Personal problems like stress, drug and alcohol abuse, cardiovascular disease, and mental illness abound in modern society. Whether these problems are chronic, as in the case of alcoholism, or situational, as in the case of financial problems, they can affect behavior at work as well as in one’s personal life. In addition to reducing healthcare costs, employers’ efforts to improve employees’ well-being are also intended to reduce absenteeism, turnover, accidents, and enhance morale, loyalty, creativity, and productivity.

With a shortage of skilled workers, many organizations have adopted the HR strategy that it is better to retain and help current workers with problems than to discard them and be faced with recruiting new ones. In addition to traditional HR activities like training and motivational programs, organizations are also making a major investment in providing employee counseling and wellness services as a way to promote employees’ well-being. Many organizations support employee counseling and wellness programs as a way to ensure employees’ well-being.

Organizations use a variety of activities and programs to help ensure the emotional and physical health of their employees. These activities range from health-risk appraisals to on-site counseling and stress reduction workshops, as well as other ways to promote employee health. While employee counseling programs vary in terms of problems addressed and specific techniques used, six activities are typical of such programs: problem identification, education, referral, counseling, treatment, and follow-up.

An organization may offer a counseling program in-house or contract it out. At a minimum, counseling involves a person with whom employees can discuss difficulties and/or seek further help. The type of counseling can vary from a frank discussion with a supervisor about performance problems to meeting with a mental health professional skilled in diagnosing and treating problems such as depression or substance abuse. Communicating a program’s services to managers, supervisors, and employees, and following up with them, is critical in getting organizational members to use it.

It is also important that managers and supervisors receive training in identifying problems and in how to counsel or refer employees to seek treatment when needed. The supervisor’s role in helping the employee seek treatment and supporting the treatment effort is critical to success.