Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) have been growing in popularity over the past 10 years. They are a confidential 24 hour counselling service that employees can access for issues ranging from stress at work or home, to finding eldercare, legal difficulties, and also receiving financial advice.
Shepell•fgi, a large Canadian EAP provider, has released a report, Financial Distress Impacts Health and Productivity. They found that the number of requests for financial counselling and consultation are increasing at double the rate of all other EAP services.
In the latter half of 2008, there was a 13% jump in the rate of access for financial issues as compared with the same period in 2007.
According to the report, the top five financial issues for employees were:
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debt/credit (37.6%)
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financial planning (15.2%)
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divorce/finances (8.7%)
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financial stress (5.5%)
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bankruptcy (5.2%)
Most EAP programs will provide referrals to financial or credit specialists who can provide confidential and unbiased help to employees.
Rachel von Sturmer, GBA, CFP, Benefits Specialist
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