WPO's Employee Assistance Program: relief from all worries

In recent years, Mensura has been building an extensive ecosystem of partners to meet even more customer needs. In 2017, Mensura joined forces with WPO, allowing to start offering an EAP. "Their EAP is a very complementary service", says Marie Lamoral, prevention advisor psychosocial aspects at Mensura. "Thanks to WPO, we can offer a service that goes wider than just wellbeing at work. With the EAP offering, we provide 360° support both in and out of the workplace. Prevention remains essential, but we feel it is important that we can also help our customers when the problem actually arises."

Most people who use the EAP want to learn how to manage stress, both at home and at work, but also for dealing with e.g. conflicts at the office or family problems. So by offering an EAP as an employer, you create a climate of psychological safety, where people dare to indicate that they are in need of a conversation. You show that you care about their wellbeing, making them feel more committed to the organisation and stay on board longer.

"Compare it to a transatlantic flight where the heating fails", illustrates Anna Smets, Director Business Solutions at WPO. "You hand out blankets against the cold. Some passengers snuggle up right away, others put it aside for later, and some say they don't need it. But all those people are grateful anyway that you offered help."

WPO's EAP revolves around a holistic approach that goes beyond psychological help alone. Your employees (and their family members) can reach out regarding any problem or question, wherever and whenever they want - even outside office hours.

"Whatever your employees are struggling with, we can get them to see a psychologist right away," Anna continues. "We offer total support for a multitude of concerns in a safe environment. What your employees tell us, will not be share with you as an employer. However, as an employer, you do have access to a reporting dashboard with aggregated and anonymised data. This way, you know what is going on in your organisation and, where necessary, you can adjust certain situations with appropriate initiatives."

Within the EAP, the AWARE mindfulness pathway is gathering particular success. This is a
six-week telephone coaching programme. Employees learn techniques to build mindfulness into their daily lives - for example, because they want to be more focused, or because they want to learn to manage stress better. After an initial intake interview, the employee is assigned a personal coach, with whom weekly check-ins take place. Anna: "All exercises are very concrete and far from fluffy, and thus accessible to a wide population of employees."

Another successful and approachable component of the EAP is the financial wellbeing feature, which supports employees in all kinds of simple and more complex financial issues. Budget management is a common theme, as are financial questions following (e.g.) a divorce. The EAP professional can refer them to a financial adviser when necessary.

"Employees tend to bring practical problems into the office too", Marie says. "Finding daycare for the children, providing care for elderly parents,... This creates stress for the employee which is also felt in the workplace. The EAP can also unburden managers here: they genuinely want to help their colleague, but often do not know how. A referral to a professional is a win-win for everyone."

Feedback on the EAP has been hugely positive. Many users indicated in an anonymous survey afterwards that they genuinely felt better. WPO also receives a lot of praise from employers, who are happy that the EAP allows them to really put wellbeing on the map in their organisation. But there's still room for improvement, Anna points out.

"We find it perfectly normal to go to the gym regularly to stay physically fit", she observes. "That regularity is also valuable for your mind. Occasionally scheduling a meeting with a psychologist is good for your mental fitness, but this is much less normalised. An EAP can play an important role in this, because welfare is a shared responsibility."