The 2017 Workplace Outcome Suite (WOS) Report Finds Strong Correlation Between Employee Assistance Counseling and Lower Presenteeism, Improved Life Satisfaction
Bloomington, IL (PRWEB) September 19, 2017 -- Chestnut Global Partners (CGP) and the Employee Assistance Professionals Association (EAPA) today announce the publication of the 2017 Workplace Outcome Suite (WOS) Report analyzing the outcomes of 16,792 completed EAP employee cases. Over 30 EAPs shared outcomes data using the WOS, which evaluated five core outcomes: absenteeism, presenteeism, work engagement, workplace distress, and life satisfaction. The study showed statistically significant changes in the expected directions, indicting greatest improvement and largest effects in work presenteeism and life satisfaction after use of EAP counseling.
The WOS is a free, validated, short, precise, and easy-to-administer survey that collects EAP specific workplace outcome data both before and after EAP services (the after measure is taken about 90 days after an EAP intake). The 2017 study, coordinated by CGP in association with the Employee Assistance Professionals Association (EAPA) and about 30 EAPA members, compared improvement after counseling for different workplace outcomes and life satisfaction in over 16,000 EAP cases worldwide. This report focused on the five single items that comprise the super short version known as the WOS-5:
• Absenteeism (looks at the number of hours absent due to a personal problem taking the employee away from work).
• Presenteeism (measures decreases in productivity even though the employee is not absent per se but not working at his or her optimum due to unresolved personal problems).
• Workplace Distress (examines the degree of anxiety or stress at work).
• Work Engagement (refers to the extent to which the employee is invested in or passionate about his or her job).
• Life Satisfaction (addresses one’s general sense of well-being).
According to the study, presenteeism improved by 26% and life satisfaction by 22% after EAP counseling – the two outcomes that showed the greatest statistical improvement. Improved presenteeism (better focus while at work) can produce cost savings through productivity enhancements that frequently exceed the expense of the EAP itself. Life Satisfaction is a measure of restored personal well-being after interacting with the EAP counselor.
“The 2017 WOS Report provides compelling evidence supporting the important role that EAPs play in improving the productivity and healthy functioning of employees in the workplace,” said Dr. Dave Sharar, a Research Scientist with CGP’s Commercial Science Division. “There’s a broad misconception that all EA services and providers are equal except in price. Since the cost of an EAP is remarkably low even when selecting the highest cost vendor, organizations or employers would benefit from focusing on identifying an EAP partner that is a good fit for the organization, that consistently delivers positive workplace – which is to say business – outcomes.”
According to Greg DeLapp, CEO of EAPA, the organization that partnered on the study, “Many EAPs still don’t know the extent to which their program or interventions actually improve the work performance of employees who use EAP services. Employers, purchasers, or other stakeholders wind up focusing on two metrics where information does exist: cost and utilization, versus the most meaningful metric to business: employee workplace outcomes. The 2017 WOS report shows that EA providers and purchasers can effectively move from utilization-based models to ones based on value as defined by outcomes achieved relative to costs.”
The Workplace Outcome Suite was developed in 2010 by Chestnut Global Partners Division of Commercial Science to provide a scientific, objective measure to make the case whether investing in EAP makes business sense. As over 600 EAPs have since signed license agreements to freely use the WOS to evaluate the efficacy of their programs in the context of the workplace, it has emerged as the industry standard in EAP outcomes measurement. EAPA, the professional member association for EAPs, has endorsed the WOS as a best practice tool and encouraged EAPs to “use the same yardstick” to measure outcomes. This allows for comparisons across industries, EAP models, and geographies.
The complete 2017 Workplace Outcome Suite Report can be accessed here: http://www.eapassn.org/2017WOSReport
About the International Employee Assistance Professionals Association (EAPA)
The International Employee Assistance Professionals Association (EAPA) is the world’s largest, oldest, and most respected membership organization for employee assistance professionals. With members in over 40 countries around the globe, EAPA is the world’s most relied upon source of information and support for and about the employee assistance profession. EAPA publishes the Journal of Employee Assistance, hosts the Annual World EAP Conference, and offers training and other resources to fulfill its mission. EAPA’s mission is to promote the highest standards of EA practice and the continuing development of employee assistance professionals, programs and services. For more, visit http://www.eapassn.org/.
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, employee safety and compliance management programs, designed to promote employee well-being, improve performance and reduce absenteeism.
Chestnut Global Partners serves companies in over 150 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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