Formal intervention in employee health: comparisons of the nature and structure of employee assistance programs and health promotion programs

Advancing the field of employee assistance programs research and practice: A systematic review of quantitative studies and future research agenda

The COVID-19 pandemic has accentuated the critical role of organizational support for the workforce. An employee assistance program (EAP) represents an inclusive strategy which organizations adopt to provide supportive and empathic care to help employees overcome undesirable situations. To date, we have limited knowledge of what EAP issues have been researched from the human resource management (HRM) perspective and what theoretical underpinning these studies have used. This article systematically reviews quantitative empirical studies on EAPs. Drawing upon 115 articles from 72 journals across 40 years (1981–2020), we trace the evolutionary trend of the construct of EAP and shed light on the internal link of EAP with HRM. After summarizing research themes, methods, theories, and approaches to the evaluation of EAPs, we identify pitfalls in the current research and contribute to extending the field by proposing several research agendas for future investigation.

The co-production of a workplace health promotion program: expected benefits, contested boundaries

Workplace health promotion (WHP) are often depicted as an opportunity for pursuing a better and broader well-being condition under the assumption that working environments affect the physical, mental, and social well-being of individuals who spend large proportion of waking hours at work. While most empirical studies provided medical evidence to the effectiveness of WHP programs, scholars question the instrumental purposes of these programs founded on the belief that "healthy workers are better workers". Little is known, for instance, about the design of WHP programs and their acceptance by workers. Our study addresses this gap, analyzing the co-production of a WHP program in an Italian research institute promoted by the healthcare authority, the local government and the national center for prevention and security in the workplaces. To this aim, we adopt the notion of boundary object investigate how different stakeholders reclaim to take part and being involved in this process, re-shaping their goals and their boundaries and why a WHP program or parts of it may be rejected or re-negotiated by its recipients. Our analysis reveals how each stakeholder contributes to re-shape the WHP program which emerges as the modular product of the composition of each matter of concern. Most notably, the strong rooting in a clinical perspective and the original focus on only workers at risk is gradually flanked by initiatives to involve all employees. Moreover, workers draw a line as for the legitimacy of employers' intervention in the personal sphere of health promotion, embracing interventions addressing diet and physical activity while rejecting measures targeting smoking and alcohol consumption.

Contrasting Employee Assistance, Health Promotion, and Quality of Work Life Programs and Their Effects on Alcohol Abuse and Dependence

Numerous programs addressing employee alcohol abuse and dependence have appeared in organizations in the U.S. since the 1940s. Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) have effectively used a dual strategy of constructive confrontation and counseling for dealing with problem drinkers at the work site. In many organizations, however, practitioners have begun to treat problem drinkers by altering this strategy and/or relying on health promotion programs (HPPs) and quality of work life (QWL) efforts. This article compares EAPs, HPPs, and QWL, discussing their theoretical underpinnings, methods, and demonstrated effectiveness in treating alcohol abuse and dependence. The author encourages cooperation among EAP, HPP, and QWL practitioners in addressing work place factors related to drinking problems, and makes several recommendations for future research.

Involuntary wellness programs: the case of a large US company

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate recent healthcare reform in the USA, which allows insurance companies to proactively intervene in improving the long-term health of employees, by providing wellness programs as part of their benefits package.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors present and analyze data on how employees of a large US Midwest “media and education” company (n=154) perceive economic incentives toward well-being. Data are collected using survey methods and analyzed with a logistic regression.

Findings

– This study suggests that fairness, accessibility, intention to switch to a healthier lifestyle and desire to see more health-related initiatives affect the way employees seek to participate in the new involuntary wellness programs. By contrast, satisfaction, participation, and income to not affect how these new programs are perceived.

Research limitations/implications

– These findings suggest that human resource managers should pay attention to employees who are not active in existing wellness programs, and provide support during the transition toward the new involuntary programs, to avoid potential frustration, demotivation, disengagement and, ultimately, decreasing performance among employees.

Originality/value

– The study is among the first to analyze involuntary wellness programs in the USA, and it provides a basis on which to expand further studies. This research contributes to support the idea that employee wellness is unlikely to be enforced by rule or policy.

A Methodology for Evaluating the Costs and Benefits of Employee Assistance Programs

Employee assistance programs (MPs) represent a relatively new fringe benefit for workers; the number of these programs has been steadily increasing in worksites of all sizes. Despite this surge in the growth of EAPs, few studies have estimated their costs or benefits. To guide future economic evaluation studies of EAPs, we have developed a methodology that has four components: a process description to understand the structure, operating environment, and goals of the EAP; a cost analysis to comprehensively identify and estimate the full range of EAP costs; an outcomes analysis to rigorously estimate the effectiveness of the EAP for groups of employees and the overall impact of the EAP on employee performance and workplace productivity; and an economic evaluation to estimate cost-effectiveness ratios, dollar benefits, and net benefits of the EAP. Our methodology is based on standard economic theory, but we present the evaluation strategy in a nontechnical way so that it can be used by employers and other researchers to estimate the costs and benefits of EAPs.

A workplace intervention for increasing outdoor workers' use of solar protection

OBJECTIVES

Outdoor workers are at high risk of developing skin cancer. Primary prevention in this group can potentially reduce the incidence of skin cancer, and also potentiates the spontaneous remission of existing solar keratoses. A randomized controlled trial was conducted to evaluate a solar protection intervention targeting outdoor workers.

METHODS

Outdoor workers were randomly allocated to an intervention (n = 65) or control group (n = 77). The intervention group received individual skin screening by a dermatologist and participated in an education session. Pre- and posttest outcome measures included solar protection behavior (assessed using a validated diary), knowledge, and attitudes.

RESULTS

There was a significant increase (16%) in the percentage of outdoor workers who were using a high level of solar protection at posttest compared to pretest in the intervention group, but there was no change in the control group. Although both groups improved in their knowledge score, the intervention group showed a significantly greater improvement at posttest. No changes in attitudes were detected.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings suggest that changes in solar protection are achievable with outdoor workers.