Rebecca Edwards, SPHR, SCP enjoys providing workplace-tested solutions to employers and employees with her firm, Infinite HR of Charlotte.
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Working from home during the pandemic is not just heartwarming pictures of parents working on laptops with children snuggled next to them on the sofa, or families posting dance videos on social media. The reality is that a large segment of the workforce is struggling to figure out, navigate and maintain a “new normal” that was never meant to be. There is no blueprint for this new design of managing full-time work responsibilities along with parenting/teaching/caregiving/household responsibilities, with no separation of the two worlds.
This reality, coupled with restrictions on movement, has created a concerning dynamic. Mental health is under attack right now, so human resources leaders: It's time to reintroduce your employee assistance program (EAP). The demands employees are facing now are unprecedented, and they need support to work through their stressors and the uncertainty of what is to come. Let’s review a few of the major areas where EAPs can help employees weather this storm.
Parenting (Including Teaching, Entertaining, Refereeing)
Sure, many people have worked from home for years and have even reared their children while doing so. But, in this lifetime, none have had to do this without having the option of sending children to school, day care or camp for some portion of the day. Few, if any, were thrust into becoming a home school family without warning or anticipation. For years, working parents have joked about having two full-time jobs — one from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and another from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. — but handling both without even the pause of a commute is certainly unique to 2020.
Many families are coping with this situation by splitting the days 50/50, with one parent managing home and child responsibilities during the morning while the other parent focuses on their occupation, and then switching off for the afternoon. However, with only eight working hours in a day, both parents will eventually have pressing career priorities arise at the same time, and that will be the day the children let loose and all bets are off. And what about all of the single working parent households? This new world order requires an entirely new set of skills, distractions and bribery for parents to attain that elusive “balance,” and the EAP can help them with that.
Caregiving (Including 24/7 Nursing, Therapy)
In addition to parenting, caregiving has been disrupted as well. Many employees care for elderly family members or children with special needs. They require a completely different level of support because they have likely had to take on responsibilities that they may not be qualified to handle. Social distancing and the inability to have skilled nurses, therapists or caregivers come in to help has forced these employees to take on intensive caregiving tasks themselves, while still maintaining their level of work. This is nearly impossible, yet your employees are doing it every day. We need to make sure someone is there for them.
Personal
There are also employees who may be handling their own medical needs during this time. Medical support is limited to telemedicine in many areas, and several nonemergency surgeries have been delayed. Yet, somehow these employees are coping, all while meeting the expectations of their jobs.
Family dynamics are also a possible source of stress. While love conquers all, no one signed up for being together 24/7 for 20-plus weeks at a time. Restrictions on movement can be problematic for all members of the family, including college students who left their campuses and are now under their parents’ roof again.
Consider also that many of our employees live in several of these realms simultaneously. Life was complicated and varied before, and most employees had it compartmentalized somewhat. Now, it’s all thrown on the carpet and mixed together — for months on end. People need some support.
Preparation For Reintroduction
If there was ever a time to run an EAP campaign, this is it. But before you do, reach out to your EAP provider and confirm a few things.
First, ensure that remote counseling is now the norm for the majority, if not all, of the providers in its network. Second, while there is a set number of sessions available per contract, an unprecedented worldwide pandemic is upon us. See if it would be willing to add a session or two to that number — it can’t hurt to ask. Third, check your employee data fed to the provider. There is nothing worse than promoting the EAP only to have your employee or their family member be denied access to services due to missing or incorrect information. Double-check it.
Promotion
The EAP is one of the most valuable yet underutilized employee benefits. It is overlooked in part because of remnants of the old stigma surrounding who needs/uses therapy (spoiler alert — everyone) and because it has always played second fiddle to “big” benefits such as medical. So, it’s HR’s job to push it to the forefront and show employees what a life-changing benefit they have at their fingertips. Be sure to emphasize that it is free and explain the confidential nature of the benefit. If EAPs secretly shared personal employee information with employers, they wouldn’t have lasted 80-plus years.
So, shout it from the rooftops. Promote it on your intranet and your internal social media. Spotlight it for the next few months in your newsletter. Highlight it on your VPN login page, and mail out wallet cards. Print it on paycheck stubs if you still have paychecks printed, or note it on the payroll portal if you don’t. Have the EAP provide a few online, accessible presentations about stress management and other relevant topics. Just get the word out!
Remind employees they have someone ready and available to talk with them, and more importantly, listen to them as they navigate this very challenging time in life. Ensure them that they are not alone. Let’s make sure we’re supporting each other in our workplaces and in our households.
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