|
 An employee assistance program is a short-term problem resolution, assessment and referral program designed to assist individuals in meeting the challenges of today’s lifestyles through identification and resolution of productivity problems associated with employees impaired by personal concerns such as:
Alcohol and drug use
Marital discord
Dysfunctional family relationships
Financial hardship
Legal problems
Behavioral health problems represent a significant loss to American business in the form of:
40% of industrial fatalities and 47% of industrial injuries can be linked to alcohol consumption and alcoholism.
$40 billion due directly to addiction because of reduced productivity
36% of all employee thefts in a study of 102 companies were directly related to drug problems of abusing employees.
Cost benefits from Employee Assistance Programs:
For every dollar they invest in an EAP, employers generally save anywhere from $5 to $16.
Up to 68 percent of all workers will, at some time, experience workplace problems severe enough to prevent them from coping with day-to-day duties.
66% drop in absenteeism traceable to alcohol abuse
33% decline in utilization of sickness benefits
65% decline in work-related accidents
30% decline in workers compensation claims
The City of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power reported a savings of $350,000 over a four-year period in reduced sickness absenteeism for employees with alcohol problems.
General Motors Corporation’s EAP saves the company $37 million per year -- $3,700 for each of the 10,000 employees enrolled in the program.
The Philadelphia Police Department employees undergoing treatment reduced their sick days by an average of 38% and their injured days by 62%.
Oldsmobile’s Lansing Michigan Plant saw health care benefits decrease 29% and disciplinary problems decrease by 63%.
Between 1986 and 1995, the Chevron Corporation carefully evaluated the cost benefit ratio of employee referrals to their EAP. The analysis looked at three areas:
1. Dollars saved in not having to fire employees with drug and alcohol problems, and hire and train replacements.
2. Company savings as a result of productivity improvement for all supervisor referred employees.
3. Productivity increase of self referred employees.
Chevron estimated that they have an approximate return of fourteen dollars for every dollar spent on EAP services.
A study of 122 staff that used the EAP at the University of Michigan showed that the University saved a minimum of $65,341 over a five-year period for those employees because of improved retention rates and reduced sick leave. The study showed strong evidence that those employees who used the EAP services took less sick leave and were retained in the work force for longer periods of time than the overall staff.
|