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| COPEonline > For Employees > About EAPs |
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More About EAPs Employee Assistance Programs, or EAPs, have been in existence in some form since the early 1940s. Early programs focused on individuals whose alcohol use affected their job performance, and thus were called, "Occupational Alcohol Programs." Authors Dickman and Challenger report, "the EAP movement began...with one recovering alcoholic worker sharing his recovery with another." (Employee Assistance Programs, A Basic Text, edited by Dickman, et.al, 1988, p.49).By the Early 1970's, the scope of services provided by EAPs widened and the number of companies implementing EAP programs increased significantly. The business community recognized that many everyday life stressors could also negatively impact an employee's ability to perform well on the job. Today, most Fortune 500 companies provide EAP services for their workplace. Marital and family problems, financial or legal difficulties, stress, psychological, and workplace conflict can become Personnel Department problems when they interfere with attendance, concentration, the quality of the work product, and the workplace morale. Employee Assistance Programs provide professional counselors whose job it is to provide confidential assessment, short-term counseling and referral to employees and their family members in order to assist in dealing with these, and related, concerns. The EAP field is growing and changing rapidly. To solidify its role in the workplace, a credential has been established for the profession: the CEAP, or Certified Employee Assistance Professional. In order to receive this accreditation, an EAP professional must have experience dealing with workplace-related problems, and also demonstrate expertise in reaching solutions that benefit both the workplace and the individual workers in it. To obtain more information on Employee Assistance Programs, contact:
The Employee Assistance Program Association (EAPA),
Inc.
The
Employee Assistance Society of North America (EASNA) |
