The Economic Benefits of an EAP

An organisation's most valuable asset is, without doubt, it's employees - yet every day in the UK, some 270,000 people take time off work for stress-related illness, amounting to the annual equivalent of 40 million lost working days. At a conservative estimate, this costs employers £7-£9 billion in sick pay, missed deadlines and poor performance. Abundant research backs up the need for action, with surveys indicating that as many as 60% of all employees suffer from work-related stress - when they suffer personally the company suffers economically.

Reflecting on attitudes to stress, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) urges employers to understand the problem and take it seriously. The payoff for reducing stress, they say, is better health, reduced sickness absence, increased performance and output, better relationships with clients and colleagues and lower staff turnover. If these arguments for EAP provision were not persuasive enough, the flurry of recent court cases should spur employers into action. The landmark personal injury case bought by social worker John Walker against Northumberland County Council led to a £175,000 award for damages.