With employee mental health top of mind for employers around the world, CEOs need to ask: “What am I doing to protect and improve the mental well-being of my employees?”

One of the best ways to achieve this is through an employee assistance program. If you’re not familiar with an EAP and its benefits, here’s a closer look.

What’s an EAP?

An EAP is a series of benefits that some organizations provide to their workforce. Such benefits allow employees to access mental health assistance programs in the form of, for example, therapy services, short-term counseling sessions, and medical apps. The access to these services is offered by and paid for entirely by the employer, which means that employees do not incur any costs.

EAPs can also be structured and delivered in myriad ways. For instance, you might decide to set up a hybrid meeting between your chosen mental health professional and your employees who need access to their services. Or you might also provide access to in-person sessions, should the employee prefer that.

Benefits for Organizations

If you have decided to set up your first EAP, you might be curious to know what benefits you can expect. Here’s a look at four of them.

Empowered working environment. A company that offers an EAP is automatically viewed as a company that puts its employees’ well-being at its core. In turn, this contributes to creating a healthy, positive, and supportive working environment, which empowers everyone within it to pursue their happiness and fulfillment.

Running a successful EAP can help drastically slash turnover and ensure that employee retention rates are always high. 

Such a working environment will also inevitably be less stressful. It is a further advantage, as it helps people to work better, more efficiently, and more productively.

Fewer absences. Did you know that, in many countries, poor mental health is one of the main reasons for employee absenteeism? It is why mental health should always be put at the forefront.

If your organization offers an EAP, any staff member who is currently struggling with their mental health will know that they have access to top-quality services that can help them overcome their difficulties and thrive.

More productivity. Mental health problems often cause people to get distracted from their daily tasks, which means that performance and productivity often suffer consequently. By taking good care of their mental health through an EAP, employees can minimize or even eliminate these distractions and go back to working more productively and diligently.

Reduced turnover. Employee turnover is one of the most significant risks to any organization. That’s because it can have a negative impact on an organization’s costs, reputation, and competitive edge.

Running a successful EAP can help drastically slash turnover and ensure that employee retention rates are always high. Employees who know their employer is willing to help look after their mental well-being are inevitably more likely to stay for longer.

Not only will they stay for longer, but they will also be more inclined to become advocates of the organization they work for and recommend its products or services to friends and family. An all-around win-win for everyone.