Abstract
Organizations in India and across the globe are adopting employee assistance programmes (EAP) to provide confidential counselling and consultation services to address personal problems experienced by employees and/or their family members. EAP providers and counsellors have a dual responsibility towards meeting the needs of clients in counselling and the needs of the company which employs the EAP service. Balancing the goals of ‘helping’ with the need to focus on business profit and ‘return on investment’ poses multiple challenges. The primary ethical dilemma centres on identifying whose needs take primacy. Some of the salient concerns relate to: Protecting the confidentiality of the individual client versus the risk of lost business; Compromised quality versus larger profit margins (for the EAP provider); Confidentiality of the employee (client) versus risks and safety of the company (client); Quality of the EAP service versus securing new business contracts (for the EAP provider). The EAP counsellor has to grapple with conflicting goals, and ensure safety and therapeutic value for the individual client even if it comes at an additional cost to the EAP provider or the company. EAP counsellors need high levels of competence not only in creating therapeutic outcomes but also in understanding the world of work. Well thought through ethical processes should be part of the foundation of the counselling practice in the EAP and guide the business plans of the EAP provider.
Published Version
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