However, in most instances, "agencies do not use the EAP as the office responsible for taking incident reports on workplace violence. Agencies give the following reasons: Because confidentiality requirements prohibit EAP counselors from disclosing information, putting a counselor in the position of informing the other members of the intervention team about the report could lead to serious misunderstandings among agency employees and harm the credibility of the EAP. It sometimes takes years to build the EAP into a viable program trusted by employees to keep any contacts confidential and the dual role could diminish this viability" (III. 4 EAP Consideration, 2009, OPM).
The message the EAP strives to communicate to employees can best be summed up in some EAP posters created as part of its prevention program: "Reach out: We can help," reads one. Another advises: "Talk or walk it out." These types of poster campaigns and brochures, although they may seem simple upon their surface, are a critical aspect of the EAP's mission: awareness promotion. Awareness of the possibility of violence and the responsibility of employees in violence-prevention are a critical aspect of ensuring violence does not occur, as the prevention of the potential personal and legal consequences that can ensue is really the best 'cure' in the long run. The EAP is designed to communicate to employees that they "can and should expect management to care" about violence in the workplace and strive to "provide as safe a working environment as possible by having preventive measures in place and, if necessary, by dealing immediately with threatening or potentially violent situations which occur (Workplace violence, 2009, USDA).
Therefore official responsibilities of the EAP counselors are to provide short-term counseling and referral services to employees at no cost but also to help in the prevention of workplace violence through involvement in organizational change to create an environment that strives to deemphasize violence, rather than to turn a blind eye. As well as a facilitator, an EAP also acts to train individual employees themselves to engage in effective...
Thus EAP counselors must keep themselves well-informed about workplace guidelines and laws about reporting potential threats and harassment. The counselor must work with the victim, giving advice and guidance, or with the perpetrator, to diffuse a situation, but must be willing to solicit aid when the possibility of violence is immanent, or the psychological situation requires more resources and expertise than is at his or her disposal. Knowledge of the full range of options and procedures is equally as important as dispensing effective counseling for an EAP counselor.
Works Cited
EAP and workplace prevention posters. (2009). Office of Personnel Management. Retrieved February 6, 2009 at http://www.eaposters.com/Posters_wpviolence.htm
Part III: Section 4 -- Employee assistance program consideration. (2009). Office of Personnel
Management (OPM). Retrieved February 6, 2009 at http://www.opm.gov/Employment_and_Benefits/WorkLife/OfficialDocuments/handbooksguides/workplaceviolence/p3-s4.asp
Workplace violence. (2009). The USDA Handbook on Workplace Violence Prevention and Response. Retrieved February 6, 2009 at http://www.usda.gov/news/pubs/violence/wpv.htm
Workplace violence: Case 9 (2009). Office of Personnel Management. Retrieved February 6, 2009 at http://www.opm.gov/Employment_and_Benefits/WorkLife/OfficialDocuments/handbooksguides/WorkplaceViolence/p2-c9.asp
EAP
