60 seconds with …. Eugene Farrell, chair of EAPA UK 

1. What do you see as the biggest challenge now facing the EAP industry?

Digitisation has accelerated really fast, added to that it seems many counsellors may not want to return to face to face entirely. The EAP world has been a bit slow to respond to digital delivery and may get behind the digital curve. We see new digital providers entering the mental health and counselling space which present an alternative to EAP. Given the low cost per capita of EAP services, there has been little investment in the infrastructure of EAP services and providers. This may be the biggest barrier to moving the digital dial on. Gen Z’s are already digital in almost everything, while Gen Xers might be a mix of digital averse and digital adopters. Both are in the workplace so we can’t switch to fully digital. Choice of entry point and interaction is going to be essential too. 

2. Where are the biggest opportunities for expanding EAP services and relationships going to come from?

The spotlight on mental health has become more intense, there has never been a better time for EAP’s to really show their value and experience in helping employees and workplaces to assist with mental health. EAP’s have been doing this since the 1980’s, the industry had a boost after the Walker 1995 case and again after Hatton-Sutherland 2002, but nothing like this. Back then stigma was still an issue, it is much less so now and EAP’s have an essential part to play in helping employers with their mental health management and strategy.

The EAP industry bring years of experience and offer a wide range of support and treatments that can really help people. We have always done reliable assessment of mental health needs with onward referral to counselling, or mental health treatments. It shouldn’t be underestimated just because it’s so reliable and done efficiently. Overall, there is a wide offering from EAP that is an essential part of any mental health and wellbeing strategy. EAP’s also bring a wealth of additional services and experience, like training, mental health awareness, resilience and stress management. There is also an explosion of first aiders that need proper supervision and support that EAP’s can provide. 

3. What’s going to be the most important next trend in employee wellbeing?

It seems to me that data is the big thing, there are many aspects to wellbeing and data is disparate, overlapping, overrepresented or just unclear. Getting reliable data that properly identifies employee health risks and outcomes, is going to be really important. Otherwise, you are just sitting looking at reports thinking “so what is this actually telling me about the wellbeing of my people?” 

4. What should be the main priorities for EAPA in the coming years?

We need to set really high clinical and delivery standards to ensure that employees get real help when they need it. We are unique in having standards for providers, and this should be a huge comfort to organisational purchasers. But at this time, they are not well understood, so we need to work harder on that. Getting the standards verified is another challenge, we are working to resolve that right now.

5. What’s the most rewarding part of your job?

I truly believe we do good things to help people when they are in need, distress or crisis.

6. What’s your next big project at home?

We have two flat roof’s that need replacing, should I have ago or get a professional? I am pretty good at most things and with new rubber membranes I am tempted to do it myself. It might be sort of therapeutic doing a manual task, or it could turn into a nightmare where I need help.

Parliament EAP provides early warning system

The number of calls made to a 24/7 helpline, known by Parliament staff as the ‘harassment hotline’, have increased by 10% during the pandemic period.

The hotline has been available since 2014 as part of the EAP. Between 2019 and 2020 there were around 973 calls to the hotline, the great majority from House of Commons staff and a smaller number from the staff of MPs. In the most recent year this has risen to 1,073 calls. The actual figures are believed to be higher as the official figures do not include calls from other types of Parliament staff, including those involved with the House of Lords or MPs themselves.

Mental health signals

Rather than cases of harassment or conflict in particular, around half of calls have been from staff with worries about their mental health. A quarter were to do with legal queries.

Jenny Symmons, chairwoman of GMB’s branch for MPs’ staff, said: “Parliament has made huge headway in supporting MPs’ staff pastorally. As more effort has been made to publicise the EAP during the pandemic, more staff have made use of it. However, services offering mental health support are only treating the symptoms of cultural issues in Parliament – not the cause.”

Treating causes

“In a pressured, rough and tumble environment like the Houses of Parliament, access to mental wellbeing services is hugely important,” says EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell.

“Yes the role of an EAP in this context is in treating symptoms – making sure people get immediate advice and help early on in situations. But it’s also only this kind of evidence of usage, and types of usage, that provides the necessary evidence for HR to plan a targeted response. In turn it’s the EAP that highlights the problems that exist and what can be done: allowing for steps towards culture change based on recognised realities.”

Parliament EAP provides early warning system EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell

What’s happened to the cost of absence during the pandemic?

Sickness absence fell to 2.2% during 2020, down from 2.7% in 2019: an average of five days per employee compared with 6.4 days according to the XpertHR online resource.

The combination of staff being furloughed, WFH and people shielding is believed to be the reason for the falling rates – which are expected to continue as more staff opt for hybrid forms of working.

