Alejandra Inés Lacroze

Case: PAE (Employee Assistance Program)

Elements of the Program

Three activities are essential for the resolution of any human problem:

It is estimated that approximately between 10% and 12% of the employees have serious personal problems, and that more than half of them are related to alcohol and other drugs.

Employees and Problems

The population at risk in the Employee Assistance Program is any employee with a serious personal problem that could degrade the performance at work or his general wellness. The program not only takes charge of alcoholism and other addictions, but also of other problems, such as marital difficulties, financial problems, emotional distress and legal problems. These problems could be divided in three categories:

1. The type of problems we have on a daily basis and generally do not disrupt our ability to perform our work. Employees are able to solve them without professional assistance.
2. The second category consists of problems that are a bit more serious, but with the help of supervisors, friends or family they can be solved. This problems could impact performance but with a simply attention call, the employee is able to solve the problem and fix any performance deviation.
3. In some cases, in spite of the efforts from the employee and the supervisor, the degradation of performance continues intermitently over a period of time.

It is for this third category of problems that the EAP has been created.

It is important to consider that individuals have differing capabilities to solve satisfactorily their problems. A situation that could be easily faced by a person, may require professional assistance for another. One thing is true: stereotypes of what constitutes a problem and a person that needs help are a frequent barrier for the effectiveness of any identification and derivation system. Employees that use the EAP are employed, they generally have a family and participate in the community.

Perhaps because of these stereotyped notions, it is hard to admit that there is a serious problem. If we convince ourselves that an alcoholic is that heavily drunk guy that we see laying on the street, we would not see that there might be problems with alcohol. However, if these difficulties are not treated, they will get worse and the result could be serious.

As the Employee Assistance Program is able to help people in crisis situations, its major function is to identify people that need help before problems reach a critical stage.