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EAPs IN SOUTH AFRICA
Marion Borcherds
Director: Workplace Programmes
Gauteng Department of Health
The South Africa Context
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A culturally diverse, middle-income developing country of 50 million people
A mix of 1st and 3rd world with a large discrepancy between rich and poor
Rapid social, political and economic transformation post 1994
Increasing global competitiveness and a 4.9% economic growth rate
Limited and inadequate community resources
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A young democracy grappling with:
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Rapid growth and radical change
High incidence of violence, crime, and trauma
Rampant HIV/AIDS infection rate
This impacts negatively on the lifestyles of individuals resulting in high levels
of stress, fear and uncertainty, heightened levels of insecurity, and
dysfunction
EAP’s in South Africa
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Predominantly occupational social workers
variety of models have established themselves
Emergence of specialist consultants
Emergence of various training programmes on EAP, including a Masters
level programme
EAPs in South Africa
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70%+ of the top 100 companies, and a growing number of medium to small
organisations, have EAPs
All local and provincial government organisations are required to implement
EAPs
There is an increasing trend towards outsourcing in both the private and
government sectors
EAPs are expanding and evolving rapidly to remain relevant and appropriate
to the economic, social, and political changes confronting the country
EAPs fulfill both an economic and a social function in South African society
Typical Components of a South African EAP
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The South African context demands EAPs that are comprehensive and capable of
addressing the complex range of issues and challenges confronting SA society
15%
Employee Assistance
Programme
Counselling
Practical
Assistance
HIV/AIDS &
Health
Employee
25%
Managerial/Supervisory
Senior Management
Not Given
15%
45%
Trauma
Management
EAP Needs Analysis Ranking (n= 38 000)
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0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Stress
Relationships
Traum a
Financial
Legal
HIV & AIDS
Importance
Children
Depression & Anxiety
Traum a
Grief
Alcohol Abuse
Suicide
South African employees’ ranking of critical issues that the EAP
should address (Source: EAP provider organisation)
EAP Problem Incidence: Emotional & Practical (top 10)
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0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
Relationship Issues
Traum a
Legal
Loss Issues
Money Managem ent
Stress
HIV & AIDS
Childcare
Depression
Substance Abuse
Note: Low incidence of eldercare
(Source: EAP provider organisation)
Provincial Government Demographic Trends (1)
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Gender Utilisation
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♀
Representative uptake
by both males and
females
31%
Male
Female
69%
Language Utilisation
15%
1%
8%
1%
5%
1%
English
Sotho
38%
Afrikaans
English
Other
Sotho
Tsonga
Tswana
Venda
Xhosa
African Languages: 54%
English: 38%
Afrikaans: 8%
Zulu
29%
2%
Utilisation by Age
11%
11%
15%
1%
31-40
32%
30%
19-30
31-40
41-50
51-60
61-70
Not Given
47% of EAP service
users are under 40
Provincial Government Demographic Trends (2)
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Referred by
4%
7%
Supervisory/Managerial
Referral
Self Referred
Manager
Self Referred
Other
89%
Low number of Formal
Referrals by managers
due to the impact of
problems on work
performance
Status of User
6%
2%
10%
Managers
Employee
Managerial/Supervisory
Senior Management
Employees
Not Given
Good Uptake by both
managerial and nonmanagerial staff
82%
Length of Service
18%
7%
5%
14%
10 + Years
35%
5-10 Years
21%
<1 Year
1-2 Years
2-5 Years
5-10 Years
>10 Years
Not Given
Largest Group of users
have more than 10 years
of service
Provincial Government Demographic Trends (3)
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Call Times
14%
08h00-18h00
After Hours
Limited After Hours EAP
uptake
86%
Flagged Cases
22%
Red Flag
Pink Flag
Relatively high
incidence of ‘flagged’/
serious cases
78%
Dependant Utilisation
8%
Employees
Dependants
92%
Use of the service by
dependants is
suprisingly low
High risk EAP cases over a 24 month period
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Alcohol Abuse: 299
Drug Abuse: 133
Anger Management: 91
Bullying, Harassment & Discrimination: 100
Crime Committed: 66
Debt: 284 (severe) + 171
Fraud Committed: 14
Gambling: 13
Major Depression: 382 (186 severe)
Grievances: 72
Health & Safety: 20
HIV+ve: 323
Disciplinary Issues: 58
Psychiatric Disorders: 103
Suicidal: 141
25% of all Problems
Trauma: 671
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103 MVAs
60 armed robbery
38 assault
59 domestic violence
11 family murders
35 hijacking
19 homicide
7 kidnapping
34 rape
35 sexual abuse
20 child abuse
17 violence
220 – other trauma
Over 2500 counselling sessions
HIV/AIDS cases over a 24 month period
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HIV and AIDS ranked as one of the top 3 most important services (BRMA)
HIV-related problems 700+
HIV+ve cases 323
Increase in HIV Cases Presented per Quarter Over Time
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Conclusions
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South African organisations in both the public and private sectors are
increasingly adopting and adapting EAPs that are able to effectively
manage the powerful influence of physical, psychological, social,
behavioural, and economic factors on the wellbeing, productivity and
performance of their employees.
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Thank You