Employee assistance programs (EAPs) are programs that are generally provided by employers, or in some cases jointly provided by employers and unions (ôEmployee Assistance Programsö). EAPs are intended to assist employees and their family members with problems that employees struggle with. The rationale behind employers providing such services is that in many cases, these types of problems adversely affect an employeeÆs job performance and morale, so it is to the companyÆs advantage as well as the employeeÆs to provide help in resolving them. The number of companies providing EAP benefits is increasing, presumably because companies have found it more economical in the long run to assist troubled employees with their problems than to keep replacing troubled employees; this provides an indication that the number of troubled employees in the workplace is now so large that trying to replace them is not beneficial (ôWhat Is the Employee Assistance Program?ö). Originally, these programs were aimed at helping resolve substance abuse and mental health problems, but now their scope has been broadened to include proactive prevention, health and wellness, marriage and family problems, stress-related problems, financial and legal difficulties, and psychological and workplace conflict (ôWhat Is the Employee Assistance Program?ö).
The EAP concept has given rise to a new profession with its own professional credential, the Certified Employee Assistance Professional, or CEAP; the purposes of the credential are to:
(1) provide a standard of requisite knowledge in employee assistance programming
(2) encourage continued professional growth in employee assistance programming
(3) establish, measure, and monitor the level of knowledge required for certification in employee assistance programming
(4) help employers, labor unions, health care providers, educators, and the public identify qualified employee assistance professional...