One of my new favorites in the HR blog world is HR Blunders. While it's unlikely any of the savvy readers of this blog would find themselves appearing on the pages of a story there, it makes for some interesting reading. In browsing some back issues, I came upon a post about bullying lawsuits that cited a recent survey putting the number of working adults who experience workplace bullying at 37%. That’s roughly about 54 million people.

Finding that statistic a bit surprising, I dug up more on the original Zogby survey on workplace bullying, which was conducted among more than 7,000 working US adults in 2007. Of the 37% who reported being bullied at work, 72% identified the bullies as bosses. Bullying is about 4 times more prevalent than illegal forms of "harassment." And the number one way that the bullying was stopped? The victims lost their jobs: 40% left voluntarily, 24% were terminated or driven out, and 13% transferred out of the department. Only 23% reported that there were any consequences for the harasser. Wow!

While there are a number of sources citing huge costs associated with bullying, it's hard to know how those estimates were derived or how accurate they are. Nevertheless, it is clear the costs to businesses are high. Certainly, turnover is costly and employment practices litigation is a cost that we all dread. But there are also many associated costs that are more difficult to quantify, such as stress related disease, disability, workers compensation claims, and damage to the organization’s reputation.

We periodically have a supervisor or coworker referred to us for counseling after incidents of inappropriate behavior, such as anger or gender-based harassment. An informal survey of our counselors tells me that addressing bulling through such interventions can be a very effective way of changing that behavior. Our chances of success increase dramatically if the referral is handled well at the start, and the highest rehabilitation success rate occurs when management and the EAP work together.

Kathleen Jahnke, our Clinical Director, makes the following suggestion for making such a referral to an EAP:

• Prepare for the meeting. Call and talk to a counselor in advance to help you formulate your strategy for the meeting.
• Stick to the facts. Focus on the inappropriate behavior that has been reported or observed.
• Avoid trying to diagnose the problem or suggest the person needs counseling.
• Advise the employee that the EAP will assist them with the tools they need to help them resolve their workplace issue.
• Make your expectations for workplace behavior clear and outline the consequences for failure to meet the requirements.

Posted by Bill Danylik on July 22, 2008 at 2:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Globe and Mail of Toronto is featuring an excellent series of articles on the stigma of mental illness as told through the personal stories of people who suffer from bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety. The stories also include commentary and insights from family members. It's a multimedia series, including videos, slides and text.

More than many other public health issues, mental illness is fraught with fear, guilt, and shame - often because there is a great deal of ignorance surrounding the topic. Family members who are caring for a loved one suffering from a mental health condition can feel particularly isolated and have difficulty knowing where to turn.

Employers are often in a position to be an 'early warning system' for mental health issues. Behavior changes can be more evident in a routine situation like a job. In one article in The Globe and Mail series, Bill Wilkerson, co-founder and CEO of the Global Business and Economic Roundtable on Addiction and Mental Health, answers reader questions about mental illness in the workplace. He makes an excellent case for why this should concern employers - one that we would like to share here:

Employers must care about the mental health of their employees for three reasons: one, health and productivity go hand-in hand - for employers, this is a matter of legitimate self-interest and huge costs to rein-in;

two, employers - through the climates they create in the workplace - can cause some of the risk factors which affect the well-being of people - chronic job stress, for example, can lead to burn-out and depression. Employers are increasingly being held accountable by courts and tribunals for their role in producing hazardous work climates so they need to protect themselves against these kinds of liabilities;

and three, a good employer is led by good people - by definition this is true - and most employers strive to be good employers. Which, in turn means, they can and must do the right thing by ensuring that human decency is part of their management credo. Without this, they will be hard-pressed to recruit and retain the best people and that goes to their competitive instincts as well.

I like to remind employers that when we hire someone we hire the whole person - vulnerabilities included. And if we didn't do that, we would have to recruit people from another universe because all of us vulnerable to one kind of illness or health problem.

The new wellness frontier?
In recent years, corporate wellness programs have firmly taken root as employers recognize the cost and productivity benefits of helping employees to stay well. Nutrition and exercise programs are now fairly common, as are programs to help people control risky behaviors like smoking and overeating. But physical well being is only one part of the equation - as many as one in five American workers suffer some form of mental illness. Because of this, incorporating good mental health programs into an overall wellness program can be highly beneficial. This might take the form of training supervisors to have a greater awareness and understanding of common mental health problems such as stress, PTSD, and depression, as well as conducting educational and awareness outreach programs for employees. As with many health issues, awareness and identification of a potential problem is the first step in getting help. Many effective, cost-efficient and scientifically valid treatments exist. Contrary to many myths, most mental health issues respond favorably to the right treatment. Your EAP is a good resource for addressing any ongoing behavior or performance issues that may signify an underlying mental health problem.

Resources
Mental health in the workplace - from Mental Health America (formerly known as the National Mental Health Association)
Mental Illness and the workplace - from the Center for Reintegration

Posted by Julie Ferguson on June 26, 2008 at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

In April, our monthly newsletter authored by Bill Bowler focused on sleep deprivation and the toll that it can take on safety and productivity (PDF). He cited the frightening story of a calamity averted when two pilots who were commanding an airline were found asleep at the wheel. It seems there's been another recent case involving two pilots who flew past their destination in Hawaii because they were asleep at the controls. Scary much? According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), crashes linked to fatigue have killed 249 people since 1997.

NTSB will now be looking at making changes to regulations about how long pilots can fly and they will employ fatigue studies to assist in revising the regulations. Currently, the law allows pilots to work 16 hours a day, including 8 hours flying the plane.

While the issue of fatigue is of prime concern in any professions that entail responsibility for public health and safety - transportation workers, doctors and nurses, police, to name but a few - it should be of concern to all employers in terms of worker safety, product quality, and organizational productivity. A study by Caremark that appeared in Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine last year put the cost of worker fatigue at $136.4 billion annually in health-related lost productivity. Lack of sleep has been tied to increases in diabetes and heart problems. And the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that fatigue is responsible for 100,000 highway crashes and 1,500 deaths each year.

Being alert for worker fatigue
Sometimes, fatigue can be the result of organizational policies, such as work schedules and overtime hours, or a byproduct of the nature of the work itself, such as long hours spent on detailed or repetitive work. In such cases, fatigue must be addressed through organizational measures, such as changing schedules and implementing a program of breaks or job rotations.

Often, fatigue is more subtle and occurs on a worker by worker basis. Worker fatigue could be due to an illness or condition, a new baby at home, poor nutrition, too many demands on the worker's schedule, or simply the result of a late night out on the town.

The health benefits of good sleep habits should be addressed as part of an overall wellness program, including information that discusses the potential negative health effects of too little sleep. Supervisors should be trained in and alert for fatigue symptoms and should address repeated evidence of fatigue just as any other behavior that inhibits productivity would be addressed. While it's not appropriate for a supervisor to 'diagnose' the root cause of the fatigue, he or she may be in a good position to refer the employee on to an EAP or a physician so that the problem can be addressed appropriately.

The authors of the Caremark study believe that, " ...targeting workers with fatigue, particularly women, could have a marked positive effect on the quality of life and productivity of affected workers." They suggest increasing worker access to work/life programs and making health assessments available to see if fatigue is a symptom of an underlying health condition.

Posted by Julie Ferguson on June 13, 2008 at 3:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Phishing is a type of email fraud in which the sender impersonates a trusted source to try to gain access to passwords, credit card numbers, and other sensitive information. The victim is at risk of theft, identity theft, or contacting malicious computer viruses. Fraudulent e-mail is frequently disguised as a message from a bank or a trusted merchant. Scam e-mails often contain a link to a site that either requires the person to enter sensitive data or instructs the user to download a special program. These fake e-mails often look and sound very authentic - even experienced users can be fooled. But over time, consumer education has alerted many to the scams and most people know better than to give out sensitive information without vetting the source.

