Employee Assistance Programs

Although employers are not required to do so, there are good reasons to provide rehabilitation services through Employee Assistance Programs for employees with substance dependence problems:

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) are provided by many employers, or jointly by employers and employee unions. These programs vary considerably in design and scope. Some focus only on substance abuse problems; others undertake a 'broad brush' approach to a range of employee and family problems. Some include proactive prevention and health and wellness activities, as well as problem identification and referral, and some are actively linked to the employee health benefit structure.

EAPs have been proven to improve employers’ productivity and profitability by addressing a range of employee’s personal issues, which may affect their job performance:

• For every dollar they invest in an EAP, employers generally save anywhere from $5 to $16. The average annual cost for an EAP ranges from $12 to $20 per employee (U.S. Department of Labor, 2000).
  
  

• General Motors Corporation's EAP saves the company $37 million per year -- $3,700 for each of the 10,000 employees enrolled in the program (ASIS OP Norton Information Resources Center, Substance Abuse: A Guide to Workplace Issues, 8/90).
  
  
• United Airlines estimates that it has a $16.95 return for every dollar invested in employee assistance.
  
  
• Philadelphia Police Department employees undergoing substance dependence treatment reduced their sick days by an average of 38% and their injured days by 62%.
  
  
• Oldsmobile's Lansing, Michigan plant, saw the following results in the year after its alcohol dependent employees underwent treatment: lost man-hours declined by 49%, health care benefits by 29%, leaves by 56%, grievances by 78%, disciplinary problems by 63%, and accidents by 82%