How an Employee Assistance Program Can Benefit Your Employees

Employee assistance programs can promote healthier and more productive workers. When employees bring their personal problems to the workplace it can impact their behavior and job performance and negatively affect office dynamics. Access to an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) gives your employees a confidential way to cope with personal issues which can range from workplace stress to drug and alcohol abuse.

EAPs are unique in that they provide services to individual employees and family members and to the employer as a whole. EAPs support management and supervisors by helping them manage troubled employees, as well as by addressing such topics as workplace violence, emergency preparedness and sexual harassment. Companies and organizations that have an EAP see a return on their investment with more productive employees and less absences and employee turnover. Workers are also more inclined to stay with an organization which supports and helps them resolve their personal issues.

Along with decreasing absenteeism and increasing employee retention, EAPs have been shown to help reduce accidents, workers compensation claims and the number of labor disputes, and significantly reduce medical costs by early identification and treatment of mental health and substance use issues. Employers have found that efforts to help employees resolve personal issues before they have serious consequences make good financial sense.

Fully Effective Employees, Inc. has an excellent reputation as a caring, personalized and service-oriented EAP, in which our own professionally trained staff counselors conduct most of the EAP work, from intake to assessment, brief counseling, referral and case management. Our programs can be customized to meet our employer client needs and we service companies nationally who have from five to five thousand employees. We offer a full range of services, including EAP and HR consulting, drug testing, background checks, as well as supervisor and management trainings and consultations. We also offer work/life and legal programs which further assist with employee health and well-being.

If you would like to learn more about our company, please visit us at www.fee-eap.com or email audreyr@fee-eap.com.

By admin|2018-06-18T10:49:37-07:00December 12th, 2017|EAP, Employee Assistance|Comments Off

Fully Effective Employees: Our Services

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Fully Effective Employees: Our Services

Do you have an employee coming to work with alcohol on her breath? Or another with marital problems affecting his work performance? What about an employee who you suspect is coming to work under the influence of drugs?

If you want your employees to be effective, engaged and productive, then you need Fully Effective Employees – an experienced, personalized employee assistance program.

Fully Effective Employees meets the needs of a variety of personal and work-related problems facing today’s employees. Our excellent reputation as a low-cost, service oriented program offers you both excellent value and the highest level of service in the employee assistance market.

In business since 1976, Fully Effective Employees has been saving companies money by helping to reduce absenteeism and turnover by increasing productivity. Our low-cost program includes a thorough assessment of each client, referral to appropriate resources if needed and follow up and case management for up to two years.

We have counselors available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and who are accessible from anywhere through our toll-free number. Our staff counselors have expertise in the field of chemical dependency, which allows us to assist both employers and employees in early identification and referral of drug and alcohol problems as well as working with company drug testing programs.

We are also experts in providing consultation, coaching and training to company management and ownership as well as employee trainings.

Call us to find out how we can provide personalized services tailored to meet the unique needs of your company and help your employees become fully effective.

By wmaster_fee|2017-06-05T13:57:23-07:00May 30th, 2017|balanced life, Critical Incident Debriefing, Disaster Preparedness, Domestic Violence, EAP, Employee Absenteeism, Employee Assistance, Employee Mental Health, Employee Satisfaction, Employers, healthy balance, work relationships|Comments Off

Handling Holiday Stress

While the holidays can be a time of joy, celebration and connection with family and friends, it can also be a very stressful season. There is a lot of added pressure during this time of year, from social obligations and expectations, to worries about finances and strained family relationships. If you are having difficulties coping with holiday stress, the following are some tips from WebMD.

Know your spending limit. Lack of money is one of the biggest causes of stress during the holiday season. This year, set a budget, and don’t spend more than you’ve planned. It’s okay to tell your child that a certain toy costs too much. Don’t buy gifts that you’ll spend the rest of the year trying to pay off.

