Why EAPs aren't just for crises

Employee assistance programs, or EAPs, began as a way to help workers who were struggling. They first gained popularity at the tail end of the Great Depression, as an extension of substance abuse programs like Alcoholics Anonymous; in the following decades, these offerings evolved at various companies to include other programs, like financial and legal aid. But EAPs were traditionally designed to be reactionary — an extra safety net for employees who were going through a crisis.

So it’s no wonder that, even in this day and age, employees tend to think of them as something other people need — people with problems. In recent years, however, EAPs have evolved into something much more holistic, becoming preventative and maintenance systems for even the most engaged, active, emotionally healthy employees. Read on to learn more about this powerful tool and how it can help support employee wellbeing and keep your teams happy and productive.

Why employees — and employers — need EAPs

Increasingly, employers today are finding that offering health insurance and healthcare can’t ensure employees’ holistic wellbeing alone. They can tell, because absenteeism and unplanned leave are costing them dearly. In the U.S., one estimate puts the loss at a whopping $600 billion USD a year, just due to unplanned absences, be it from illness or otherwise — the analysis put the average cost at $4,080 per full-time employee and $2,040 per part-time worker. In Canada, another report found employee absences and “presenteeism” (a term used to describe employees who are mentally checked out at work) are costing Canadian employers nearly $645 CAD million annually; even Europe, with its traditionally liberal attitude toward PTO, is facing similar issues lately.

Overall employee engagement is staggeringly low, too, sending the cost of disengaged employees sky-high. Gallup's State of the Global Workplace 2025 Report reported global employee engagement was down to 21 percent in 2024, with lost productivity costing the world’s economy $438 billion USD. The report also estimates $9.6 trillion USD in productivity could be added to the economy if the global workforce was fully engaged.

In this light, it’s easy to see how keeping employees feeling engaged, confident, and thriving is in everyone’s best interest. Modern employee assistance programs are designed specifically to tackle these issues, with a variety of resources to help support employees wherever they may be on the care continuum, from feeling well to struggling to feeling unwell. When employees can access the support offered by modern EAPs at any time, they’re more resilient, and that can have a substantial impact on an organization’s long-term success.

How EAPs offer more than damage control

But what does this “variety of resources” entail? Certainly, it includes the kinds of mental health and counseling services people usually think of when they hear the term “EAP.” But beyond these traditional offerings, the EAP of today also offers resources like support for caregivers (children, aging parents and relatives, etc.), physical health resources, financial services, legal advice, learning resources and much more.

Modern EAPs are designed not just for emergencies, but can also offer proactive tools and resources, such as training and coaching, wellbeing assessments and activity tracking, to help support employees before challenges arise. More than just assist employees in crisis, EAP resources can help employees who already feel well stay that way.

“As a clinician, I’ve seen people flourish when they have unlimited access to personalized support like they do with the right EAP,” said Dr. Matthew Chow, Chief Mental Health Officer, TELUS Health. “Programs that support employees — whether they’re feeling well, struggling or feeling unwell — can make all the difference for employers who want their employees happy, healthy and thriving. The cost of not offering support like this can have a cascading impact on performance, for both employees and the organization.”

How EAPs empower workers and prevent disengaged employees

An effective EAP offers employees the ability to anticipate and be ready for challenges before they arise; then, when they do come up, the EAP empowers them to act and advocate for themselves in the moment. Finally, it equips them with the tools and resources needed to respond adequately in the aftermath of the unexpected.

A more senior employee, for example, might utilize their EAP’s financial services and legal advice to help them anticipate what steps they’ll need to take before they retire. As they embark upon the transition, they may use it again to speak with a mental health coach, empowering them to make decisions and embrace change with confidence. Finally, once they’ve retired, their EAP may have the education and the documentation they need to adapt to life after career.

And throughout this journey, their EAP is available to support them when crises do arise - just like it did when an employee was most in need of one when she was struggling.

“Taking care of ourselves is a learned skill, one that we all need support and practice to get good at,” said Dr. Chow. “With an EAP, employees can build that skill with the support of experts to be prepared for anything, so they can bounce back faster and stay well longer.”

Increase EAP utilization through communication

Any member of a people team can tell you this from experience: employees can’t, and won’t, use a resource they don’t know about. According to the Q4 2025 TELUS Mental Health Index, 27 percent of U.S. employees and 24 percent of Canadian employees aren’t sure if their employers offer an EAP. Another report finds that even if they know they have mental health care benefits, only 53 percent of U.S. employees know how to access them.

EAPs aren’t as instantly recognizable to the average employee as, say, a health insurance plan; if they’re not sure what an “employee assistance program” is, that set of words could mean anything. As a result, leadership needs to be able to communicate what these resources mean for their employees in concrete terms — and in a variety of formats and locations.

And for employees who have heard of EAPs, that communication will need to include debunking misconceptions and stigma around who and what these programs are for. Yes, EAPs are great for responding in the wake of a crisis, but they can also be essential resources for those “anticipation” and “empowerment” moments in life, too, and leaders can help ensure their people make the most of their EAPs by normalizing those uses.

This can take the form of onboarding documentation with examples and real-world scenarios where employees might find various offerings in their EAP useful, but also training managers in the details so they know when and what information and use cases to pass along their direct reports whenever an opportunity — or, yes, crisis — comes up. Leaders know their people, and when they fully understand the scope of an EAP, they can be the best advocates for both, making these programs not only an essential resource but a sound business investment.