At the same time, however, there are concerns about how Covid-19 has made it more difficult for HR to record and understand the real impact of sickness absence on businesses. Fewer than two-thirds of businesses record the impact of absence, says new research from group risk protection body GRiD among 505 HR leaders in the UK. What’s been the real cost of disrupted teams on productivity and performance?

What’s being measured

The most common method for recording absence (among 44% if businesses) is simply to account for the number of lost hours or days. 40% calculate the cost of sick pay provision (statutory and salary). 36% look at lost productivity; 36% direct costs of temp or agency staff; 33% the indirect costs of colleagues covering work and management time.

The problem is, without a strong grasp on the full extent of the costs of sickness absence, how can HR make an informed case for investing at the right levels into wellbeing, early intervention support and other related benefits?

EAP ROI

“The headline figure for absence might be falling – but what is this hiding in terms of the range of costs from disruption, increased stress in the workplace, pressures and bullying?” asks EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell.

“The need for more attention to the ROI from HR’s wellbeing initiatives led EAPA UK to compile the biggest ever data set on EAP usage, impact and financial returns in the UK (Financial Return on EAPs 2020: How Does Your Organisation Compare?). Based on 2,000 calculations made via the EAPA UK ROI calculator, we found that for every £1 spent on an EAP in the UK, employers see an average return on investment (ROI) of £7.27.”

What’s happened to the cost of absence during the pandemic?

Poor managers mean serious health risks says BMJ research

New research has shown an intrinsic link between inept management practices and problems with mental health among employees.

The study by academics at the University of South Australia, published in the British Medical Journal, suggests employees working in a ‘toxic culture’ are three times more likely to develop depression. There are also higher risks of death from heart disease and stroke. Where there is a lack of attention to employee wellbeing, it’s men who are more at risk of depression than women.

Problematic practices include making unreasonable demands, a lack of acknowledgment and rewards for good work and low levels of staff autonomy.

A problem shared…

Linked research has also found that a lack of a sense of ‘psychological safety’ at work is a predictor of bullying and emotional exhaustion.

Sometimes stress is a trigger for bullying and in the worst cases it can set an ‘acceptable’ level of behaviour for other members of the team,” said Professor Maureen Dollard. “But above all, bullying can be predicted from a company’s commitment to mental health, so it can be prevented. The global costs of workplace bullying and worker burnout are significant, leading to absenteeism, poor work engagement, stress leave and low productivity.”

What’s toxic?

“How do HR know when the workplace environment has tipped over into a dangerously toxic state?” said EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell. “The business context might be challenging, management might have needed to make some tough decisions, demands on staff may have increased – but none of that means the culture is toxic. What matters is that management are keeping to the values of the organisation, working relationships are still good, people feel they are being listened to and wellbeing remains a priority.

“Tracking the use of EAPs can be a valuable source of anonymised data on trends, to look for patterns in terms of concerns over workloads, relationship breakdowns, bullying etc. This kind of early warning system is crucial for flagging issues with management, as well as for tailoring support via the EAP and other wellbeing benefits.”

Poor managers mean serious health risks says BMJ research

Business leaders need to show empathy (and weakness), says Facebook

In his opinion column for City AM magazine, Karandeep Anand, the Head of Workplace at Facebook, has called for HR to ‘scrap’ their ‘meaningless’ initiatives around mental health.

With more people returning to workplaces and more ‘normal’ routines, it’s a critical time for employers to provide genuine support, helping employees with their anxieties around job security, hybrid working, ongoing isolation and future changes.

More organisations have promoted their commitment to mental wellbeing – it’s just part of the new normal – but what about the practical consequences in terms of juggling levels of responsibility and workloads?

“It’s a tale as old as time,” argued Anand. “Leadership teams say mental health comes first, but then push employees to the point of burnout. Company-wide emails promote ‘Wellness Wednesdays’, but they continue to miss tell-tale signs of mental illness because they don’t listen to their people.”

Opening doors

Anand goes on to call for more transparency and constant conversations. Leaders need to share their own experiences of struggles, encouraging a culture where it’s possible to admit vulnerabilities.

There’s a need, he says, for creating space for people to talk and to discover more about the actual experiences of staff: regular one-to-one sessions between employees and managers and leaders. If there isn’t real action on wellbeing, beyond lip service, then more employees are likely to look to move on.

New research provides hard evidence of increased demand from employees for HR support in general. Factorialhr.co.uk found that around three-quarters needed to contact HR in the past year: 42% were queries relating to mental health or illness, 31% around returning to work after an illness. 24% had gone to HR to talk about being unhappy in their role.

