Internal EAPs and the low-wage Worker: Practitioners'Perceptions of Services

INTERNAL EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS AND LOW-WAGE WORKERS: PRACTITIONERS PERCEPTIONS OF SERVICES Kathleen E. McDonough, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2005 Utilizing a mailing list secured from the Employee Assistance Professionals Association, practitioners of internal employee assistance programs (EAPs) were surveyed to assess their perceptions of how their programs compared in service provision between low-wage and other workers. The sample consisted of 71 respondents, and was gender-balanced but overwhelmingly Caucasian. Respondents estimated minor differences between the two worker groups in program utilization, but programs that offered concrete, tangible services had higher low-wage utilization rates. Supervisory and human resource referrals were generally higher for low-wage workers, but programs that used a variety of promotional strategies had higher low-wage self-refer rates. There were no major disparities in problem categories between the two groups with the exception of financial and attendance difficulties. Respondents rated their EAPs helpfulness with low-wage workers positively, but were less optimistic in comparison to other workers. The majority of respondents did not perceive major differences in treatment between the two worker groups, but they did think that low-wage workers were less likely to remain in treatment. Analyses of responses to open-ended items sometimes conflicted with the quantitative data. Implications for practice and policy in EAP service provision to low-wage workers and recommendations for future research are discussed. iii