Why an effective EAP begins with educated managers

'If they're not educated, they're not understanding, they don't know how they should be talking to their employees'

Why an effective EAP begins with educated managers

An effective Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) in the workplace begins with educated managers, according to an expert.

Sarah Richardson, CEO of HealthBright, highlighted the notion as she acknowledged the problem of underutilisation in EAPs at work.

"Certainly, from what we're hearing, from what we're looking at, standard EAP services are not well utilised," she told HRD in an interview.

Findings from ELMO Software last year revealed that only 56% of employees feel comfortable accessing the mental health resources that are available to them.

Richardson said part of the reason why there are barriers preventing employees from accessing mental health resources is managers' lack of knowledge about them.

"I think it's probably the way employers really explain the types of services that they've got in there," she said.

She added that some managers don't know how to clearly identify mental health within the workplace, as well as any circumstance that could be happening to an individual at work.

Educating managers crucial

This makes educating managers necessary to make EAPs more effective.  They are the people that shape the effectiveness of their EAP programme, Richardson said.

"If they're not educated, they're not understanding, they don't know what they're looking for, how they should be talking to their employees — it's never going to work,” she said.

"They drastically need to understand what they're saying, how they're saying it, and what to look for to make sure that they're navigating their staff through the appropriate channels."

It is also crucial that managers reach out to their staff to understand what they're going through mentally.

"Don't be scared to have a slight personal relationship with your staff because if you have a slight personal relationship with them, you understand a little bit of the intricacies behind the scenes that will open up a little bit more to you," she said.

Benefits of educated leaders

Organisations will also benefit from this approach, according to Richardson.

"Less sick leave is probably the biggest benefit," she said. "If you're looking out for your staff, they're sleeping better, their mental health is better, then their sick leave will reduce."

Employees' work output will also benefit, and they will feel empowered at work.

"They will also feel that their employers respect them, understand them, and they'll feel that they want to stay within their organisation," Richardson said.

Her final advice on fostering a supportive workplace culture: don't be scared to talk about mental health.

"Don't be scared to bring up the conversation around mental health and your meetings. Don't be scared to provide education and understanding of mental health," she said. "Make sure it's part of your one-to-one conversations with your staff or as well around what's going on."

Richardson stressed that employees tend to spend a lot of their time at work, sometimes even more than the time they spend at home.

"So, get to know them, get to understand them, because those simple things might save their life."