Spear Phishing
Scammers continue to up the ante. More recently, these fraudulent e-mail scams have gotten more sophisticated, targeting specific companies in a practice often called spear phishing, which is a more targeted approach. In these attacks, the phony e-mails masquerade as communication from within the organization - such as from the HR or IT department or from a specific manager. Last week, there was a report of spear phishing emails that targeted CEOS through emails disguised as court subpoenas.

Keep informed, educate your employees
Employers need to stay alert about new phishing scams and need to educate their workers about scams to protect the organization from vulnerabilities - it only takes one chink in the armor to launch an internal attack. Two good sources are the FBI e-scams and warnings update and the Anti Phishing Work Group, an organization which stays on top of the latest scams and is a good source of consumer information and education about phishing scams. In how to avoid phishing scams they offer consumer pointers, among them:

• Be suspicious of any email with urgent requests for personal financial information
• Don't use the links in an email, instant message, or chat to get to any web page if you suspect the message might not be authentic - call the company on the telephone, or log onto the website directly by typing in the Web adress in your browser
• Avoid filling out forms in email messages that ask for personal financial information - you should only communicate information such as credit card numbers or account information via a secure website or the telephone
• Always ensure that you're using a secure website when submitting credit card or other sensitive information via your Web browser
• Consider installing a Web browser tool bar to help protect you from known fraudulent websites.
• Regularly log into your online accounts (to ensure that there has been not fraudulent activity)
• Ensure that your browser is up to date and security patches applied
• Always report "phishing" or “spoofed” e-mails to the following groups:
  * forward the email to reportphishing@antiphishing.org
  * forward the email to the Federal Trade Commission at spam@uce.gov

Make a policy that you will never ask for confidential employee information (passwords, credit card numbers, social security numbers) via e-mail and publicize the policy widely. Use newsletters, company meetings, and bulletins to publicize security tips and to teach your employees that whether at work or at home, they should never share confidential information via e-mail. Here are a few consumer quizzes you can use to test their - and your - knowledge:

Phishing IQ Test
Catch a phish - take the quiz
On Guard Phishing Quiz (flash, sound)
Can you spot the phishing?

Posted by Julie Ferguson on April 21, 2008 at 11:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you've ever managed a worker who has been diagnosed with cancer, you know the challenges that it can pose, both in terms of your own interactions with the person, and also in terms of supporting and managing concerned colleagues. It can be a difficult and delicate balance, offering support and flexibility for the employee while managing within the policies and needs of your organization. We've compiled some excellent resources from around the web that might be helpful to you and to your employees.

Managing Through Cancer Principles - offers a set of principles, resources and tools for organizations and managers that want to support employees with cancer and their co-workers. The site offers a set of principles along with manager/employee responsibilities and suggestions for developing supportive time-off policies, such as paid time off and leave banks. The site also discusses telecommuting and flex time options. While the guideline is specific to cancer and cancer treatment, most of the principles are applicable in managing employees with any life-threatening illness.

Beyond the matter of principles and policies, there is the very real matter of how managers and colleagues should talk to an employee who has been diagnosed with cancer or who is dying of cancer. Often, people who are grievously ill become isolated because friends and colleagues are uncomfortable and simply don't know what to say or how to deal with the person - so they simply avoid things. Here is a list of some very helpful resources offering guidance for how to talk to and interact with a person who has cancer.

Top 10 Dos and Don'ts when someone in you life becomes seriously ill is a short, practical guide with solid advice.

Supporting a friend who has cancer also offers Dos and Don'ts for things to say, along with a list of practical ways you might offer help and good gift ideas to show your support.

Quick tips for everyday situations offers suggestions for how colleagues and friends can be supportive of and respond to everyday situations, such as a coworker diagnosed with breast cancer, a relative with clinical depression, or how to offer help to a blind person in the gym.

How to talk to a friend with cancer is a discussion board thread that links to some very helpful articles, but more importantly, shares the real-life experiences of people who are living cancer and people who have lost loved ones to cancer. This is a rich, frank, and very touching discussion by and for the real experts - people who are living/have lived through real life situations.

Remember, these are the types of situations where your EAP can offer real support and resources - be sure to recommend the services of your EAP to both the person who is ill and their family members. Also, check to see if your EAP offers help and guidance for supervisors.

Posted by Julie Ferguson on April 10, 2008 at 11:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On average, about 9 percent of U.S. workers drink in ways that contribute to absenteeism, higher health care costs and lost productivity, according to an analysis of government data. But in some industries, the toll can be much higher. At 15%, hospitality tops the list of industries with a higher than average prevalence of alcohol abuse problems, followed closely by the construction industry at 14.7%, according to a new report on alcohol abuse by industry issued by Ensuring Solutions to Alcohol Problems at The George Washington University Medical Center.

In addition, some demographics experience more problems than others. More than 18 percent of young workers between the ages of 18 and 25 have an alcohol-related problem, compared to just seven percent of workers 26 and older, and in every industry segment, men experienced more problems than women. For example, "Researchers found that men working in hospitality and construction are approximately 50 percent more likely to have an alcohol-related problem than women in the same industry. In wholesale trade, men are almost three times more likely to have an alcohol problem than women."

Prevalence of alcohol problems by industry segment
Hospitality.................Male 17.4%....Female 12.6%....Overall 15.0%
Construction................Male 15.2%....Female 10.0%....Overall 14.7%
Wholesale Trade.............Male 14.6%....Female 05.3%....Overall 11.9%
Professional................Male 13.3%....Female 07.1%....Overall 10.6%
Retail Trade................Male 13.4%....Female 06.2%....Overall 09.7%
Finance & Real Estate.......Male 11.2%....Female 07.6%....Overall 09.2%
Manufacturing...............Male 09.5%....Female 06.5%....Overall 08.6%
Transportation/Utilities....Male 09.1%....Female 04.8%....Overall 08.2%
Information/Communication...Male 12.7%....Female 04.8%....Overall 08.1%
Agriculture.................Male 08.7%....Female 01.9%....Overall 07.2%
Other Services..............Male 08.9%....Female 03.8%....Overall 06.4%
Education/Social Services...Male 09.4%....Female 04.3%....Overall 05.4%
Public Administration.......Male 06.4%....Female 04.1%....Overall 05.3%

Estimating costs by industry
Ensuring Solutions states that problem drinking is the third leading cause of preventable death in the United States, killing 85,000 Americans annually and draining $185 billion from the nation’s economy every year. Yet it is a problem that often stays under the radar with few of the problem drinkers identified for help. Researchers suggest this is a major public health issue, and one that employers should take the lead in addressing. similar to the way employers have led the way in addressing other public health issues such as obesity and diabetes. And as with most health problems, awareness, education, and early intervention are critical to changing behavior.

To help employers understand the workplace costs associated with alcohol abuse, Ensuring Solutions has devised a series of online alcohol cost calculators for businesses , for health plans, and for kids, as well as a return on investment calculator.