Listening or just talking?

“Not just employee wellbeing, but proving the authenticity of wellbeing support has become one of the biggest challenges for HR in 2021,” argues EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell.

“Mass emails and access to web content is one thing, but the intensity of pressures over the past 18 months means that employees need to find substance beneath the promotions.

“The great strength of EAPs is the range and depth of support involved: immediate access to professional expertise and tailored advice, the chance to talk in confidence, with pathways open to the option of counselling sessions.”

How many BrewDog-style employers are out there?

An open letter on Twitter from former employees at BrewDog has put the company’s culture into the spotlight – raising questions about the sincerity of HR and business leaders’ commitment to ethical practices and employee wellbeing.

It’s a serious challenge to the reputation of an employer which has been feted in HR press as a model of wellbeing practices. BrewDog’s vision is to be “the best company to work for…ever”. ‘Our Charter’ talks in terms of everything it does being “about our people”. Recent publicity has focused on the offer of ‘pawternity leave’, giving time off to employees to settle in new pets.

Underneath the shine

The main complaint from former staff – signed by a number of named people and 45 others who “did not feel safe to include their name or initials” – is that BrewDog’s senior team of “inflated egos” created a cult of personality, making for a toxic culture.

More specific claims included: growth being more important than safety standards and health and wellbeing; staff pressured to work beyond their capacity; junior staff belittled; and an HR team not interested in people. Much-publicised offers like pawternity leave were said to be very hard to access in practice.

“Put bluntly, the single biggest shared experience of former staff is a residual feeling of fear,” said the letter. “Fear to speak out about the atmosphere we were immersed in, and fear of repercussions even after we left.”

Impact first

“When an employer is genuinely committed to employee health and wellbeing, when there’s a real balance between bottom-line outcomes and the workplace experience then it’s quite right that organisations take credit for what they’ve achieved,” says EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell [https://www.eapa.org.uk/]. “Employees will want to talk about the great support they receive and why they’re proud to be associated with that brand. HR want to see new ideas, what’s working and what they need to benchmark themselves against.

“Wellbeing initiatives, and employer branding in general, have to be rooted in actual employee experience. Publicity needs to happen second, when there’s been positive impact, when leadership know there’s truth to the claims being made. Otherwise how can any new recruit or employee ever trust any brand?”

How many BrewDog-style employers are out there?

Have pandemic managers been ’bullies’ or just getting things done?

The Workplace Wellbeing Census of 4,000 UK employees found that 26% believed they had been bullied over the past three years. That’s up from 14% in 2019.

The sectors with the highest levels of bullying, according to the Bupa/YouGov survey, are transport, education and retail. Employees aged over 45 are most likely to report having been bullied (17%), compared with just 7% of 18 to 24-year-olds.

Why be a bully?

Researchers suggest the most likely cause for the sharp increases has been the move to digital working practices, the kinds of changes that can be questioned or resisted by older employees. They also point to conflict resulting from decisions over which staff were furloughed and how workloads and responsibilities were being redistributed.

Bupa UK has stressed the need for awareness of the range of problems facing staff in post-pandemic conditions, and the increased potential for miscommunication and misinterpretation.

“Employers have the same duty of care for their workers whether they’re in the office or at home,” said Mark Allan, Commercial Director at Bupa UK Insurance. “Therefore creating a culture where employees feel able to speak up if they experience any problems, is absolutely key.”

Opening up

“There’s a thin line between managers who are bullying, who are being unreasonable in their demands, inappropriate in their manner and behaviour, and just those managers under severe pressure doing their best to introduce unpopular change,” says EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell.

“So it’s often an issue of perception. What tends to matter most is how staff feel about themselves and their relationship with their boss and other people around them. If they feel confident in their situation generally; if they have a sense of psychological safety and can trust their manager and colleagues, then the sense of ‘bullying’ goes away.

“This is where access to an EAP helps in a number of ways. It’s an outlet for talking about workplace strains and relationships issues. It’s a way to help staff better cope with other issues that are affecting their state of mind and ability to deal with yet more change. Managers have the option to signpost their line reports towards more support and advice.”

Have pandemic managers been ’bullies’ or just getting things done? EAPA UK

The National Bereavement Service joins the EAPA community

A free helpline designed to complement existing EAP offerings, the National Bereavement Service (NBS) [https://thenbs.org] has become an associate member of the Employee Assistance Professionals Association (EAPA) UK.

A not-for-profit organisation, the NBS offers impartial practical guidance and signposting on both statutory requirements and support services: who to contact, how to arrange a funeral, through to probate and estate management. It also provides bereavement benefit packages for employers and charities based around legal services, funeral planning and dedicated support and counselling helplines.

