures baselines and outcomes from program participants. The summary below is an excerpt from a recent case study that was published in the International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications (IJSRP), ‘The Effectiveness of Employee Assistance Program Counseling on Depression, Alcohol Misuse, Work Absenteeism and Work Productivity Outcomes’.

 

Executive summary

The Effectiveness of Employee Assistance Program Counseling on Depression, Alcohol Misuse, Work Absenteeism and Work Productivity Outcomes (International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 2022)

SAMPLE SIZE

33,683 employees

SUMMARY

This paper presents empirical findings from a multi-year applied naturalistic study that focused on changes in clinical and work outcomes after using an employee assistance program in the United States. Self-report outcomes assessed with standardized measures were collected at the start of counseling from 33,683 employees during the normal course of business at CuraLinc Healthcare between July 2017 and June 2022.

Among the cases using the EAP for a depression issue, the average severity of depression symptoms (PHQ-9) was reduced by 59%. Among the subset of cases at-risk with depression disorder, 89% had a reliable clinical improvement in severity. Among the cases using the EAP for support with an alcohol issue, the average severity of alcohol misuse (AUDIT) was reduced by 67%. Among the subset of cases at-risk with alcohol misuse, 73% had a reliable clinical improvement in severity. Across all cases, the average hours of work absence in the past month (WOS) were reduced by 80%. At the start of counseling, 35% of cases were classified as having an absence problem (i.e., missing more work than a typical healthy employee), but at Post, only 7% had a work absence problem. Level of work productivity (SPS-6) improved by 35%. At the start of counseling, 34% of cases were initially classified as having a problem with work productivity (i.e., low performance and lack of focus), but at Post this rate was reduced to just 5% of cases. 95% of employees were satisfied with their service use experience.

DEPRESSION

Tool used: Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)

  • Employees with depression at treatment onset experienced a 67% decrease in symptom severity after counseling

  • Only 12% of participants with depression were in a high-risk range after using the EAP, compared to 60% prior to participating in the program

  • Results using the Reliable Change index methodology found that 89% of participants had a statistically reliable level of improvement

ALCOHOL USE

Tool used: Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT)

  • At the start of counseling, 66% of employees who presented with alcohol use as a primary or secondary concern were initially classified as risky drinkers or at a more severe level of alcohol misuse, but after counseling, only 14% of cases were at-risk

  • After EAP treatment, 78% of at-risk employees were no longer at risk for alcohol misuse

  • Results using the Reliable Change index methodology found that 73% of participants had a statistically reliable level of improvement

ABSENTEEISM

Tool used: Workplace Outcomes Survey (WOS)

  • The average time missed from work due to the employee’s presenting concern dropped from about 9 hours during the initial assessment to 1.8 hours after using the program

  • Half of EAP users (51%) had zero absences during the month before starting counseling, rising to 91% after completing treatment

PRODUCTIVITY

Tool used: Stanford Presenteeism Scale (SPS-6)

  • 34% of participants had a work productivity problem prior to using the EAP, dropping to 5% after treatment

  • Employees experienced a 38% increase in productivity once they completed counseling

SATISFACTION

  • 95% of employees were satisfied with their program experience

  • The average Net Promoter Score from participants was 75