Using a hospitality industry example of 5,000 employees, here are sample results:

Likely number of problem drinkers in your workforce...458
Likely number of employees’ family members who are problem drinkers...621
Likely number of excess work days lost to sickness, injury and absence because of problem drinking ...159 Days Per Month
Cost of excess lost days per year...$266,052
Likely alcohol-related health care costs...$1,962,068
Excess emergency room visits...121
Excess days in the hospital...56
Emergency department and hospital costs...$441,383

Treatment options
Ensuring Solutions offers the full report in PDF: Workplace Screening and Brief Intervention: What Employers Can and Should Do About Excessive Alcohol Use. Their website also offers guidance and many resources for addressing alcohol abuse in the workplace. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) also offers many tools and programs

And don't forget your EAP. DOL suggests that use of an EAP is the most effective treatment modality:

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) are generally the most effective vehicle for addressing poor workplace performance that may stem from an employee’s personal problems, including the abuse of alcohol or other drugs. EAPs are an excellent benefit to employees and their families and clearly demonstrate employers’ respect for their staff. They also offer an alternative to dismissal and minimize an employer’s legal vulnerability by demonstrating efforts to support employees.

Posted by Julie Ferguson on March 28, 2008 at 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Economic news has been grim, heightening fears that we are facing a recession, if not already in one. It looks like we may all need to buckle down for the potential of a rough patch. Jared Bernstein, author and senior economist at Economic Policy Institute, offers a good explanation of what a recession is likely to mean to the folks on the ground in plain talk that everyone can understand:

But what does recession mean to folks on the ground? How bad is it, really?
Pretty damn bad. Given recent historical patterns, three million more people could join the unemployment rolls, and middle-income families, already squeezed, and with income levels still recovering from the last recession, could lose another $2,500.

Many workers are already facing an economic squeeze with the mortgage crisis, skyrocketing gas prices, ever-climbing health-care costs, general inflation, and the worry of the potential for layoffs looming. Plus, many people are burdened with too much debt - a heavy weight in the best of times and a potetialy crippling factor in bad times. Now might be a good time to try to reach out and help employees who may be experiencing debt pressure.

Economists are divided about how deep or how long our economic downturn may last. Here are some other resources for helping you, your employees, and your organization to weather the times.

Recession Planning for Employees - Susan M. Heatherfield of About.com's Human Resources offers excellent suggestions for concrete actions to take in planning for a potential recession. Her thoughts encompass planning for your organization's employees, for your Human Resources department, and for other departments within your business. Here are just a few of her suggestions:

Find ways to buffer your employees to minimize the impact of an economic downturn:

• Have telecommuting policies in place.
• Encourage employee carpooling.
• Sponsor brown bag lunches and book clubs.
• Provide training in-house minimizing the need for employee travel and inconvenience.
• Effectively communicate the redeployment of any internal resources to minimize employee distress.

George Lenard of George's Employment Blawg asks, Layoffs - are you next? - a question that may be on many minds. He offers a list of warning signs that may indicate vulnerability, and suggests ways to be prepared should the worst come to pass.

Newsweek's Patricia Kitchen suggests strategies for recession proofing your career - suggestions for managing both you represent and your future.

Cheap Healthy Good blog suggests some great strategies for recession proofing your diet - great practical tips designed to keep the rising grocery bills in line.

Posted by Julie Ferguson on March 20, 2008 at 3:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

When you think about a demographic with the highest suicide rates, the male teen to young adult group automatically comes to mind. Among 15- to 24-year olds, suicide accounts for 12.9% of all deaths annually. It's the second highest cause of death for males aged 25 to 34, and the third highest cause of death among males aged 15 to 24. Many suicide prevention programs are targeted to young males, and that's as it should be.

But recent data from the CDC tells us there may be other demographics that require suicide prevention efforts. According to a 5-year review of data from 1999-2005, the fastest growing suicide demographic is among adults aged 45 to 54. And among women in that age group, suicides jumped by 31%. Experts are stymied as to why a midlife increase in suicide is occurring - research is thin and theories are rife. But one of the most likely targets may be an increase in the use of prescription drugs:

At the moment, the prime suspect is the skyrocketing use — and abuse — of prescription drugs. During the same five-year period included in the study, there was a staggering increase in the total number of drug overdoses, both intentional and accidental, like the one that recently killed the 28-year-old actor Heath Ledger. Illicit drugs also increase risky behaviors, CDC officials point out, noting that users' rates of suicide can be 15 to 25 times as great as the general population.Dr. Dan Gottlieb who writes a column for the Philadelphia Inquirer states that midlife depression not unusual or incurable. He notes that he sees many middle-aged people who express feelings of lack of fulfillment or that their dreams have escaped them and it is too late to change. He cites a recent study that adds data to his observations:

Research published this month in the journal Social Science & Medicine found that the probability of depression rises around middle age, peaking around age 44. After studying data from 500,000 Americans and Western Europeans, the researchers discovered that psychological well-being is at its lowest during the middle of the life cycle regardless of gender or location.

What employers can do
As with any other major public health concern, the impact of suicide is felt in the workplace. According to the American Association of Suicidology, nearly two-thirds of all suicides occur among the nation’s work force, Americans ages 25-65, which translates to roughly 20,000 suicides a year. One of the first vital steps in addressing any problem is raising awareness, so the sharing of CDC data is significant in building that awareness. The Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) suggests that employers can play an important role in helping to prevent suicide. Because people spend such a significant portion of their day at work, employers have the opportunity to observe changes in behavior, personality or mood. Training managers to be alert for and make referrals when they observe signs of depression and other early warning signs of problems may save lives. SPRC points to the following warning signs:

• Talking about suicide or death
• Making statements like "I wish I were dead." and "I'm going to end it all."
• Less direct verbal cues, including "What's the point of living?" "Soon you won’t have to worry about me" and "Who cares if I'm dead, anyway?"
• Uncharacteristically isolating themselves from others in the workplace
• Expressing feelings that life is meaningless or hopeless
• Giving away cherished possessions
• A sudden and unexplained improvement in mood after being depressed or withdrawn
• Neglect of appearance and hygiene
• Sudden unexplained deterioration of work performance or productivity

Many suicide prevention groups suggest an easy mnemonic to remember warning signs: IS PATH WARM
Ideation
Substance Abuse
Purposelessness
Anxiety
Trapped
Hopelessness
Withdrawal
Anger
Recklessness
Mood Changes

If you observe warning signs or changes in behavior or personality, don't try to diagnose the problem or find the reason for the behavior changes, simply help the employee to find professional assistance through your EAP or an occupational health specialist. Work performance can be a great leverage for getting people who might otherwise be reluctant to seek help for a problem. For an additional resource, the World Health Organization has a 32-page booklet on Preventing Suicide - A Resource at Work.

Posted by Julie Ferguson on March 18, 2008 at 9:54 AM | Permalink

We've previously discussed the importance of helping the military to return to work. Of the 1.5 million troops that have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, approximately one in every four is a "citizen soldier" serving in the ranks of the National Guard or the Reserves. In many cases, they will be returning to resume jobs at former employers.

As we've learned from the experience of returning vets in past wars, the transition is not always an easy one. Many who return are IED survivors with serious physical injuries such as amputations, burns, and traumatic brain injury (TBI). Many others suffer from an array of behavioral health problems such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). One recent Pentagon study identified that as many as one in three returning troops have mental health problems six months after their return. The study showed that the transition is even harder for citizen soldiers than for active-duty soldiers: "About 42 percent of the Guard and reserves, compared to 20 percent of active-duty troops, were identified as needing mental health treatment in two screenings. The first testing was immediately upon return from Iraq and the second six months later."

Helping to ease the transition back to the workplace
The Disability Management Employer Coalition and several large insurers teamed up with military and veteran advisers to examine the challenges and opportunities facing returning veterans and to identify employer-based resources and strategies to help ease the transition. The group, calling themselves the Workplace Warrior Think Tank, has produced a useful guide for employers: The Corporate Response to Deployment and Reintegration Highlighting Best Practices in Human Resources and Disability Management * (PDF).