The newly-created NBS support and counselling service, provided in partnership with St Giles Hospice, has been set up in response to requests from corporate clients for immediate access to a source of professional advice on bereavement. 

The NBS also has a campaigning role. In January 2021, NBS was one of the organisations who signed the letter to the Government and Secretary of State by Sue Ryder to introduce two weeks statutory paid bereavement leave, to provide security for those who are grieving the loss of a close relative or partner.

“Bereaved employees are highly unlikely to be able to perform well at work if they are forced to return too quickly,” says Jean Watkins, Director of the NBS. “What has not been known until now, is the financial cost of grief to the economy and to employers.   

“We wanted to be part of the EAPA UK community because we believe that our service can add an additional dimension of support not traditionally offered as part of HR, Wellbeing and EAP assistance. NBS can add invaluable assistance and a first point of call to employees affected by a recent bereavement of a loved one, or anyone affected by a death.”

Workplace ‘despair closet’ anyone?

In its bid to improve its reputation around employee treatment and experience, Amazon has introduced ‘WorkingWell’, an ‘employee-designed’ health and safety programme for all of its US operations.

The move comes in the wake of years of criticism from former and current staff at the online retail company on social media and in newspaper reports. Amazon had been accused of limiting toilet breaks and trying to find ways to fire staff without any human involvement, through digital-only processes.

AmaZen?

WorkingWell includes access for staff to an AmaZen in the workplace, an “individual interactive kiosk” where employees can spend their break time watching “videos featuring easy-to-follow wellbeing activities, including guided meditations, positive affirmations, calming scenes with sounds, and more”.

The idea of the booths hasn’t gone down well. A quick, cheap and inhuman response to the very real and complicated problems that affect employee wellbeing – many of them rooted in financial problems and a sense of not being valued as individuals. On social media the booths have become known as “despair closets” or “cry closets”, the box where staff go to hide. “I feel like liveable wages & working conditions are better than a mobile despair closet,” said one Amazon employee.

How to care

“As the past year has demonstrated, employee wellbeing is a fundamental issue, the heart of productivity, performance and organisational resilience,” says EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell.

“Employers need to beware of ticking the box on employee wellbeing with schemes that lack substance, that can’t begin to address the range of concerns and challenges facing people in the Covid-19 era.

“Wellbeing needs to be backed with investment and an acknowledgment of the importance of human contact and relationships. Not everything can be solved with access to instant digital content.”

Workplace ‘despair closet’ anyone? Eugene Farrell

Are digital mental wellbeing advice and forums enough?

The pandemic crisis saw an 89% increase in adults making use of the Kooth digital mental health platform, often used in referrals by the NHS.

In its What is the State of the Nation’s Mental Health report, Kooth has set out the findings from 192,000 anonymised users of the service between April 2020 and March 2021.

Making use of the standard GAD7 questionnaire, 41% said they “felt nervous or anxious every day”, up 19% on 2019 figures. 38% said they “could not stop or control worrying nearly every day”, a 25% increase.

Evidence of crisis

The serious impact of the series of lockdowns is made clear by the data. Problems with sleeping was found to be consistently more common: for example, in November 2020, sleep difficulties were 106% more prevalent than in 2019. Spikes in the number of adults experiencing suicidal thoughts were seen in November and December 2020; and by February 2021, 27% of all adults presenting issues admitted to having suicidal thoughts. Self-harm was also worse, peaking in February and March 2021

“In order to address the mental health and wellbeing needs of the nation, choice and diversity in how people access mental health support must be embraced,” says the report. “There is no longer a one size fits all approach to care. It is clear that there must be a focus on providing support outside of the clinic, or the therapy room – meeting the needs of the nation by providing support when and where it is needed. Digital support should be embedded into wider support structures to provide a safety net for people.”

People need people

“Immediate access to support on mental health is vital – because of the importance of early intervention, but also because that’s the world we live in, the expectation of instant, digital access to services,” says EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell.

“For the NHS, struggling to deal with a vast backlog of patient cases, flagging people towards a library of professional, moderated content and the opportunity to interact with other content users is a sensible option. As research has shown, people in general have been reluctant to bother their GP with mental health problems.

“All our experience shows, however, that employees trying to cope with mounting concerns about their state of mind need the reassurance of a human relationship. A sense of isolation, of being stuck with only digital, artificial relationships, not being listened to, is so often part of the problem.

“That’s why the offerings that employers put in place via an EAP, their commitment to offering individual attention, empathy and a human voice is so valuable and valued.”

Digital mental wellbeing Eugene Farrell