Employee Attitudes Toward an Internal Employee Assistance Program

To assess attitudes toward the effectiveness of an employee assistance program (EAP), a survey was sent to a random sample of 16,603 employees and adult dependents of a large, multinational company. Four groups were surveyed: employees who had used the EAP, adult dependents who had used the EAP, employees who had not used the EAP, and adult dependents who had not used the EAP. The findings indicated that both employee and adult dependent EAP users viewed the EAP more positively than did employee and adult dependent nonusers. Regression analyses indicated that factors including perception of EAP confidentiality, perceived support by other employees, and belief that the EAP would not negatively affect the career were related to positive views of the EAP among both EAP users and nonusers.