When an employee comes to your EAP assessment interview via self- or supervisor referral, be knowledgeable about the risks that employee faces in their job. I am not just talking about stress. You will need to research individual professionals. Try the dictionary of occupational titles. Google "job risk and problems ___________. Take librarians for example. Sounds like a quiet job. Hmm. You will discover that that they are accosted frequently by strangers and the homeless, threatened, and harassed. See what I'm saying? But they may not talk about these things. So, create mental list of specific questions to help screen these employees when they visit your office for routine personal problems to help identify any emerging problems, health crises, or ticking time bombs in their lives. By the way, sell this ability to organizations if you are an EAP vendor....and link it to cost-benefit, recovery from loss, and reduced exposure. And if you have a free time, consider how to link up with property casualty insurers...however.. I digress.
Police, truck drivers, nurses, Latino workers, firefighters, spouses of emergency responders are only a few, but there are many more professions. For example, truck drivers: Long-haul truck driving is one of the deadliest professions, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Truck drivers are involved in an estimated 250,000 crashes each year, with 1 to 2 percent resulting in fatalities. If you are a truck driver, new research points to how they can reduce risk for a crash. The study sought to identify health and occupational factors that may contribute to crash risk. These include: 1) frequent fatigue after work; 2) using cell phones while driving; 3) having elevated blood pressure. The researchers surveyed 797 truckers who underwent a basic physical exam. Two indicators of poor health management – high blood pressure and fatigue – were highly associated with crash risk. High pulse pressure exacerbated by stress, long hours, heavy lifting, and lack of sleep, and exercise are suspected in contributing to these conditions. Now...complete my post and consider, what questions might you ask such an employee who comes to your office complaining of financial problems? A skilled interviewer could find out much more and do much more than refer such an employee to the local Community Credit Counseling Center. http://healthcare.utah.edu [search “truck drivers fatigue”]
