EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAMMES: MYTHS AND REALITIES Available to Purchase

Myths have been created about the value of Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP). An experienced practitioner examines seven: that to be independent or confidential the EAP must be provided by an external agency not answerable to Personnel; that EAPs usurp a manager′s responsibilities for staff; that stress is inescapable in modern life and the company has no right or wish to interfere in its employees′personal lives; that admitting to stress‐related problems leaves an employee sidelined as a failure; that an EAP may permanently change management style and employee attitudes in a way that traditional means cannot; that EAP is just welfare under another name.