The following are among the group's most important best practice recommendations:

• Establish a Military Leave and Return Policy covering employees who are members of the Reserves or National Guard. A key component of that policy is to communicate the range of benefits and programs that apply, including provisions of the federal Uniformed Services Employment and Re-Employment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA), which requires job protection for all employees who are deployed regardless of the size of the employer.
• Inform civilian employees (such as those who work for defense contractors) who are assigned to work with the United States military overseas of the benefits programs available to them. In particular, employees should understand the federal Defense Base Act, which will cover them during their overseas assignment.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and behavioral health services to help returning employees (including members of the military and civilian employees assigned overseas) who have been diagnosed with or who are exhibiting symptoms of major depression, generalized anxiety or post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
• Use good general disability management practices that apply, including:
  - maintaining communication during absences;
  - celebrating employees’ return to work;
  - giving employees adequate information about benefits prior to deployment;
  - allowing time to reintegrate after an extended absence;
  - considering accommodations to assist the employee’s return to productivity;
  - recapping changes while employees were gone;
  - establishing red flags to help supervisors identify potential problems; and
  - obtaining commitment from senior management to ensure that programs are given strong support and a cultural presence.
• Offer sensitivity training to managers, supervisors and co-workers on issues and challenges faced by civilian soldiers during deployment and post-deployment.
• Provide mentoring programs to link returning civilian soldiers with veterans in the workforce. The commonality of military experience may forge bonds among colleagues to support the successful reintegration of returning workplace warriors.

EAPs identified as a vital resource
The Workplace Warrior Think Tank stressed the importance of employers having not just an EAP, but one that is well equipped to address the full spectrum of behavioral health issues that are common to re-acclimating veterans, particularly PTSD and depression. In addition, the EAP must be poised to address the many family problems and stresses that can surface both during and after deployment. According to congressional testimony by Todd Bowers, Director of Government Affairs for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, 27% of soldiers now admit they are experiencing marital problems, and 20% of deployed soldiers say they are currently planning a divorce. And a CBS investigation points to a veteran suicide rate that is twice that of average Americans.

Employers must train supervisors and HR staff to spot warning signs for problems early and must have resources in place for referrals to appropriate help and support services. For employers who will have returning citizen soldiers, the next EAP renewal might be a good time to kick the tires and ensure that it is up to providing the serious support and mental health services that will be needed. The transition will not be a once-and-done matter, but a long-term issue that America's employers will be dealing with over the next few decades.

*More information and a copy of the full Guide are available through the Disability Management Employer Coalition.

Posted by Julie Ferguson on March 14, 2008 at 2:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Fueled by nonstop media coverage, rumors and speculation abound about the untimely death of talented actor Heath Ledger. Autopsies and tests are being conducted, but the truth is, when drugs are involved, it may be difficult to arrive at a definitive conclusion as to whether his death was accidental or intentional. Many signs indicate that this may well have been an unintentional ingestion of a fatal pharmaceutical cocktail. Regardless, an otherwise healthy young man was cut down in the prime of his life. And as is often common in cases of self-inflicted, premature, or unexpected deaths, many of the decedent's friends, family, and colleagues will be left with a residue of guilt and uneasy questions as to whether there was anything they might have done to prevent this.

While those who knew him express shock and surprise at the news of his death, stories are peppered with what those of us in our line of work see as danger signs. Ledger had reportedly been battling substance abuse problems, and although most reports state that he had stopped drinking, those who know about substance abuse would see an abuser's use of any pills as potentially problematic. He was suffering from significant personal stress, having recently split from Michelle Williams, the mother of his two-year old child. He expressed distress and concern about the break up to his friends, as well as fears as to what the changes would mean in his relationship with his young daughter. He was also under significant professional stress, recently completing back-to-back roles in films. His role as the Joker in the new Batman film apparently exacted quite a toll. In a recent interview with the New York Times, he talked about battling exhaustion and sleep disorders during the making of the film, noting that he could only sleep two hours a night and had begun taking over-the-counter sleep aids. Self-medication, stress, and sleep disorders can fall into a self-perpetuating, cyclical pattern. Even prescribed drugs can be a problem without appropriate treatment for the root causes.

Personal and professional stress, sleep disorders, substance abuse - each one of these issues is a potentially debilitating problem in and of itself, made infinitely more complex by throwing pharmaceuticals into the mix, whether prescribed or over the counter. A perfect storm. For Ledger, the mix proved deadly.

Could anything have been done to prevent this death? Perhaps not. But for those of us in the helping profession, we will continue asking the question because Ledger's untimely death is another public reminder of the terrible toll that untreated personal problems can take. In cases such as this, there are often warning signs that are quite clear in retrospect - the mission we all have - for our loved ones and colleagues - is identifying and dealing with potentially harmful personal problems prospectively

Posted by Julie Ferguson on January 24, 2008 at 12:07 PM | Permalink

Ten Critical Mistakes Made by Supervisors Dealing with Federal Employees in Trouble at Work - This is an excellent article by Bob Gilson, a consultant and employee relations advisor who authors articles at FedSmith.com, an information portal for sources of information impacting the federal community. This concise and sensible list is one that should be mandatory reading for all with supervisory responsibility, regardless of whether they are in the public or private sector.

Bob attributes many of the supervisory mistakes that he's witnessed to poor training, something we would concur with. He labels each item on his list as a "critical mistake" and elaborates considerably on each - but here is a summary of the ten mistakes that he identifies:

• Failing to Set Clear Expectations or to Regularly Reinforce Them
• Letting Problems You're Aware of Fester before Addressing Them
• Failure to Communicate With People with Problems
• Failure to Recognize the Importance of Due Process
• Taking the Matter Personally
• Moving Too Quickly to Formal Action
• Playing "GOTCHA" With Troublesome or Difficult People
• Waiting Too Long to Get Professional Help
• Unwillingness to See a Problem Through to a Resolution
• Worrying Too Much About Over-Touted Disincentives to Taking Action

This list is a follow-on to a prior article about Ten Critical Mistakes Made by Federal Employees in Trouble, a candid look at mistakes employees often make to aggravate their troubles when they have problems on the job - another article well worth a read. More articles authored by Bob can be found in the Federal Manager's Toolbox.

Posted by Bill Danylik on January 8, 2008 at 8:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Adrienne Fox has written an in-depth article on Web addiction for HR Magazine: Caught in the Web - employees who can't stop clicking. Her article discusses both general productivity issues associated with the Web in the workplace and the more specific issue of those people whose Web use goes far beyond garden-variety productivity matters into behavior that rivals that of many other addictions.

Many employers have been grappling with the matter of appropriate employee Web use. The efficiencies and benefits afforded by the Internet - e-mail, research ability, connectivity, etc. - cannot be overstated. Yet the flip side of the coin is the potential for abuse. Web use can certainly get out of hand - not unlike the telephone. In her article, Fox cites several studies pointing to loss of productivity, including a 2005 Gallup Organization report that found the average employee uses office computers for non-work activity about 75 minutes per day, an annual equivalent of $6,250 per employee at $20 an hour. Some estimates we've seen put the productivity drain higher, some lower. A University of Maryland study that we've cited puts the personal Web use during work time at an average of 3.7 hours a week. On the other hand, this study also found that employees are spending more time at home using the web for work-related matters—an average of 5.9 hours.

