The current economic crisis impacts businesses in many ways. Some companies have made difficult decisions to lay-off employees, others have cut back employee hours, and still others have been forced to shut down operations. These decisions, although necessary at times, impact the morale of employees. One way to help employees cope with employment-related concerns is to offer them an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), a relatively inexpensive employee benefit.

Penn Foundation's EAP program, established in 1981, helps employers and employees manage the workplace experience with customized coaching, counseling, and training. As companies across the region continue to deal with the general economic downturn, now is a good time to review your EAP program and consider how it might help your employees deal with these uncertain times. For more information on Penn Foundation and the EAP program, please contact Karen Williamson at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  or 1-800-245-7366

Here is an article from Meritain Health (http://www.meritain.com) with some very interesting statistics about the increase in EAP use since the economic downturn.

EAPs in an Uncertain Economy

• An 88.2% increase in requests for financial counseling services   
• An 82.4% increase in requests for help managing stress.
• An 41.2% increase in requests for legal counseling services.
• An 11.8% increase in requests involving domestic violence and substance abuse

These and similar issues contribute to increased absenteeism, declining work quality and productivity, employee conflicts, turnover and, ultimately, rising healthcare costs.

EAP Services and Programs  

Through EAPs, specialists in mental health and behavioral health provide confidential services to help employees prevent, identify and resolve personal issues affecting their health, quality of life and job performance. A typical EAP would include such programs as:

• Managing stress
• Working through relationship issues
• Balancing work and life
• Quitting tobacco, alcohol or drug use
• Caring for children
• Caring for aging parents
• Dealing with violence
• Working through grief and loss
• Controlling depression and anxiety
• Resolving workplace conflicts
• Dealing with personal financial crises
• Resolving legal issues

Return on Investment

A U.S. Federal Occupational Health study of nearly 60,000 EAP participants demonstrated thatemployers can expect a significant return on their investment in EAPs. Study participants reported an average of 2.37 days of absences or tardiness in the 30 days preceding their participation in an EAP, compared with a decrease to less than 1 day following participation.