Personal stress accounted for 22.1 per cent of Employee Assistance Program (EAP) calls in 2022, up from 17.5 per cent in 2021, according to research from Telus Health.
The report titled ‘Global Mental Health Report for 2022’ looks at how businesses can support employees and the benefits of EAP.
It concludes that personal stress, anxiety, and depression continue to be the major causes of why employees seek help, but it makes the case that successful employee support programmes can be beneficial.
The report found that 14.1 per cent of EAP calls were for anxiety support as opposed to the 13.1 per cent reported in 2021.
It also found that anxiety and depression were the two conditions for which people used digital resources most regularly with over one-third of EAP calls over 2021 and 2022 being for personal stress, anxiety, or depression.
Successful employee support programmes can have a favourable effect on an organisation’s bottom line, according to Telus Health.
The Workplace Outcome Suite data referenced in the report shows that EAP counselling benefits both employees and companies, with the average counselling case lowering work absence by 57 per cent.
According to the data, counselling increased life satisfaction and professional involvement while reducing workplace stress.
EAP decreases work presenteeism from 56.8 hours to 35.7 hours per month, which increases employee productivity.
