The U.S. Domestic Workforce Use of Employee Assistance Support Services: An Analysis of Ten Years of Calls

Abstract

Archival data from 1999 to 2010 (excluding 2001) related to 90,000 cases presented to an external Employee Assistance Program provider were analyzed with respect to frequency of presenting problems. The authors examined differences in frequencies across gender, sector, and relationship of client with sponsoring organization. Significant differences were found between women and men. In addition, the authors provide demographic breakdowns to substantiate use by demographics. It is argued that given the noteworthy sample size and longitudinal nature of the data archive, commensurate value of the employee assistance service can be inferred. Implications for the future of the employee assistance profession are addressed.

KEYWORDS:

• benefit utilization
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• employee well-being

Acknowledgments

A prior version of this article was presented at the 22nd Annual Convention of the Association for Psychological Sciences, Boston, 2010.

Notes

Note. Percentage of calls where presenting problem noted. Calls for 2010 through April 15. N for men and women, 90,311. Women only, 60,144; men only, 30,167. Odds ratio represents odds of the problem being noted for women versus the odds of the problem being noted for men.

*p < .05, two-tailed; **p < .01, two-tailed; ***p < .001, two-tailed.

Note. Percentage of calls where presenting problem noted. Calls for 2009 through April 2010. Results for full sample are shown in Table 1. For-profit n, 61,241; not-for-profit n, 28,632. Odds ratio represents odds of the problem being noted for employees of for-profit organizations versus the odds of the problem being noted for employees of not-for-profit organizations.

*p < .05, two-tailed; **p < .01, two-tailed.

Note. Percentage of calls where presenting problem noted. Calls for 2009 through April 2010. Results for full sample are shown in Table 1. Employees only n, 80,253; family members only n, 10,055. Odds ratio represents odds of the problem being noted for employees versus the odds of the problem being noted for family members.

**p < .01, two-tailed; ***p < .001, two-tailed.

Note. Percentage of calls where presenting problem noted. Calls for 2009 through April 2010. Results for full sample are shown in Table 1. Manager referred n, 3,211; nonmanager referred n, 88,039. Odds ratio represents odds of the problem being noted for manager referred callers versus the odds of the problem being noted for callers not referred by managers.

**p < .01, two-tailed; ***p < .001, two-tailed.