The headlines are horrific and familiar. A recent one tells of how a father of five is believed to have murdered his family and taken his own life after losing his job, and his ability to comprehend how he would care for his loved ones. While experts say it's simplistic to think widespread adoption and commitment to employee assistance programs will protect against future tragedies, they do agree that workers are stressed and many are reaching out for help. 

Anita Madison, VP of training and consulting for Compsych, says she's spending a lot of time strategizing with her corporate customers about their varying needs these days.

"We're busier now than we have been in a long time because of what's going on out there," she says.

Call volume is up and it's up across a variety of subjects and issues. Obviously, finance is a primary concern for EAP users these days. So is legal counseling and emotional support.

Madison is one of the ones who are reluctant to make a one-to-one correlation between recent salacious headlines and layoffs or other workplace stressors.

"I urge caution when I get people who say to me, 'see, layoffs are doing this,'" Madison says. On the other hand, she admits that, "for many people, the layoff is indeed the last straw for an already troubled life."

So what is an employer and their adviser to do? The answer is simple.

Communicate, communicate, communicate.

One problem is that many people, both employers and employees, have an antiquated impression of EAPs.

"In many cases people still tend to equate the EAP with its original intention 30 years ago, which was really put in place to help organizations with substance abuse issues and things like that," Madison says.

The intervening decades have seen the programs expand.

Just like any benefit, the key to making sure workers know about it and use it is communication. Madison says brochures, posters and live meetings are all appropriate channels for communicating the who, what, where, when and why of the EAP. One of her goals is to really make sure managers are familiar with the program so that they are ready to recommend it whenever a conversation with an individual worker or group of workers requires.

"Those customers who have the highest utilization have kept that program in the forefront," Madison says. "When it's more visible, people will use it more often."

And utilization in this case isn't a bad thing, even if you don't buy the connection between the most violent episodes and widespread escalation of workplace stressors. Madison also urges employers to consider not only laid off workers, but also those that remain. She says the environment for them may not be entirely healthy either.

EAPs, while probably not ubiquitous, have managed to permeate the employee benefits landscape either as stand-alone offerings or as add-ons or components of more common and more visible products - like major medical, disability and life insurance.

When added to sweeten the deal on a core benefit, it's not uncommon for the EAP to go up on the proverbial benefits shelf. Today's economic climate could have both employers and advisers pulling it down. The question remains as to whether they are going to like what they see once they dust it off.

Madison says it's rare that either group is shocked when taking another look at the program. She does say that they often are unaware of just what is available.

One thing Compsych has added is outplacement resources for the rank and file worker, not just the executive or management classes. That program helps departing workers with any questions they might have and also helps them make a plan for reentering the workforce at a later date.  EBA

Listen to the rest of our conversation with Compsych's Anita Madison, as well as hear us discuss the opportunities employee assistance programs offer advisers with TEAM Human Capital Solution's Kent Sharkey online. Visit eba.benefitnews.com/podcasts.