Give something personal. You can show love and caring with any gift that is meaningful and personal. It doesn’t have to cost a lot. Or use words instead of an expensive gift to let people know how important they are to you. Make a phone call or write a note and share your feelings.
Get organized. Make lists or use an appointment book to keep track of tasks to do and events to attend.
Share the tasks. You don’t have to do everything yourself. Share your “to do” list with others. Spend time with friends and family while you share tasks like decorating, wrapping gifts, and preparing the holiday meal.
Learn to say no. It’s okay to say “no” to events that aren’t important to you. This will give you more time to say “yes” to events that you do want to attend.
Be realistic. Try not to put pressure on yourself to create the perfect holiday for your family. Focus instead on the traditions that make holidays special for you. And remember that just because it’s a holiday, family problems don’t go away. If you have a hard time being around your relatives, it’s okay to set limits on your time at events and visits.

If you will be alone for the holidays or feel depressed, stessed or anxious, it might be a good time to seek professional help. Here are some resources for assistance and if you are interested in providing an Employee Assistance Program, we can definitely help your employees who are having difficulty this time of year.

Suicide Prevention Hotline: 800-273-8255
Veterans Suicide Hotline: 800-273-8255
Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233

By admin|2016-12-07T15:46:02-08:00December 7th, 2016|EAP, Employee Assistance, Holiday Stress|Comments Off

Domestic Violence: The Secret in Your Workplace

A co-worker stays late every day even where this nothing to do, a sales associate appears tired and distracted, a manager offers to travel frequently to get out of town. These employees may all be experiencing domestic violence- which is physical, sexual, verbal or emotional abuse by an intimate partner. While domestic violence is a criminal issue- we know that almost one in 3 homicide victims is killed by an intimate partner; it is also a social, health and business issue. Domestic violence leads to reduced productivity, increases absenteeism and increases health care costs. Unless employers are trained to understand it and look for it, domestic violence in the workplace will generally go unnoticed. Some employers are also reluctant to get involved. They may think it is a personal issue, fear retaliation from the offender, or feel ill equipped to handle the situation.

Nearly a quarter of employed women have reported that domestic violence has impacted their work performance at some point in their lives. This is a staggering statistic! This means that chances are right now, in your workplace, there are people who are experiencing violence in their intimate relationships and you are probably not aware of it. In the U.S. 24 percent of adult women and 14 percent of adult men have been assaulted buy a partner at some point in their lives. It is the most common cause of injury in women ages 18-44. Domestic violence leads to chronic disease. Abused women are 70 percent more likely to have heart disease, 80 percent are more likely to experience a stroke and 60 percent are more likely to develop asthma.

Domestic violence costs $8.3 billion in annual expenses- a combination of higher medical costs ($5.8 billion) and lost productivity ($2.5 billion). Addressing this issue could save thousands of lives and billions of dollars. As long as the symptoms and consequences of domestic abuse go undetected, nothing changes.

Since employees spend the majority of their waking hours at work, employers are ideally suited to recognize the symptoms of domestic violence and intervene. Providing assistance and support should be a requirement of the responsibility of all employers to provide a safe and healthy workplace. In addition, employers need to ensure that domestic violence doesn’t spill into the workplace where a violent partner could seek to harm the victim or co-workers at work. Employers can take action by raising awareness, training managers and supervisors to recognize symptoms and behaviors in victims. They can provide resources and support as part of the company’s requirement to maintain a safe work environment. Information about domestic violence and resources for help should be posted in common areas and shared at every employee orientation. Domestic violence is a complex issue. Many times a victim will reconcile with the abuser many times, despite the help of others. It can be very difficult to leave an abusive relationship for many reasons including financial, fear of being killed, lack of support or resources or self esteem issues. Oftentimes, a victim is most at risk for harm after he or she leaves the relationship. Employers need to address this issue with respect and compassion, without judgment or the threat of job loss for coming forward.

The EAP can offer trainings about domestic violence awareness. Employers can assist employees with restraining orders, changing their work locations or schedule and a safety plan, as well as alerting co-workers if a victim’s partner should come to the workplace. Feel free to consult with the EAP about ways we can assist you with awareness, education and assistance for all employees who may be facing violence in their intimate relationships.