A secondary and related issue is arguably the more difficult one to address: employees who can't put the brakes on. Some call Internet abuse an addiction, although the American Psychiatric Association does not recognize it as such. The jury appears to still be out as to whether this is simply a bad habit, an addiction, or an impulse control disorder. Researchers at Stanford University have been and are continuing to study these questions. To date, they have found some number of people who identify compulsive and troubling trends in their own usage. In one nationwide telephone survey of 2,513, 13.7% of the survey participants said they found it hard to stay away from the Internet for several days at a time; 12.4% stayed online longer than intended; 8.7% attempted to conceal non-essential Web use from significant others; and 5.9 percent felt their relationships suffered as a result of excessive Internet use

While experts can quibble over the precise terminology, the fundamental question can be boiled down to this: Is Web use causing problems in that person's life? For many, the answer is yes, and the symptoms are not far different that they are for substance abuse, gambling, or any other addictive behaviors. Problem indicators include:

• Covering up or lying about the extent of use
• Jeopardizing relationships, work
• Escaping problems and responsibilities
• Losing interest in friends and hobbies
• Trying unsuccessfully to control use
• Being preoccupied with use
• Losing sleep, skipping meals
• Preferring to be online
• Staying online longer than planned
• Anticipating and planning next online session

If the issue of web usage surfaces repeatedly with a particular employee, deal with it as you would any other performance issue or problem. How would you deal with an employee who spent too much time on the phone or socializing with co-workers? If performance slips and you suspect there may be an underlying problem, such as Web addiction or any other serious matter, refer the employee to your EAP. As an HR manager you do not need to (nor should you) try to diagnose a problem - keep your eye on performance.

Establishing controls
As with many matters, we favor a moderate approach. Building restrictive Web policies that are skewed to the few problem users would be unfair to the lion's share of the workers who are not abusive and such a policy may hinder your brightest, most creative employees. On the other hand, having a policy that is too loose might leave you open to lawsuits if the tools you supply are misused under the company name. We favor leaning more heavily to the trust side than the mistrust side. Remember Ronald Regean's favorite adage: trust but verify."

Here are a few best practices we've seen:

• Set clear policies for Web use and communicate the policies throughout the organization.
• Give examples of what appropriate Web use is (research, industry publications, professional organizations) and what unacceptable use is (Chat rooms, pornography, games)
• Tie Internet use to essential job functions and job goals
• Show that you are paying attention. Discuss Web use in job evaluations and meetings. Ask employees how much they use the Web, what they use it for, etc. Work together to set time goals.
• Be vigilant but not oppressive in monitoring usage. Have IT look for usage "outliers" and have discussions with the outliers to determine why. Use may be legitimate based on job needs; if not, handle as you would any performance issue.
• Specify disciplinary actions for serious violation of policies. If certain actions will result in termination, be clear in stating this.

Posted by Julie Ferguson on December 12, 2007 at 5:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Our thoughts this week are with a human resource manager whose nights will be troubled for some time to come. Jodi Longmeyer spent a half hour crouching on the floor, cell phone in hand, relaying what she saw of the Van Mauer shootings to police dispatchers as six of her work colleagues were being gunned down. Longmeyer and other workers at the department store and the mall will now face the long, difficult road of dealing with grief, loss, and the terrible aftermath of a brush with horrific violence. There was no apparent reason why Van Mauer was targeted for this violence, but the retailer is now forced to deal with the aftermath. Providing access to experienced crisis counselors and EAPs will be critical to healthy recovery. Many of those involved - about 80% - will suffer acute stress disorder, exhibiting anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders. For most, this will largely pass within a few weeks or months - especially if they have access to appropriate counseling. But for others, the effects may be more pervasive, debilitating, and life-changing. Some who have a brush with near-death, violence or other traumatic events will suffer post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a condition that can often have a delayed onset of up to a year or longer, and is generally thought to affect up to 20% of those who experience traumatic events.

HR managers: a weighty responsibility
We also think of another HR manager who is in the shadows of this story, the unknown person who had just terminated shooter Robert Hawkin from his job. No doubt, this person is shaken by their inadvertent involvement in the terrible events. Disciplinary actions and job terminations are every day actions in the workplace. No one expects them to have such a horrific aftermath. Yet work-related disciplinary actions are a crisis point for many. We think of another holiday-season shooting a few years ago after HR managers broke the news to an employee that his pay would be garnished for back taxes.

Terrible events can and do occur, and no amount of pre-planning or second-guessing will change that. All employers and managers can do is be ever-alert and sensitive for signs of potential problems and events that could be flash points, and to steer troubled employees to appropriate channels for help. Serious disciplinary actions are one such potential flash point, and an appropriate time for a referral to an EAP. In our experience, many terminations can be avoided if employees with a work problem are referred to an EAP at an early sign of problems. Holidays are another time when problems can surface for troubled employees. Holidays can trigger depression and stress for many.

The Workplace Violence Research Institute lists a number of pre-incident indicators gleaned from more than 200 actual incidents of workplace violence:

• Increased use of alcohol and/or illegal drugs
• Unexplained increase in absenteeism
• Noticeable decrease in attention to appearance and hygiene
• Depression and withdrawal
• Explosive outbursts of anger or rage without provocation
• Threatens or verbally abuses co-workers and supervisors
• Repeated comments that indicate suicidal tendencies
• Frequent, vague physical complaints
• Noticeably unstable emotional responses
• Behavior which is suspect of paranoia
• Preoccupation with previous incidents of violence
• Increased mood swings
• Has a plan to "solve all problems"
• Resistance and over-reaction to changes in procedures Increase of unsolicited comments about firearms and other dangerous weapons
• Empathy with individuals committing violence
• Repeated violations of company policies
• Fascination with violent and/or sexually explicit movies or publications
• Escalation of domestic problems
• Large withdrawals from or closing his/her account in the company's credit union.

In addition to these indicators, we would recommend:

• Have a crisis management plan, including resources in place to provide post-trauma stress counseling
• Be alert for disciplinary flash points
• Be alert for signs of depression at the holidays
• Encourage and make it easy for staff to report threats, violence, and incidents of unusual displays of anger
• See this posting for more tips for violence prevention in the workplace

Additional resources
OSHA Preventing workplace violence
SAMHSA - Preventing Workplace Violence
Handbook on Workplace Violence Prevention and Response from the USDA

Posted by Julie Ferguson on December 7, 2007 at 11:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

In Small Business Times, Daniel Schroeder discusses human resource lessons learned form the Crandon shooting, answering the question "... what is a reasonable approach for a company that wants to make sure that it does what it can to minimize the chances of a violent act occurring?" We agree with his recommendations, some of which include:

• Establish a policy against workplace violence.
• Make screening for violence potential part of the employee selection process.
• The wise course of action is to take all threats seriously.
• Make use of an Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

Shroeder offers more detailed recommendations in his article, which is well worth reading. For additional information on the topic workplace violence, see our prior posts:
Violence prevention in the workplace
Employers have a key role in curbing domestic violence

Posted by Julie Ferguson on November 9, 2007 at 9:11 AM | Permalink

Depression takes a hefty toll on the U.S. workplace, affecting about 6% of employees each year while costing over $30 billion annually in lost productivity, according to research conducted recently by Harvard University. In most cases, the symptoms of depression appear gradually and the usual process of treating depression&mdas;taking stock of the situation, visiting one's personal care physician, obtaining a referral to a mental health professionaland then finally receiving treatment—can take months or years.

However, a recent study appearing in the September issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (Vol. 298, No. 12) indicates that workers with "telephonic outreach" available, such as your 24-hour Employee Assistance Program, fare much better in accessing treatment and recovering, thus reducing lost time expenses for their employers. The NIMH-sponsored research was conducted by Dr. Phillip Wang who found that employees who obtained early and aggressive intervention experienced significantly less time away from work and significantly higher job retention than those who remained untreated or for whom diagnosis and referral were delayed. In fact, they missed two fewer work weeks per work year than the untreated group or those who took the slow, traditional route in search of relief.

