Solomon (1998) discussed facts that were found pertaining to domestic violence in the workplace. Solomon stated that almost 4 million women are abused by their husbands or boyfriends everyday and 2 million are assaulted annually. An estimated 750 workplace homicides occur annually and 47 percent of Fortune 1000 senior executives surveyed stated that domestic violence had a damaging effect on their company's efficiency. It was also estimated that American employees miss nearly 175,000 days per year of paid work due to domestic violence.
It was estimated by the National Institute of Health that drug and alcohol problems cost society $246 billion in 1992 (Drotos, 1999). Drotos also discussed a report by the Drug Strategies that concluded by the year 2000, America will spend more than $100 million per day to incarcerate individuals with serious drug and alcohol problems.
Personal difficulties, such as work-related stress, marital or family problems, or alcohol and drug addiction, can effect almost anyone. Sometimes, such problems can impair an employee's performance at work, leading to lower productivity, strained relations with co-workers and frequent absences or accidents.
An Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is designed to help company's employees sort out the difficulties that may be causing them trouble in the workplace. They will be able to get professional psychological counseling to help them resolve their problems. The short-term therapy program offered by the EAP focuses on clarifying the problem, implementing solutions, and monitoring progress (Faught, 1997).
The purpose of this study is to assess the extent to which the EAP is effective in reducing overall distress caused by drug and alcohol abuse and domestic violence. It will also assess the overall effectiveness of the program to increase company productivity and it?s ability to control workplace disputes.
The following research questions will ...