For more information visit nomore.org

Information for this blog was taken from the article “Domestic Violence the Secret Killer that Costs $8.3 Billion Annually” by Dr. Robert Pearl from Forbes.com Dec. 5, 2013

By admin|2017-06-05T13:20:12-07:00December 30th, 2013|Domestic Violence, Employee Assistance, employee mental health, Human Resources, Protected, Small Business|Comments Off

Reasons to Have an Employee Assistance Program

The primary purpose of an Employee Assistance Program is to maximize employee productivity while helping employees face life obstacles that can interfere with your business.

An EAP helps increase your bottom line while building morale, and support for employees and their managers.

According to a study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, anxiety and depression rank among the top five reasons for absenteeism. The National Mental Health Association reports this problem costs American companies more than $200 billion each year. Stressors such as family problems and financial crises are often at the very core of these concerns. A high quality EAP can provide a multifaceted approach to improving the life of employees and by doing so, employers can save significant amounts of money in lost productivity, absenteeism, turnover and poor performance.

Fully Effective Employees provides the following employee assistance services:

Comprehensive assessment of an employee or family’s member’s presenting problem
A referrals to reputable mental health and substance abuse resources
Brief, short term assistance with problem resolution
24/7 telephone access to professional counselors
Legal assistance and referrals
Financial counseling and resources for debt management and financial concerns
Wellness coaching and programs for disease prevention and management, smoking cessation, exercise, weight loss, nutrition and stress management
Worklife services including referrals for eldercare, childcare, dependent care and pet care and referrals to community resources for social services
Extensive website with self-assessments, resources, articles and more
Webinars on a variety of social/emotional topics
Online interactive trainings with printable certificates of completion
Onsite brown bag trainings
Assistance with drug free workplaces
Employer assistance program- coaching and training on dealing with problem employees
Critical incident debriefing
HR consulting services and small business HR programs

There are a lot of companies that offer Employee Assistance services, so why choose Fully Effective Employees?

We have been providing EAP services to a variety of businesses since 1976.
In-house EAP trained professional counselors have been with the company an average of 13 years.
Expertise with small businesses, drug testing programs, training and HR issue
Personalized services tailored to meet the unique needs of your company.
Available for very small businesses
A local, Puget Sound based company with the capacity to work with national and international clients with an affiliate network of over 50,000 counselors.
Personalized, professional services tailored to meet your company’s unique needs.

An Employee Assistance Program offers an excellent return on your investment.

By admin|2017-06-05T13:19:58-07:00December 19th, 2013|balanced life, employee absenteeism, Employee Assistance, employee mental health, employee satisfaction, Executives, Protected, Small Business, wellness, work, work relationships, Worklife|Comments Off

Preventing & Coping With Employee Suicide

For every two homicides in the U.S there are three suicides and the majority occur within the working population, yet few employers address this public health issue. When an employee has a mental health crisis at work, it affects the financial and social functioning of the workplace.

The Carson J Spencer Foundation has created a model for suicide prevention to help workplaces develop strategies that address prevention, intervention and postvention.

These key strategies involve:

Vocal and visible leadership that can emphasize the importance of suicide prevention while modeling mental wellness and self-care;
Policies and procedures that promote a mentally healthy workforce- including fair and compassionate reintegration policies, life skills promotion, and a culture of belonging.
Suicide prevention training for the workforce that help employers to identify warning signs and risk factors; to know how to ask about suicide; and to confidently refer high risk people to the appropriate resources.
Screening the workforce for early signs of depression and other mental health conditions, so that these illnesses do not become life threatening.
Access to quality mental health services to ensure that those who need help receive appropriate highly qualified care with few obstacles.
Means restriction that place barriers between high risk people and lethal means of suicide (e.g restricting high roof access on tall office buildings, securing lethal chemicals, etc)
Crisis response and longterm postvention that seeks to stabilize a grieving and traumatized workforce and to honor bereavement needs.

If you are concerned about an employee, call Fully Effective Employees for confidential assistance. If an employee makes a suicidal threat, it should be taken very seriously and a family member should be contacted or the employee should be taken to the nearest emergency room for an assessment.

