EAP in Savannah Ga

NewDay Counseling offers Employee Assistance Program (EAP) services in Savannah and surrounding areas. EAP in Savannah is mixed according to the size of the business or organization. Many small business don’t think they need EAP but it’s a valuable tool for any size organization. Some employees may not know they have an EAP and if they do, they might not understand the program. Below is a basic description from Encyclopedia.com:

Employee assistance programs (EAPs) are plans that help identify and resolve issues facing troubled employees through short-term counseling, referrals to specialized professionals or organizations, and follow-up services. Many EAPs also train business owners and supervisors to recognize and deal with behavioral problems in the workforce. These programs are not designed to provide long-term treatment, but as Business Week noted, “they do offer a safe environment where an employee can discuss problems with a counselor who then makes a confidential assessment, and if necessary, gives a referral to a mental-health professional.” Indeed, business experts regard them as a potentially valuable tool in reversing declining performance among valued workers. “We’re not talking here about employees who turn violent or hear voices,” said Business Week. “The people a business owner needs to worry about are the … valued workers whose productivity suddenly and mysteriously plummets. From depression to anxiety, from drug abuse to alcohol addiction, common psychiatric disorders take a remarkable, if little-discussed, toll. In lost productivity and absenteeism alone, the cost to business approaches $312 billion annually.”

EAP is becoming an ever more valuable tool for companies, and it’s not a feely-touchy program that wastes company resources. Life is difficult and complicated at times, and we all need a little help from time to time. Having an EAP through a place of work makes it very convenient to talk privately with a professional and find answers to problems that affect quality of life and work performance.

There are three major obstacles that employers have to remove, privacy, fear that going to EAP will affect career future and embarrassment. The employer has to convince employees that the EAP is valued by owners and managers and that anyone can problems at anytime, there’s nothing demeaning about seeking help. It takes courage to ask for help, so it speaks well of the person who enters EAP. Unless the problem is so serious it violates laws that require reporting or major company policies, the employee should feel confident that there’ll be no repercussion. If employees who enter EAP or fired or treated differently afterwards, then the program will backfire. Understand your company’s EAP, and if there’s not one maybe you can suggest one. It’s a valuable tool for employers who seek a healthy and happy workforce.