Maslow, Revisited
Maslow—a prominently published psychologist in the 1940’s and 1950’s—proposed that human behavior progressed through sequential (or hierarchical) needs — beginning with physiological (food, water, breathing) and safety (security of body, shelter, employment) needs, before progressing to higher level needs such as belongingness (family, friends), esteem (confidence, respect, recognition), and finally self-actualization (akin to the Army’s “be all you can be” slogan from years ago). He proposed that one couldn’t progress to a higher-level need until the lower-level need was satisfied.
Upon reflection, it struck me that we're trying to help someone “self-actualize” his behavior (e.g., perform at a higher level, to achieve the most that he could achieve) when he was actually struggling for survival in many ways (e.g., attending to “safety needs”). The employee was coming off a seemingly unending avalanche of personal problems–a recent divorce, the pressures of caring for an elderly relative, etc. What chance was there that he was going to focus on “being all he can be” while at school? He was just trying to survive, day to day.
A (Partial) Answer
This staff member wasn’t all that far from the personal stresses that many employees bring into the workplace every day. By not recognizing this, we can end up trying to solve the wrong problems–and often make things worse, by adding pressures to employees’ work lives.
The behavioral health management firm, New Directions, published statistics indicating that:
- 92% of employees report that personal problems have decreased their productivity during their working lives
- 40% of absenteeism is due to depression
- Depressed employees have up to 70% higher medical costs than those without depression
- Personal and interpersonal problems cause 65% to 85% of involuntary terminations.
It’s certainly true that schools can’t (and shouldn’t try to) solve all of an employee’s problems. Yet, there is surely something meaningful that we can do to help—isn’t there? Happily, there is.
EAPs: The Best Benefit, Dollar for Dollar
One partial solution is for schools to provide Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) as part of their benefits programs. EAPs are confidential referral programs typically managed by mental health providers. An employee calls an 800 number, explains to the operator the type of issue he/she are seeking assistance for, and are referred to a local provider in that field (e.g., a counselor, psychologist, practitioner, etc.). EAPs commonly cover most areas of modern day life stresses, from weight management and quit-smoking counseling, to marital and family counseling, to elder care and legal issues, and many things in between.
EAPs are typically very inexpensive (especially as compared to most other benefits programs)–usually only a few dollars per month per employee. Some schools have EAPs built into another of their benefits coverages (e.g., ISM’s Trust makes EAP services available under its long term disability plan)—which they may not even be aware of. A small number of schools already contract with an EAP provider, though a majority of schools do not yet offer this benefit.
Bottom Line
Except in extreme cases, it is a difficult matter to force an employee to seek counseling. We can always provide–and publicize—EAPs, though … and hope that troubled employees use their services before home life issues force work life issues to be addressed in negative ways. We encourage all schools that don’t already have an EAP as part of their benefits offerings to investigate doing so. It’s an outstanding thing to do for your school and your employees.