Also, more workers in the early intervention group were still employed by year's end—93% vs. 88%—resulting in further cost savings for employers who thus avoided the expense of rehiring and training replacement workers. The research specifically concluded that employers who provided a "telephonic outreach and care management program," such as a professional Employee Assistance Program, realize a "financial value and positive return on investment" from their outreach initiatives.

The Mayo Clinic has isolated various symptoms that can indicate the early stages of depression. If you observe or learn of any employees falling into these patterns of behavior, consider referring them to your employee assistance program for early intervention:

• Sleep disturbances including too much sleep, frequent awakenings or insomnia
• Impaired thinking or concentration
• Significant changes in weight, either increases or decreases
• Agitation, including signs of irritability and annoyance
• Chronic fatigue, which people sometimes describe as doing everything in slow motion
• Low self-esteem, manifested by statements indicating worthlessness or guilt
• A fixation on death, often accompanied by persistent negative expressions of self worth
• Increasing detachment from friends and family
• Increased use of drugs or alcohol

Posted by Bill Bowler, Senior Vice President Client Service on November 6, 2007 at 7:02 AM | Permalink

Our hearts go out to all the folks suffering in the terrible fires and related chaos in southern California. In the aftermath, there will no doubt be crisis-management lessons for employers in how to communicate with and support employees, just as there were HR lessons from Katrina.

Your technology and web staff should be front line soldiers in crisis planning and crisis management. The Web offers numerous tools that employers should learn to harness for both their public and Intranet sites in the event of natural or man-made emergencies. To learn more about these technologies and to view them in action, see Using Social Media Services to Track the California Fires. This article offers links and discussion about how Google, Flickr, YouTube, Twitter, Wikipedia and del.icio.us are being harnessed to offer real time updates, news, and resources about the San Diego area fires.

Note: some of the following links may change or expire as the situation evolves.

Nate Ritter offers an excellent example of how one individual is providing an important public service via the text messaging tool, Twitter. News station KPBS also has a good Twitter news feed.

Some very interesting (and terrible) updates are being provided via Google Map mashups, which bloggers and programmers are cobbling together quickly. This KPBS News map displays fire burn areas, evacuation areas, evacuation centers, road closures, and more. This blogger is mapping the homes that have been claimed by fire in his neighborhood of Rancho Bernardo. His blog, And Still I Persist is an example of the valuable role that bloggers can play in a disaster.

As they were during Katrina, newspaper message boards become an important gathering point for local residents to share information, resources, and help to neighbors. The Union-Tribune's SignOnSanDiego wildfire forums have logged tens of thousands of messages since yesterday, grouped by geographic areas. Many distant folks have been reading these boards to keep track of areas where friends and family live.

And don't forget—one other vital employer resource during and after an emergency is an employee assistance program. Sadly, there will be many, many hurting people when this terrible fire has run its course.

Posted by Julie Ferguson on October 23, 2007 at 12:19 PM | Permalink

Depression is a major problem in the workplace. The economic toll of depression on U.S. Companies is estimated $30 to $44 billion dollars per year in lost productivity, employee absenteeism, and low morale. As part of its annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) includes questions to assess lifetime and past year major depressive episode (MDE) among adults aged 18 or older. Combined data from 2004 to 2006 indicate that 7.0 percent of all full-time workers aged 18 to 64 experienced a major depressive episode (MDE) in the past year.

Depression is higher in some occupations and industry classes than others. Survey data reveals that personal care and service workers experienced rates of depression that were more than 2.5 times higher than engineers, architects, and surveyors. Here's a list of job classes and the rates of depression from the survey:

10.8% - Personal Care and Service
10.3% - Food Preparation and Serving Related
9.6% - Community and Social Services
9.6% - Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
9.1% - Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
8.7% - Education, Training, and Library
8.1% - Office and Administrative Support
7.3% - Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
6.7% - Financial
6.7% - Sales and Related
6.4% - Legal
6.4% - Transportation and Material Moving
6.2% - Mathematical and Computer Scientists
5.9% - Production
5.8% - Management
5.6% - Farming, Fishing, and Forestry
5.5% - Protective Service
4.8% - Construction and Extraction
4.4% - Installation, Maintenance, and Repair
4.4% - Life, Physical, and Social Science
4.3% - Engineering, Architecture, and Surveyors

More detailed information about survey results can be accessed at SAMHSA's Office of Applied Studies.

Managers and supervisors should be trained to be alert for changes in job performance that may reflect common symptoms of depression. While it's not a manager's role to be a counselor, managers are in a position to refer an employee to professionals such as an EAP who can help to discover the underlying reason for the change in performance. Employers can also facilitate help for their troubled employees by making basic mental health information available through health and wellness programs. Wellness programs tend to focus on physical issues related to key health drivers, such as obesity, exercise, and smoking cessation. Issuing basic information about mental health matters, such as checklists of signs and symptoms of depression in a company newsletter, can also be very beneficial to both employees and the organization's bottom line. For a few resources that might be helpful to such educational efforts, check The Partnership for Workplace Mental Health and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Posted by Julie Ferguson on October 17, 2007 at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Six years after the events of 9/11, many Americans are still struggling with fear and anxiety and many are suffering from varying degrees of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Unsurprisingly, those who were in closest proximity are suffering the most. Researchers at New York University and the New York—Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center have conducted follow-up studies with adults who witnessed World Trade Center events and with children who lost a parent. The research shows enduring psychological and neurological repercussions, including an alteration in brain chemistry. The children in particular may be prone to developing other problems in later life, ranging from hypersensitivity to stress to actual physical manifestations, such as the development of diabetes or weak bones.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta discusses PTSD and some promising new methods of treatment. If there is any silver lining that can come from such a tragedy, it is in the potential advances that might come from studying survivors with PTSD and developing new treatments for dealing with this crippling affliction.

Of course, 9/11 is only one event that can trigger PTSD. Iraq and Afghanistan vets, post-Katrina survivors, and anyone who has experienced a fire, a violent assault, or a vehicular accident can also be affected by PTSD. After a traumatic event, Acute Stress Disorder is fairly common. This is a disruptive condition that can be marked by nightmares, anxiety, and general life disruption. Many people experience this but it is generally short term in nature. In contrast, a smaller subset will experience PTSD - some put that number at about 10%. It's difficult to know why some will experience PTSD and others don't. Some experts think that occurrences are more frequent and deep-seated in response to man-made disasters such as war or violence than in natural disasters. PTSD often has delayed onset, sometimes not surfacing for as much as 6 to 18 months or more after the triggering event. PTSD symptoms are generally much more severe than ASD and often quite debilitating. Some recent research, such as the studies cited above, seem to indicate a bio-chemical alteration in the brain that keeps a victim "stuck" in trauma mode and susceptible to repeatedly re-experiencing the traumatic events. Treatment is essential.

Meaningful commemoration
While on the topic of 9/11, we learned about what we think of as a fitting way to memorialize that terrible day. Many people think that the best way to commemorate 9/11 is to reclaim the day and dedicate 9/11 to positive action, such as doing good deeds or performing acts of kindness. A focus on national service does honor in a meaningful way to those who perished and is particularly poignant way to remember public servants who gave their lives in an attempt to save others. This might be a healing way for an organization to mark the anniversary of any severely traumatic event that has affected a number of employees.

