EAP as a relief for HR

Table of contents:

• What is EAP (Employee Assistance Programme)?
• In which situations does EAP support an HR team?
• What issues can employees turn to EAP providers with?
• How can I take care of my mental balance as an HR professional?
• What does self-care mean in a demanding job like HR?
• How does stress management work?
• 3 expert tips for better stress management in HR

What is EAP?

EAP (Employee Assistance Programme) refers to confidential, personal counselling sessions that are available to employees free of charge. The aim is to strengthen the mental health of the team and find individual solutions for difficult situations. Your employees develop valuable skills and build resilience during the coaching sessions. 

In which situations does EAP support an HR team?

Confidential EAP counselling can provide relief and support in many challenging situations. In companies that do not offer an EAP programme, employee problems are often brought to the HR team. However, HR experts usually have neither the time nor the skills to take care of employees' mental well-being.

That's why an EAP offer provides concrete relief: regardless of whether employees have professional or private problems - there is a neutral, professional point of contact to whom you can refer those affected.

What issues can employees turn to an EAP provider like Mavie Work with?

Professional issues

Interpersonal tensions in the workplace

Counselling helps to identify the causes of tensions, to sharpen the distinction between self-perception and the perception of others and to develop problem-solving skills.

Conflicts with the manager

EAP helps to work out conflicts, clearly identify issues and find out what is needed to constructively clarify the matter.

Stress and workload

During counselling, employees recognise stress factors and personal areas of influence and hone relevant skills such as time management.

Returning after a long absence

Employees reflect on their changed role after a long absence and find new goals and perspectives.

Private issues

Family conflicts

During counselling, conflict dynamics are analysed and strategies for dealing constructively with the conflict are developed.

Parenting problems

Counselling provides support in the event of uncertainties and problems relating to raising children, provides relief and strengthens self-confidence in the role of parent.

Bereavement

The counselling sessions create space for dealing with grief, provide new orientation and help with reconnecting to everyday life.

Illness

EAP counselling sessions provide support in dealing with diagnoses (including those of relatives), provide emotional relief and help to develop strategies for coping with everyday life.

Separation/divorce

The counselling sessions help to deal with separations, establish new structures and create orientation and an outlook.

Anxieties

Counselling helps to find strategies for dealing with anxiety, to reflect on anxiety-inducing moments and issues and to reduce them. Practical exercises help to better regulate anxiety in everyday life.

Money worries (no debt counselling)

In counselling, employees can work through feelings such as guilt, fear or hopelessness. They are also supported with practical, expert tips and strategies.

How does an EAP offer support managers?

Managers can use EAP programmes as personal coaching and reflect on their challenges as a manager in a safe space, hone necessary leadership skills (e.g. communication) and develop strategies, e.g. for a better work-life balance. 

Plus: Managers can refer team members who are going through crises to external experts and thus provide them with quick and professional support.

As an HR professional, how can I look after my mental balance?

‘It is particularly important for HR managers to keep an eye on their own self-care. If you take care of your own health, you are better able to fulfil your important role in the company effectively and promote a positive working environment for all employees.’

Nadiya Khayrullina, psychosocial counsellor at Mavie Work

What does self-care mean in a demanding job like HR?

Clear boundaries between work and private life 

Avoid being available outside working hours or on holiday to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

Transparent communication

Talk openly with your superiors and your team about your workload limits. Transparent communication can help to set realistic expectations.

Peer support

Seek dialogue with other HR colleagues. Exchanging experiences and sharing challenges can have a supportive effect.

Take regular breaks

Schedule regular breaks during the working day to relax and recharge your batteries.

Time for coaching and further training

Invest time in coaching and further training that not only strengthens your professional expertise, but also shows you ways to promote your own resilience.

How does stress management work?

Stress management involves three levels: the instrumental, regenerative and mental levels. Stress management is particularly useful and effective if you reflect on all three levels for yourself and keep them in mind even during periods of stress.