For more information about these strategies, visit:

www.carsonjspencer.org

www.suicidepreventionhotline.org

www.save.org

Source: Journal of Employee Assistance 3rd Qtr 2011

If an employee does commit suicide, it can have a profound impact on the workplace and it can be very helpful to utilize the EAP for consultation and support. We can provide a critical incident debriefing onsite to assist co-workers who were directly involved with the employee. The debriefing can help co-workers process their feelings and reactions to the news and to educate them about the normal symptoms they may be experiencing as part of their reaction to an abnormal event (trauma). There may be feelings of guilt for those that may have known the individual was suicidal. For others, it may surface unresolved loss or trauma in their own lives and even their own suicidal feelings.

Sometimes family members may not want the cause of death discussed at the workplace even though co-workers may be suspicious or know the cause. Employers may wish to set up a memorial fund, have a brief memorial or send a card to family members. This provides some closure to the surviving co-workers and reinforces the support of the employer.

It is extremely important that employers encourage employees to seek professional help for emotional problems without stigma or judgment and if they are approached by an employee who may be depressed or suicidal, that they maintain the utmost confidentiality. If you have questions about how the EAP can help with potentially suicidal employees or with the aftermath of a suicide at your workplace, please contact us.

By admin|2017-06-05T13:19:16-07:00June 17th, 2013|critical incident debriefing, Employee Assistance, employee death, employee mental health, Human Resources, mental health, Protected, suicide|Comments Off

Combating Workplace Negativity

Negativity is a habit. It is contagious and quite common in many workplaces and can easily become part of a company’s culture. Negativity can include gossiping, poor morale, badmouthing management or the company, lack of enthusisasm, bullying, harassment, and lack of loyalty to the employer. Restructuring a negative workplace can take years. Therefore, it is better to prevent negativity from occuring in the first place and when it does arise, recognize it and nip it in the bud.

According to Cheryl DeMarco http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cheryl_DeMarco, some business consequences of workplace negativity can be:

Customer complaints

Errors and poor work quality

Increased employee turnover

Absence and tardiness

Pesonality conflicts

Poor morale

Loss of loyalty to the organization

Decreased creativity

Negativity has a tremendous impact on a company’s bottom line. It will also affect the worker, emotionally and physically and when employees work in a negative environment, it is hard not to take it home with them.

As a manager, be consciously aware of someone’s attitude when determining if you wish to hire them. Look for hints of negativity and if you pick it up, listen to your gut and don’t hire that person. Also, carefully listen for negativity when requesting references. If you have an employee who has become negative, react quickly. Meet with the employee and discuss your observations and concerns. Sometimes the reasons may be justifiied and you should acknowledge that and help find ways to resolve the cause, if possible. Help this person take responsibility for their negativity. Even if there are valid concerns for one’s feelings it is not appropriate to express them negatively at work. You may not be able to change someone’s point of view but you can influence behavior during work hours. Describe exactly what you expect. Tell the employee exactly what you have observed and how if has affected the company and co-workers. Help the employee replace negative behaviors with more positive ones. Negative behavior is a performance issue and it may be very approprate to refer the individual to the EAP as a management referral. When you use the EAP as a partner with management, you can monitor an employee’s motivation to improve and their progress, while staying out of the personal issues or details.

If the behavior has been ocurring within a group of employees, it would be advisable to consult with the EAP about how to handle the situation. Depending on what is happening and the causes for the negativity, it may be appropriate to meet with the group together or to meet with individuals separately.

Unfortunately, sometimes you will have no choice but to fire a really negative person. As a leader, you model by example and if you allow a negative or inappropriate employee to remain, it sets a bad tone. Be the change you want to see.

For information on preventing or dealing with negativity in your workplace and how the EAP can help, contact us at 425-557-0907.

By admin|2017-06-05T13:19:08-07:00May 16th, 2013|Employee Assistance, employee engagement, harrassment, Human Resources, Small Business, Uncategorized, work, work relationships|Comments Off

“Free” Employee Assistance Programs

“Free” employee assistance programs have become more and more prevalent. EAPs are often included as part of other core services such as health insurance, disability carriers and even payroll companies. These providers and the employers and benefit brokers they market to rationalize “why not throw in a free EAP?” However, as a consumer of employee benefits, employers must understand what they are getting. First of all, nothing is really free- the cost of the EAP services are covered by the carrier and as a result, often the cost is embedded and passed onto the purchaser of these services. Second, do you know who your provider is and just what you are getting?

