Looking for tips on coping with the recession?In these difficult economic times it is more important than ever that businesses invest in the health and wellbeing of their workforce in order to successfully manage change and optimise productivity.
Employee assistance programmes (EAP) have traditionally been able to assist with identification and resolution of a broad range of employee concerns capable of affecting performance. These range from personal problems through to work related issues. But many such problems are now being exacerbated by an additional layer of anxiety relating to the current economic environment. The credit crunch is creating widespread uncertainty that can result in increased stress and anxiety.
Having direct access to a trained counsellor via an EAP can provide vital emotional and practical support in these troubled times. Many employees feel uncomfortable talking about personal issues with their line manager but an EAP offers access to immediate confidential support. For organisations without an EAP, ad hoc counselling sessions can be accessed through AXA ICAS FIRSTcall® service.
Over the last 6 months the amount of debt related counselling provided by our EAP has doubled with the average debt totalling £26,000. Recent research has shown that the current economic climate has made people more concerned about their finances, with a worried employee likely to spend around 15 minutes a day dealing with their financial problems. Over a month this can lead to a huge loss in productivity.
Through our EAP, as well as ad hoc debt counselling services, we are able to provide support and access to a range of specialist debt counsellors. Debt counsellors can help individuals confront debt issues positively and provide them with a range of practical assistance. For example, information about renegotiating terms with banks, building societies and credit card companies or even budget planning.
Many organisations are being forced to restructure and redundancies are an inevitable part of that process. Redundancy calls into our employee support centre increased by 74% in February 2009 alone.
Forward thinking organisations usually provide some level of outplacement support for those individuals being made redundant, whether it is a temporary helpline or support through an existing EAP. By providing such services businesses are able to mitigate the adverse effects of redundancy, whether it is on the individuals leaving the company or the employees ‘surviving’ redundancy.
