Background: Gallup (2013) reported that 30% of the U.S. workforce was not engaged in their work which means they were not reaching their full potential or productivity level. For organizations, lost productivity due to absenteeism or less than ideal performance at work impacts company performance and bottom line. Employee assistance programs are a…

While the benefits of early childhood education and care (ECEC) services to better learning are now widely acknowledged, a widespread and accessible provision for these services also helps support gender equality in the workforce. In particular, the availability, intensity, reliability and affordability of ECEC play an important role in engaging…

Compassionate care leave and benefits were introduced in 2003/04 to help employees cope with this difficult work-life balance challenge. Employment Standards legislation and the Employment Insurance program (EI) were amended to provide leave without pay, with payment of EI benefits for compassionate care leave. Collective agreements have been…

Job burnout and stress begin with day-to-day frustrations, roadblocks, and unmet expectations. These can transform job satisfaction and, ultimately, career choices, affecting the quality of programs, expense to universities, and relationships with the community. A series of innovative statewide workshops involving 97 agents and Extension directors…

People who choose careers in advancement know they're not entering a 9-to-5, 40-hours-a-week profession. Staffers juggle personal lives with their commitment to stressful jobs that involve travel, long hours, weekend events, and deadlines. Work-life balance means different things to different people, but flexibility seems to be a priority for…

This article describes the work-life benefits Gettysburg College offers its employees. 400 of Gettysburg's 725 full-time employees participate in the college's wellness program. About half of them stick with it long enough to earn discounts of up to $500 a year on their health-insurance premiums. The wellness program--which includes free on-campus…

When it came to benefits for employees, higher education used to be at the head of the class. Back in the 1950s, academe was one of the first fields to embrace health-insurance coverage for illnesses that do not require hospitalization, and it later led the way toward long-term disability insurance. Universities and colleges approved…

With the forthcoming retirement of school foodservice directors, the increasing pressures faced by employees at home and work, and the financial constraints of school districts, recruiting and retaining skilled and diverse employees will be challenging. Marketing work/life benefits to potential employees and supporting these policies to current…

Study examines job satisfaction in a national sample of employee assistance program (EAP) professionals. Data were collected from 210 EAP professionals through mailed surveys. Results indicate that respondents employed by external EAP organizations were more satisfied with their jobs than those who were employed by internal EAPs. (Contains 20…

Approximately six to eight percent of the nation's workers have problems which affect their job performance; without assistance, these problems become worse, affect others, and may have serious consequences to the employer as well. The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a pragmatic but compassionate attempt to improve performance by constructing…

Discusses the employee assistance program (EAP), a benefit increasingly provided by United Kingdom employers that claims to reduce the effects of stress on individuals and organizations, provide a management tool to improve workplace performance and productivity, and respond to critical incidents. Describes EAPs, their history, development and…

Efforts of corporations to limit or ban smoking in the workplace have been generally unsuccessful. This article reviews the most common antismoking programs, including education, counseling and incentives, and proscriptive rules and policies. A multidimensional, broad-based smoking cessation program is then described. (Author/TE)

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) offer employees confidential, professional assistance for the kinds of personal problems that adversely affect their lives and their jobs. These programs started when acute worker shortages during World War II, coupled with the successes of Alcoholic Anonymous, prompted some companies in the 1940s to develop…

Drinking problems among college faculty are discussed, and selective information is presented about alcohol abuse, employee assistance programs, adulthood stages, and futuristic changes in U.S. society. The idea that work obsession and alcoholism can be linked for university professors who have a high need for achievement is discussed. Enabling…

The article reports on the following aspects of employee assistance programs (EAPs), which are designed to counter employee personal problems that could impair work performance: 1) administrative views on EAPs; 2) district ratings of EAPs; 3) funding; 4) types of problems handled; and 5) success of the programs. (PS)