Ron Holman wrote an article titled “Free Employee Assistance Programs, You Get What You Pay For” in the California Broker back in 2003 as free EAP’s were just emerging. It appears as though “free” is here to stay. However, many of these providers offer very little. Holman wrote “When a company chooses to offer its employees a “Free” EAP, they may not be invested in who utilizes the plan since they are not paying for the EAP. However, one very important quality of the EAP is the ability to detect any patterns within the employee population regarding drug and alcohol use, personal problems, legal or financial problems and issues with childcare and eldercare and to identify any necessary assistance…. Because many “free EAPs” do not provide employers with utilization reports, company executives are not able to understand their employee’s needs.”

The more employees use the EAP, the more it costs the provider. Therefore most free EAPs are not motivated to promote and provide awareness of the program because it costs them. As a result, some employers don’t even know the name of their EAP company and rarely use it. Usually on site services, critical incident debriefing, management consultation and management referrals and case management are either not provided or rarely used. All of these services are essential elements of a high quallity EAP which are also required under the “Standards and Guidelines for EAPs” according to the Employee Assistance Professionals Association.

Employee assistance programs that are offered as stand alone services are far more beneficial to employers. Many companies change their insurance providers frequently based on the most favorable rates they can obtain. If the EAP is included, it too will have to change which can be confusing and may discourage use by employees. If cases are managed for a long time then they will need to be transferred mid-stream to another provider that is unfamiliar with the case, which can be especially problematic for positive drug tests, management referrals and complex cases.

As an employer, you should be looking for a locally based EAP provider; one that knows the treatment facilities, the community resources and the nuances of your company. Your EAP provider should be able to assist you with the specific needs of your company and have regular contact with you. It should be able to provide trainings, management consultation, critical incident debriefings, assist with management referrals and drug testing policies. It should provide yearly utilization reports and assist you in promoting and increasing, rather than avoiding utilization of the program.

If you have a free EAP or one that is not meeting your needs, it may be time to evaluate what you need now. For more information contact Fully Effective Employees at 425-557-0907.

By admin|2013-03-17T22:32:57-07:00March 17th, 2013|Employee Assistance, employee mental health|Comments Off

EAP and HR for Small Businesses

Employee assistance services are available for small businesses through our EAP and HR Partnership Program.

It is very difficult for small employers to obtain quality, personalized EAP services because the majority of Employee Assistance Programs cater to the larger employer.
We have developed a program to assist very small employers (10-25 employees). For one low flat rate, we will provide one (1) face to face counseling session for clients who reside within the Puget Sound, WA area. If clients are outside our local area, we will provide a comprehensive telephone assessment with one of our in-house professionally trained EAP staff members. We also provide unlimited management consultations, telephone counseling and support to employees and their dependents and access to our password protected website. Our comprehensive website includes self-assessment tests, articles, resources, newsletters and much more.

The cost of this program is very minimal and can provide peace of mind to employers who have concerns about how to handle difficult employees or situations. It is always more cost effective to help current employees than to replace, recruit and retrain a new one.

If you have employees with:

Performance issues
Attitude problems
Absenteeism, tardiness
Poor moral
Personal problems
Drug or alcohol issues and more…

We can help! The EAP can increase employee loyalty and performance. It will improve your company’s bottom line with reduced health care costs, workers’ compensation claims and reduced absenteeism and turnover.

Because we do all the EAP work ourselves, we get to know the key players within our clients companies and we understand the company culture. If you are a small business owner, you have may have questions about how to handle difficult employees and may need a professional to consult with about a certain employee or problematic employment situations. We can advise you on assisting employees with personal and or performance related issues.

