The Utilisation of Employee Assistance Programme: The Case of A Tertiary Hospital in Limpopo Province, South Afric

Abstract

Public institutions (namely, state departments and state-owned enterprises) and private business organisations in South Africa have recognised the importance of employee assistance programme (EAPs) in humanising the workplace. The rationale for implementing EAPs is to assist increase employees’ work commitment and performance through life management knowledge, social skills, as well as improved mental and physical health. An evaluative quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted at an EAP of a selected tertiary hospital, in the Limpopo Province in South Africa. This EAP was established in 2007, and coincidentally was never evaluated to assess whether it was meeting the needs of its clients (i.e. public servants in a health-care setting). Data was collected through self-administered questionnaires from 100 hospital employees (administrative, support and professional staff). Medical doctors were excluded from the study population, due to their busy work schedules. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyse data. Findings show that EAP services were underutilised, as targeted employees were largely unaware of availability of such services. For programme improvement reach and effectiveness, the study recommended that there was a need to improve on aspects such as work supervisor training on what EAP’s do, as well as marketing of programme services in the workplace.

Key words: Assessment, Employee Assistance Programmes, In-house model, EAP Practitioner, EAP utilisation