Chestnut Global Partners Publishes Study Showing Positive Workplace Effects of EAP Use
Bloomington, IL (PRWEB) February 12, 2015 -- Chestnut Global Partners (CGP), a provider of culturally-aware employee assistance and wellness programs to companies worldwide, today announced the results of a study that indicates a correlation between EAP services and an improvement in workplace productivity. Using CGP's Workplace Outcome Suite (WOS), a psychometrically tested and validated instrument designed to assess EAP effectiveness, 20 different EAPs surveyed over 8,000 employees that were engaged over a three month period in EAP services. Pooled data showed the greatest amount of improvement in absenteeism, presenteeism and work distress, with less sizable but still significant improvements for work engagement and life satisfaction. All 20 providers in this study relied predominantly on traditional face-to-face services as opposed to telephone or online based services.
Used by over 400 EAP and wellness organizations, the WOS stands apart from other outcome measures as it is psychometrically tested, validated, workplace-focused, easy to administer, and free. The WOS brings EAP in line with the data-driven approaches that are changing the way organizations conduct all phases of their business—from product design to customer service, to marketing and talent acquisition.
Summary of Findings
• Work Absenteeism: The results revealed an average of 5.79 fewer hours of missed work due to personal problems in the 30 days after EAP use compared to the 30 days before EAP use. This result is a 55.1% reduction in work absenteeism hours.
• Work Presenteeism: Employees reported that their personal problems interfered less with their ability to concentrate at work after their use of the EAP. This result is a 27.1% decrease in the level of work presenteeism.
• Work Engagement: Employees on average reported a greater eagerness to get to the job site. This result is a 6.2% increase in level of work engagement.
• Workplace Distress: Employees on average reported feeling less dread about going to work. This result is a 13.6% decrease in level of work distress.
• Life Satisfaction: The change in level of life satisfaction was also positive, as more employees on average agreed that their life was going well after the EAP than before use of the EAP. This result is a 22.6% increase in life satisfaction.
"The results of this study provide strong evidence of the positive workplace effects of a robust EAP offering and its value to HR and benefits purchasers in lowering barriers to employee focus, motivation and productivity," said Dr. Dave Sharar, Managing Director, CGP. "Perhaps most importantly, it demonstrates the need to apply an evidence-based, data-driven approach to employee assistance and wellness to make EAP accountable and improve service delivery. With the release of CGP's ROI calculator, which complements the WOS, employers now have the ability to benchmark and bottom-line the efficacy of employee assistance and health coaching services."
Employers and their consultants are encouraged to require their EAP or wellness vendors to use validated tools like the free WOS to better demonstrate the workplace effects of their interventions and services.
For the complete study, visit http://chestnutglobalpartners.org/Portals/cgp/Presentations/WOS-2014-Pooled-Results-web.pdf
Copies of the free WOS are available at http://www.eapresearch.com.
About Chestnut Global Partners
Chestnut Global Partners (CGP) is a behavioral health organization based in Bloomington, IL that offers a full range of culturally aware employee assistance and related workplace services. CGP combines EAP with wellness, disability, high risk maternity, employees safety and compliance management programs, designed to promote employee well-being, improve performance and reduce absenteeism.
Chestnut Global Partners serves companies in over 140 countries, including Brazil, China, India, Mexico and Russia. Chestnut Global Partners’ Division of Commercial Science develops and deploys scientific assessment technologies, outcome measures, and analytical methodologies so that EAPs, wellness companies, disease management entities and purchasers the world over can determine the effects and/or worth of their programs. For more, visit http://www.chestnutglobalpartners.org.
Charles Epstein, BackBone, http://www.backboneinc.com, (561) 470-0965, [email protected]
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