Employee Assistance Program Adoption in Australia

Abstract

Employee Assistance Programs have been enthusiastically adopted by Australian organizations, although generally in the absence of clearly identified corporate needs. To date EAP adoption research has relied on retrospective accounts that include rationales such as the provision of a socially responsible service to employees. Such rationales, which are biased by knowledge of the EAPs' outcomes, may not accurately reflect the strategic and operational influences behind an organization's decision to adopt an EAP. Using semi-structured interviews this study demonstrated the existence of different thematic patterns between prospective and retrospective rationales for EAP adoption in Australia, and developed a 2-stage (adoption and continued use) model of organizational rationales for the use of EAPs. Developing strategically integrated rationales for EAP adoption will enable more effective and efficient organizational use of these services.

Key Words:

• Employee assistance
• program adoption
• strategic human resource management