Businesses need to have confidence their employees are happy and well, they are ok, they need to have confidence the employee assistance provider is meeting all their needs. A business owner might only stop and think about this question after something has happened – effectively after the horse has bolted.
Try this simple seven step test before the horse bolts.
Does your provider
- Maximise employee happiness for optimal productivity?
- Normalise mental health? Or mental ill health?
- Provide timely regional worker support?
- Provide effective online and phone services?
- Recognise the early indicators of post traumatic stress disorder?
- Know the pressures of frontline workers in the health, justice and emergency services fields?
- Work from a sound theoretical evidence base that empowers individuals to take control of their own health and wellbeing?
It is one thing to have a provider – it is another to know your provider has your best interests at heart. This means a responsive service, no long waits for an appointment and the ability to teach people practical strategies for a better life. To an employer or an employee, mental health issues can appear to come from no where – but often they are the result of avoiding and controlling difficult thoughts, feelings and experiences caused by trauma or unwanted changes in a person’s life.
Many of our most critical services are likely to cause and trigger trauma. Massive workplace change, redundancies and closures are becoming the norm rather than the exception and cause dislocation, loss of confidence, depression and anxiety. We can’t control what life serves up – pain in life is not negotiable ….. but….. suffering is. It is our reactions that cause the longer term problems, replaying events and histories in our heads, focusing on went wrong, losing sight of our emotional state.
Using simple skills and strategies taught by ACT Curious EAP we can learn to notice old stories and be present in the now, by understanding how our minds work. ACT Curious EAP and counselling can help a person regain a sense of control, reduce their suffering and live a better life.
ACT Curious EAP and counselling is Australia’s most trusted EAP provider.
CONTACT US If you want additional support, ACT Curious can connect you to a behavioral therapist that meets your needs. You can get started today if ACT Curious EAP is offered by your employer.
DISCLAIMER: The content of this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR, Michelle Trudgen Clinical Director, ACT Curious.
copyright: 12 November 2017
