Descriptive study of external employee assistance program providers (EAP) in Japan

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Psychiatry
• Human Resources Management

Background:

• Employee mental health issues are a significant occupational health concern in Japan.
• External Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) play a crucial role in addressing these issues, yet their activities lack comprehensive documentation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the current status of Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) in Japan.
• To identify future tasks and areas for improvement for EAP providers in the Japanese occupational health landscape.

Main Methods:

• A descriptive study utilizing a questionnaire survey.
• The study targeted all 27 registered Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) in the Japanese Chapter of the Employee Assistance Professionals Association.
• A response rate of 54.2% (13 EAP) was achieved.

Main Results:

• Most surveyed EAP offered services including seminars, stress checks, stress management, counseling, and return-to-work support.
• A limited number of EAP had contracts with small-scale enterprises.
• Communication between EAP and companies was infrequent.

Conclusions:

• Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) in Japan offer a range of mental health services but face challenges in reaching small businesses and maintaining consistent communication.
• Recommendations for promoting EAP use include enhanced advertising, staff training, evidence generation, formal certification, and service improvement.