PTSD Resources:

• Trauma Information Pages - extensive information and links to disaster mental health resources
• U.S. Dept of Veterans Affairs PTSD Information Center
• National Institute of Mental Health: PTSD
• MedlinePlus - PTSD resources

Posted by Julie Ferguson on September 11, 2007 at 3:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

According to an article in Business Week, workplace distractions are costing $650 billion a year in lost productivity. It's hard to know exactly how they came up with that dollar amount, but there's no disputing the issue. It's harder and harder to stay focused in the workplace. The article is accompanied by a slide show depicting a dozen of the most frequent work distractions. Some involve non-work related matters, such as weather, news, and socialization, but even so-called productivity enhancers can be culprits: employees are drowning in a high volume of e-mails, phone calls, and "snail" mail and are addicted to cell phones, PDAs, testing, instant messages, and all the other "helpful" tools that keep us connected 24/7.

To protect productivity, you may need to help your employees to remove the most common distractions. First, try to analyze what the most common distractions are in your organization - the above list might be a good starting point. Get managers together to brainstorm creative strategies to help employees avoid such distractions.

We've come across some good ideas for reducing distractions. Here are a few suggestions from the mundane to the creative:

• Teach workers how to create and prioritze to-do lists, and to tackle the major priorities that relate to job goals before addressing the smaller or discretionary items.
• Minimize meetings and keep them short and focused. Some companies only conduct meetings while standing up.
• Suggest that workers open emails only a few times a day. Batching distractions can be a good way to deal with them. Some companies program incoming mail so that it is only be delivered to the desktop at certain intervals.
• Give people "do not disturb" signs they can place at their workstations; encourage "quiet periods" or "quiet zones" - times or places in which silence is encouraged.
• Consider supplying people with inexpensive personal printers and online fax services to lessen the need for walking to and waiting around central printers and faxes.
• Establish a mandatory visitor check in at a central point. This is not only a good security measure, it also discourages frivolous visits and cuts down on distractions.
• Establish a library for shared work subscriptions and resources. This is not only economical, it will limit distractions and provide a central place for research and professional development.

When real life problems are the distraction
While many of the distractions discussed above revolve around the work environment or work tools, we would expand the list by including distractions that arise from outside the workplace but that are brought in, such as home and family matters. These can range from juggling the normal demands of family life - children, school, aging parents, moving, etc - to more serious life problems, such as mental illness, substance abuse, domestic violence, and legal or financial problems. When extreme stress, fear, or anxiety are at play, it's nearly impossible for an employee to check these issues at the door and be fully engaged and productive in their work day. If you've ever experienced a life crisis like an elderly relative with Alzheimer's, a spouse with a life-threatening illness, or a runaway teen, you quickly learn the difficulty in keeping a firewall between work and the job.

That's when a good EAP can come into play, by offering the worker help to resources targeted to work-life issues, as well as help for the more serious and weighty problems that may be interfering with work, health, and emotional well-being. A good EAP will offer access to a variety of treatment options and resources for virtually any type of problems that a person might face. A good EAP could arguably be the single most effective productivity enhancer that an organization could invest in.

Posted by Julie Ferguson on August 20, 2007 at 12:41 PM | Permalink

We recently came upon a great LA Times article by Melissa Healy on the topic of caregivers
and the high toll they pay for the role they play in supporting family members. This is a topic that interests us greatly—our EAP deals with an increasing number of workers who are dealing with the stress or strain of caring for an ill, elderly, or special needs family member. According to the article, about one in every six people is a caregiver and as the Baby Boomers advance in age, that number is expected to increase. Add to that the numbers who will be caring for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan wars, many profoundly injured either physically or mentally. The scope of the caregiving issue is significant enough that it prompted the EEOC to recently issue new caregiver guidelines for employers. Many caregivers are elderly themselves—about 30% fall in this category. Many others are sandwiched between caring for elderly relatives and providing child care, a double burden. Most caregivers are employed and the weight of their responsibilities takes a high toll on many aspects of their lives, including their work. Caregiving is an issue employers need to tackle head-on—according to a survey by The MetLife Mature Market Institute, which tracks aging, retirement and elder-care issues for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., the cost of caregivers in the workplace may be as high as $33.6 billion a year in missed days, early departures, and on-the-job distractions. The heavy responsibilities of caring for ill or elderly family members also increases the chances that the caregivers themselves will experience financial, physical, and emotional problems. Many are forced to put their own career goals on hold or work reduced hours, and the health risks associated with caregiving are high:

"A 2003 study found that family members caring for those with dementia suffered suppressed levels of immunity for three years following their stint of caregiving, raising their risk of developing a chronic disease themselves. Other surveys have found that compared with the general population, caregivers—especially those with intensive caregiving demands and those already in fair or poor health—are less likely than their noncaregiving peers to attend to their own healthcare needs, less likely to exercise or see their doctor regularly and more likely to eat poorly and drink alcohol excessively."

How employers can help
Many companies are experimenting with innovative approaches to supporting caregivers. Many large organizations, such as IBM and Raytheon, are offering caregiver wellness programs focused on teaching caregivers how to effectively cope with their responsibilities and maintain their own physical and mental health. Here are some of our suggestion for things that employers can do to support the caregivers in their workplace:

• Assess the issue in your work force. Take a survey to learn the extent of the caregiving responsibilities in your workplace so that you understand the pressure points and can plan the most appropriate response for your employees.
• Train managers and supervisors to be sensitive to and alert for workers with caregiving responsibilities and to direct these employees to appropriate support resources, such as an EAP.
• Learn about and publicize local caregiving resources that can provide practical assistance, such as meals on wheels, transportation services and and adult day care. Publicize these resources in your organization's newsletter or intranet.
• Examine your organization's policies on flexible work hours and work-at-home options. Consider offering your employees more options on when, where, and how they accomplish their work responsibilities.
• Consider expanding work/life benefits. If you don't have an EAP that offers work/life and caregiving resources, consider adding one. Research benefit options, such as access to temporary emergency dependent care or paid leave for caregivers that goes beyond FMLA standards, or voluntary time banks where other workers can donate unused sick or vacation time to to caregiving or ill co-workers.

Posted by Julie Ferguson on July 27, 2007 at 10:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

If you ask employers to describe an employee assistance program, they'll usually talk about resources and services to solve employee personal problems. They'll describe it as an employee benefit. And if they've had occasion to use the services of an EAP, they'll probably tell you that it is a very valuable benefit.

What you won't hear is any reference to workers' comp. Few employers talk about how an EAP can be an effective tool to reduce workers' comp and disability costs or how an EAP can support employees during the recovery process to ensure they get back to their normal life as quickly as possible.

But those of us at ESI Employee Assistance Group believe that we have cracked the code and figured out how to insert the EAP into an organization to help the employee expedite recovery while also helping the organization reduce overall comp costs.

The Problem
Let's start with the fundamental reason why organizations opt to have an employee assistance program. It all revolves around that fact that 1 out of every 5 employees face some sort of significant personal problem in any given year. Those problems impact their lives and their productivity at work. A good EAP can go a long way toward addressing these problems and helping these employees get back to full productivity.

When it comes to workers' comp, the fundamental problem is two-fold. First, too many people are injured on the job. And when injured, employees are frequently away from work far longer than the injuries require.

And that's where the EAP and workers' comp connect.

The EAP—Work Comp Connection
Anyone who is familiar with workers' comp knows that there are three key elements to an effective cost containment program:

• An aggressive injury prevention effort
• Immediate medical treatment by quality providers who understand workers' comp
• An active return to work and transitional duty program

What we've learned at ESI, is that it is possible to utilize the EAP to essentially turbo-charge this sort of program.

