EAP, Work/Life & Wellness Benefit Delivery System Models EAPA Chesepeake Chapter, MD September Is Integration of Services an Effective Model in Today’s Marketplace Patricia A. Herlihy Ph.D, R.N

EAP, Work/Life & Wellness “Life will never be easy or perfectible or completely predictable. It will be best understood backward, but we have to live it forward. To make it livable at all levels we have to learn to use the paradoxes to balance contradictions and inconsistencies - as an invitation to find a better way” Charles Handy, 1994 Paradoxes

EAP, Work/Life & Wellness  International Survey of EAP, W/L and Wellness Vendors (2002) Related Research  National Survey of EAP & W/L Professionals (2000)  National Survey of EAP and W/L programs (1993)  Longitudinal Study of EAP, W/L and Wellness Programs ( )

EAP, Work/Life & Wellness Definitions EAPs - set of professional services specifically designed to improve and/or maintain the productivity and healthy functioning of the workplace and to address a work organization particular business needs (EAPA 2011) Work Life - A business strategy based on the knowledge that active support for employee success at work AND at home yields bottom line benefits for all stakeholders (AWLP 2011) Wellness - A state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively, and is able is make a contribution to his or her family and community" (World Health Organization, 2007)

EAP, Work/Life & Wellness Variations in Delivery Models

EAP, Work/Life & Wellness Concept of Integration Quality of the state of collaboration that exists among departments required to achieve unity of effort by the demands of the environment (Lawrence & Lorsch, 1967)

EAP, Work/Life & Wellness Corporate culture A key indicator for collaboration of efforts in designing benefit delivery services National Survey of EAP & Work Life Programs (1993)  10% of respondents reported being integrated  75% of the respondents viewed EAP and Work Family Programs as separate programs

EAP, Work/Life & Wellness Changes in Integration over Time

EAP, Work/Life & Wellness Comparison of Findings 1993 & 2008 SERVICES  EAP & Work/Life collaborate more often  Integration defined differently and more broadly  Wellness push by Unions  Internal EAPs (18%) reported the least integration

EAP, Work/Life & Wellness End Users/ Employees EAP Work/Life Wellness Wellness - New Piece of Puzzle

EAP, Work/Life & Wellness  (National Average : 7% in private -38% Gov) Unions Role in Delivery Models  Several companies roll out new products to Union first for approval - then to general employee population  Some respondents reported tension between what Union versus non-union employees receive  46% of Sample in 2008 Study had unions  Majority of companies report unions are supportive of all three services

EAP, Work/Life & Wellness Summary Findings No integration/minimal integration - 25% Integration of 2 Services - 32% Integration of all three services - 42% Other Models of Service Delivery - 10%

EAP, Work/Life & Wellness Summary Findings % of Companies interviewed (08) still on Working Mother’s Best 100 Companies 47% of Companies with either 2 or 3 services integrated - use one vendor

EAP, Work/Life & Wellness Variations of Models Internal EAPs* 18% EAP & W/L 62% EAP & Wellness 23% W/L & Wellness 15% * Internal EAPs in this sample did not facilitate an integrative model of service delivery

EAP, Work/Life & Wellness  Major Umbrella overseeing 6 employee benefit services (ie Diversity, Disease Management, and Disability) Emerging Models  Higher level Strategic Team overseeing all employee benefit services  Health & Productivity- measure their demographic, participation & outcome metrics - using to measure integration of all the employee services

EAP, Work/Life & Wellness  Impressive resiliency of these programs Michigan Study -Research Observations Questions about the future: Will these three programs continue or morph into a new service?  Increasing move to design Targeted Programs for specific populations (ie: Parents of Disabled children)  Move to outsource services as method of decreasing costs including Human Relations Services  Creative models of collaboration at administrative & functional levels

EAP, Work/Life & Wellness  Natural Disasters: 9/11, Katrina, Ike, blizzards, flooding etc Factors Supporting Integration  Union support for better quality services  Simplification of Administration operations  Campus Wide Crises: school shootings, meningitis outbreaks, alcohol related deaths, terrorism threats, etc.

EAP, Work/Life & Wellness  Multiple Vendors and wanting tighter control Barriers to Integration Model  Corporate Culture of Decentralization ingrained over time  Confidentiality Concerns - Major Stumbling Block  New Administration not focused on Employee Services due to other more pressing business concerns  Concern about decrease in Quality of Services if integrated  Legal Issues in terms of working with spouse and/or dependent

EAP, Work/Life & Wellness Low Touch vs High Touch High Touch:  Phone calls  Conferences  Meetings  Websites  Posters  Brochures Low Touch:

EAP, Work/Life & Wellness  Cost Benefit Analysis Research Interest from Respondents  Models for providing these services globally  How have other companies sustained interest in these programs in difficult financial market  Demonstrate Effectiveness of Integrated Model  How to measure impact of programs on productivity  Demographics - prepare for the Aging Workforce while still providing services for younger workers

EAP, Work/Life & Wellness Current Trends

EAP, Work/Life & Wellness One Size Does Not Fit All!!! Major Lesson Learned