Employee assistance programmes: The emperor's new clothes of stress management?

Abstract

The employee assistance programme (EAP) is a benefit increasingly provided by UK employers that claims to reduce the effects of 'stress' on individuals and organisations, provide a 'management tool' to improve workplace performance and productivity, and respond to critical incidents. Although the marketing literature describes services as workplace-based counselling, there is evidence to suggest what they actually offer is consultation, assessment, referral and short-term treatment to clients experiencing a wide range of serious psychological and mental health difficulties. This article describes EAPs, their history, development and operation, and reviews the evidence to support their claims for effectiveness. Because employee distress is often the result of an interaction between organisational and individual factors, the role and claims of EAPs as organisational interventions are also critically examined.