Start with how injuries occur. While some injuries are the result of work site hazards, many injuries—arguably the lion's share—are the result of unsafe behavior. Relevant data clearly indicates that personal issues are the single most significant cause of unsafe behavior. The U.S. Department of Labor's data suggests that upwards of 40 percent of all workplace injuries have alcohol or substance abuse as the key contributing factor. And if you add other personal problems to the mix—depression, stress, medical issues, etc. — it is clear that employee problems are at the root of many workplace injuries. An effective EAP can head off many of these problems before they result in harm to the employee, to coworkers and to your organization.

And if you examine why injured workers have extended disability, all too often unresolved personal problems rather than medical problems are sabotaging the person's recovery. Personal issues are frequently barriers that keep people from returning to work and resuming their normal life in a timely fashion. Issues such as depression, family problems, debt and, once again, alcohol and substance abuse are the main contributors to extended disability. By helping employees tap into the services of the EAP, these barriers can be knocked down and recovery and return to work can be expedited

Why don't more employers use this cost reduction tool?
Properly used, an effective employee assistance program can address both the pre- and post-injury issues. So why aren't organizations using their EAPs more effectively?

First, responsibility for the workers' compensation program and the EAP almost always reside in different parts of the organization. The human resource department is responsible for the EAP, while risk management or the CFO is responsible for comp. Rarely is there one person or one department handling both. Add to that the fact that most EAPs are not attuned to the opportunity to impact workers' comp and disability. And, finally, the EAP is generally viewed as a nice benefit, but not a strategic business partner; and not as a strategy for turbo-charging prevention and return to work programs

To ensure an effective program, a couple of things have to happen. HR and Risk Management need to work together to promote the EAP, not only as a benefit for employees, but also as a tool for pre- and post-injury management. Next, employees must be made fully aware of the benefit. Supervisors must be trained to identify problemed employees and how to steer employees to the EAP. And, finally, the organization needs to select an EAP provider that is up to the task: one that fully understands work site productivity demands and complex issues such as disability prevention, as well as the counseling needs of employees.

Over the years, we have seen many employers integrate the EAP into their risk management efforts with extraordinary results. One large self insurance group has experienced an overall drop of more than 40% in claims. We believe that we have just begun to scratch the surface of how to make the EAP an effective cost containment tool and are working to make it even more effective.

Clearly, an EAP can be an effective tool in your overall workers' comp program. You and your EAP just have to know how to do it right.

Posted by Jim Walter, President, CEO on July 11, 2007 at 7:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Lately, there's been a spate of grim headlines about domestic violence resulting in deaths: the professional wrestler who killed his wife and young son and then himself, and the pregnant Ohio mother who was murdered, allegedly by the father of her child. Domestic violence is certainly nothing new but, occasionally, high profile cases such as these bring the issue to the forefront.

Because we spend so much time at work, colleagues and supervisors are often in a unique position to spot signs of domestic violence and employer can often play a critical role in directing the employee to help through referrals to an EAP or other community resource. In the past, the "none of my business" type of thinking often prevailed, but today employers know that problems at home rarely stay at home. All too often, domestic abuse comes right to the workplace:

• Homicide is the leading cause of death for women in the workplace.
• Of the approximately 1.7 million incidents of workplace violence that occur in the US every year, 18,700 are committed by an intimate partner: a current or former spouse, lover, partner, or boyfriend/girlfriend.
• Lost productivity and earnings due to intimate partner violence accounts for almost $1.8 billion each year.
• Intimate partner violence victims lose nearly 8.0 million days of paid work each year - the equivalent of more than 32,000 full-time jobs and nearly 5.6 million days of household productivity.

The Family Violence Prevention Fund identifies an annotated list of seven reasons why employers should address domestic violence. Here's a quick summary:

1. Domestic violence affects many employees.
2. Domestic violence is a security and liability concern.
3. Domestic violence is a performance and productivity concern.
4. Domestic violence is a health care concern.
5. Domestic violence is a management issue.
6. Taking action in response to domestic violence works.
7. Employers can make a difference.

The site also offers an excellent list of case histories of what some progressive employers are doing to combat domestic violence and suggests actions that both large and small employers can take to combat domestic violence.

Some of the basic things that employers can do include:

• Instituting a workplace zero-tolerance policy for workplace violence
• Providing secure work environments
• Raising awareness of the problem by educating your employee
• Reminding employees that help is available for domestic violence
• Training managers and supervisors to be alert for potential signs of domestic abuse
• Having referral protocols and resources in place for employees who need help - preferably an EAP or a social service experienced in dealing with domestic abuse

New York's Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence offers a Domestic Violence Model Workplace Policy Initiative with specific Guidelines for Employers along with a model policy for private employers.

Some other good resources include:
American Institute on Domestic Violence
Safe@Work
Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence
The Corporate Alliance to End Domestic Violence

Posted by Julie Ferguson on June 28, 2007 at 11:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Diaper wearing adults may be the year's most obvious warning signs of deep-seated personal problems. First we saw diaper wearing on the part of Lisa Marie Nowak. It was difficult for an amazed public not to get caught up in the humor provoked by the absurdity of the situation, but those of us who work with troubled people saw the raw and painful reality of a troubled employee.

We thought that would likely be the year's only story involving diapers and troubled people, but thanks to the wonders of the Internet, we once again find diapers and problems converging. This time, diaper-wearing is an indicator of gambling problems.

The story came to light when Professor Tim Pelton of the University of Victoria's Centres for Addiction Research was conducting a study with casino staff to assess the extent of the youth gambling problem. In the course of this research, a troubling theme emerged:

The survey of casino workers found many workers polled said they regularly see problem gambling up close, including people wearing diapers so they don't have to leave the machines to use the washroom.

Could this be true? Apparently at least one company is marketing an Adult Incontinence Reusable Cloth Diaper (warning: photos of adults in diapers) as being "perfect for ... Gamblers all night in the casino."

This marketing ploy troubles Professor Pelton, and we are with him on that one. In our experience, gambling is right up there with any of the other highly damaging addictions that we see, causing untold harm to the addict and the addict's family and close friends. Yet compulsive or pathological gambling (and we would lump diaper-wearing gamblers in that category) is often called "the hidden addiction."

The Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery offers excellent information and resources on gambling addiction, including a list of warning signs to help identify problem gambling in the workplace:

• Excessive use of telephones (to call bookmakers, stockbrokers or to obtain credit)
• Taking the company vehicle to the race track, card room, casino, etc. (parking tickets near gambling locations are a "red flag")
• Absences from work, often for part of the day (typically after lunch)
• Arriving late for work (related to all-night card games, casino trips, anxiety-related sleep disturbances)
• Vacation days taken on isolated days rather than in weeks (or vacations taken to gambling locations on a regular basis)
• Sick days taken immediately or ahead of time
• Failure to take days off (obsessed with getting money to pay gambling debts or afraid to take a day off because of a fear that embezzlement or fraud will be discovered in their absence)
• Changes in productivity (which seem to be related to mood swings)
• Organizing office pools and gambling junkets
• Borrowing money from co-workers or arguing with co-workers over failure to pay debts
• Embezzlement, defrauding customers or engaging in employee theft for resale

As with any other addiction, HR managers and supervisors don't have to diagnose or treat the problems, merely to be aware of early problem indicators as evidenced by performance and behaviors. Suspected addictions should be referred to EAPs or other qualified help resources.

Additional resources:
National Council on Problem Gambling
Gambler's Anonymous
Wikipedia on Problem Gambling

Posted by Julie Ferguson on May 16, 2007 at 3:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

According to a recent survey of HR professionals and senior managers, mental illness is "the leading cause of indirect costs associated with lost work time." And although both the prevalence and cost