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Updated 11/11/11
Mental Health Services / Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs)
Why Employers Care
Mental health is described by the World Health Organization as a "state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community." This core concept of mental health is consistent with its wide and varied interpretation across cultures.
Worldwide figures show that one in four patients visiting a health service has at least one mental, neurological or behavioral disorder but most of these disorders are neither diagnosed nor treated. In 2004, unipolar major depression was the third leading cause of the burden of disease worldwide. By 2030, it will be the leading cause. According to the World Health Organization, about 8% of the global burden of disease for depression is attributed to occupational risks.
What Employers Can Do
Employers can play an important role for employees who have mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders by providing culturally-relevant mental health benefits, employee assistance services, and culturally competent educational materials.
GHBI and Select Business Group Resources
- Employers’ Global Approaches to Stress Management — December 8, 2011
At the December 2011 Board meeting, three employers shared their strategies for addressing stress in their workforces worldwide.
- Work-Related Stress: Questions and Answers — November 11, 2011
GHBI staff developed a series of three interrelated Q&A documents to answer commonly asked questions about stress. Each document is geared to a specific audience — corporate headquarters (HQ) staff, managers or employees. While these audiences share common concerns about stress and stress management, each also has a different perspective and different responsibilities about this issue. However, some of the information in each document is also applicable to other audiences so employers should feel free to use and distribute the information as they see fit.
- Work-Related Stress: Q&A for Corporate Headquarters (HQ) Staff:
 This Q&A document is intended for corporate headquarters decision-makers, the group frequently responsible for identifying the need for, and then implementing, stress management programs around the globe.
- Work-Related Stress: Q&A for Managers: This Q&A document is intended for managers, who frequently are the first to both notice and respond to stress-related issues among their employees. This document is a Microsoft Word document so that employers can brand and customize it with their own information (e.g. EAP and health plan phone numbers) as desired.
- Work-Related Stress: Q&A for Employees: This Q&A document is intended for employees to use in identifying and managing their own stress. This document is a Microsoft Word document so that employers can brand and customize it with their own information (e.g. EAP and health plan phone numbers) as desired.
- Stress, Resilience and the Psychology of Happiness – The Impact of Stress in the U.K.: What Employers Can Do — September 29, 2011
This presentation outlines the burden of stress in the U.K. and what employers can do to improve employee resilience and address stress in the workplace.
- Writing the Global EAP Toolkit: Lessons Learned and Member Dialogue — September 1, 2011
This presentation shares insight on how employers are using global employee assistance programs and how they are working with their vendors.
- Employee Assistance Programs Outside the U.S.: A Toolkit for Employers — September 27, 2011
A comprehensive toolkit that addresses the needs of multinational employers as they consider implementing employee assistance programs in their global locations. The full toolkit will be completed in late 2011 but elements will be posted here as they are developed.
- Psychosocial Factors and Work-Related Stress - A View from the UK and India – December 4, 2008
International Health Consulting presented an overview of mental health issues and approaches to mental health services globally.
- An Employer's Guide to Employee Assistance Programs: Recommendations for Strategically Defining, Integrating and Measuring Employee Assistance Programs – December 1, 2008
This U.S.-centric employer guide will help employers understand the strategic value of an employee assistance program, enhance the value of existing employee assistance programs, and to acknowledge the contributions that EAPs make in helping corporations achieve their business goals. Multinational employers can adapt these concepts and strategies to be applicable to workforces outside the U.S.
- Integrated People Management Solution for Maximizing Performance and Building Organizational Resiliency Presentation – December 4, 2006
Human Dynamic Asia Pacific presented to the Board about employee assistance program (EAP) services in Asia (specifically China and India) and the differences when compared with Western-based EAPs.
- An Employer's Guide to Behavioral Health Services – December 16, 2005
This U.S.-centric employer guide provides an overview of employer-sponsored behavioral health services, including services offered through Health plans, disability management programs, and employee assistance programs. The guide includes statistics on the costs and consequences of behavioral health conditions and provides a set of recommendations that employers can use to improve the design, implementation, and evaluation of their behavioral health benefits and worksite programs. Here is the executive summary. Multinational employers can adapt these concepts and strategies to be applicable to workforces outside the U.S.
Solutions Online 
- Employee assistance programs are under Healthy Lifestyles.
Other Resources
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