Instrumental stress competence

• Delegate
• Asking for help
• Learning to say no
• Taking time out

 
Mental stress competence

• Question your expectations
• Respect your own boundaries
• Accept your mistakes
• Focus on the positive
• Don't take everything personally

 
Regenerative stress competence

• Create a balance to your job
• Make sure you exercise regularly
• Eat a healthy diet
• Maintain your social contacts 
• Get enough sleep

 
3 expert tips for dealing better with stress in HR

Tip 1: Search for traces of stress triggers

An important step on the way out of the stress spiral is to look for the causes that generate stress. There are external and internal stress factors.  

External stress factors are generally easier to identify. An external stress factor can be, for example, an illness in the family or an increased workload before a deadline. However, it can also be a lack of fairness or recognition from superiors or the breakdown of cohesion among colleagues.    

Internal stress factors are much more difficult to name. These are so-called beliefs that we are often not even aware of. Perhaps you have the negative belief that you always have to do everything on your own and therefore don't ask for help. Or that you are not allowed to say no.   

To find out where your personal stress triggers lie, you can ask yourself the following questions:  

• What was a situation recently where I noticeably got into a state of stress? 
• What exactly happened in this situation? 
• Who wanted something from me in this situation? 
• How did I react? 
• Why did I react the way I did? 

 The purpose of this search for clues is to observe what repeatedly causes stress in your everyday life and to clearly identify this source of stress. Perhaps there are certain patterns that you notice. Is it mainly external or internal factors that cause stress?   Also ask yourself whether your current habits in terms of sleep, social media, eating or exercise help you to balance stress or whether these habits tend to hinder you. 

Tip 2: Break through the stress wall

A reflection exercise that can help you to break through the stress wall: ask yourself the following questions and write down the answers by hand.

• What is it that is currently stressing me out the most? 
• What will happen if I don't change anything? What will happen then? 
• What could I do to change something? 
• What does it take to start this change? 
• By when would I like to have taken the first step? 

The aim of this exercise is for you to no longer feel at the mercy of your situation. You may realise during this reflection exercise that you can't change anything at the moment. That's okay too. But you can define a point in time when you consciously take another look and ask yourself how the situation has developed.  

Tip 3: Avoid stress contagion 

Do you know the situation when a colleague in the office is hectic and stressed all day and this mood rubs off on the rest of the team? ‘Our nervous system and the so-called neuroception and mirror neurones in our brain are to blame. One nervous system infects the other with stress. 

If you want to find out whether your perception of stress is influenced by your immediate environment, answer the following questions.

• Which areas in my life would I place in the yellow or red zone on a ‘stress traffic light’?  
• Who is affected by this situation other than me? Who else is affected by this situation?
• What if the stress I feel has less to do with myself and more to do with the stress of my environment? 

  In the next step, sketch a pie chart with three parts and write the answers to the following three questions in one third of the pie: 

• How big is your personal share of the current stress level - and what is this share made up of? For example, certain habits, negative beliefs or framework conditions that could influence you. 
• How big is the share of others in your immediate environment - and what does this share look like? 
• And how big is the share generated by the shared dynamic in the team - and what does this share look like?   

If you realise that the stress in your team has a contagious effect on you, you can take various measures to counteract this effect.

• Perhaps find a different seat in the office. 
• Reduce the background noise in the workplace - for example, by using good headphones or a closed room. 
• It can also help to reduce your coffee consumption or switch to decaffeinated coffee. 
• Try to take regular breaks and surround yourself with people who you find calming. A short walk in the park is also relaxing.

If you notice that you can't get a grip on stress through self-care, personal counselling or coaching, for example at Mavie Work, can help you.

CONCLUSION

EAP programmes support overworked HR teams in many ways. On the one hand, an EAP provider such as Mavie Work provides an external point of contact to whom employees can be referred in challenging situations (conflicts, severe exhaustion, private changes, etc.) and crises (illness, bereavement, etc.). On the other hand, an EAP programme also helps HR employees themselves to stay mentally balanced despite stress.