If your company is too small for your own HR staff, we can refer you to our Human Resource partner who can provide you with some of the following:

Creation or revision of your employee handbook
Assistance with forms, procedures and compliance issues.
Assessment of your company’s needs
Assistance with recruitment, difficult terminations

If warranted, we can also refer you to employment attorneys and we will provide ongoing case management with difficult situations.

Examples if situations where we can help small business are:

1. A long term employee died over the weekend. Since the group of 12 co-workers had worked with this individual for many years, they were all very upset and had a tough time getting their work done. In addition, this employee had a specialized position that no one else could do. Our EAP provided a critical incident debriefing to the whole company to help them process their reactions and grief. We met with the company owner to allow her to process her grief, to help her plan a memorial for the employee and to make plans to replace the position that was difficult to fill.

2. An employee tested positive for drugs after a pretty serious workplace accident. We were able to provide an initial drug and aclohol assessment and then referred him to a treatment agency where he was able and willing to enroll in so that he could keep his job. We assisted the employer with a return to work agreement and monitored the employee’s progress in treatment. We have been following up with him for the past year and he has remained clean and sober and is thankful that his employer offered the EAP for help.

3. A long-term highly skilled supervisor had been accused of harassing and intimidating a subordinate. The subordinate employee complained to management. In the course of the investigation, the employee informed management that two previous employees had left because of this supervisor. The supervisor was very hesistant to reprimand the supervisor because his position was so difficult to replace. We consulted with management, helped them document the issues and they referred the employee to the EAP as a management referral. We referred the employer to our HR partner for one on one harassment training with the supervisor and she assisted the employee and employer with a performance improvement plan. We also provided support to the subordinate employee.

For more information about how we can help your small business, contact us at audreyr@fee-eap.com

By admin|2013-03-09T23:13:28-08:00March 9th, 2013|Drug Testing, Employee Assistance, employee mental health, Human Resources, Small Business, work|Comments Off

Retirement Coaching- Is it Time to Retire?

Retirement coaching is an important employee benefit. Making the decision to retire can be very difficult for many employees. Sometimes life doesn’t give us much choice about when to retire. An injury at work or a serious illness might force some to leave work early. While these people may not be able to perform the same job, they may need to continue to make money or keep busy. These troubled economic times have forced many to work longer than they had planned just so they can continue to make contributions to their dwindling retirement accounts. Others have lost considerable value in their homes or other investments and consider extending their working years, a necessity. These workers may be just “doing time”, feeling burnt out or resentful that they cannot leave work as early as they had planned. You may not be getting the same productivity or enthusiasm from these employees as you had in the past.

As an employer, you may be facing the need to downsize or encourage employees to take an early retirement. These employees may not be ready to stop working or to leave their jobs, either financially or emotionally. As an employer, how can you help them make a transition to retirement?

For a large number of employees, work is a big part of their identity. Who someone is may often be a relection of what they do. Work provides social interaction, a sense of community and creates structure and routine in our lives. Many of us have worked with those who have little else in their lives besides work. For these people, retirement can be downright scary. These individuals may be able to retire financially but not emotionally. They need to replace the function that work plays in their lives with new hobbies, interests or a different kind of work.

What happens for people when they retire before they are ready or prepared? For men, the number one malady in retirement is depression. When leisure activities are always available, they may be less pleasurable and most people need more in their lives to keep them happy and busy. Couples may face a difficult adjustment to spending more time together and they may not agree on how and where they want to spend their retirement years.

The people who retire “successfully” tend to share the following characteristics:

Being socially engaged and active in their community
Volunteering or assisting others
Participating in a new hobby, interest or activity
Working part time or in a new career
Financially prepared for retirement
Physically active and working on wellness

We can help you prepare your employees for retirement. We offer group sessions for small groups of employees as well as individual coaching. Our progam includes a retirement readiness assessment and then we work with clients on the areas that may need some focus. Retirement coaching is a great return on investment. When employees can feel positive about entering the next phase of their lives, they will be more productive during their last few months or years as an employee.

For more information contact Audrey at audreyr@fee-eap.com

By admin|2013-03-09T23:25:46-08:00February 6th, 2013|balanced life, Employee Assistance, employee engagement, employee mental health|Comments Off

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