| Summary: | Organizations assist employees to deal effectively with demanding work and the work environment, including their personal problems, through an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP). The essence of the EAP is the application of knowledge about behaviour and behavioural health to make accurate assessments, followed by appropriate action to improve the productivity and healthy functioning of the employees. According to the report from the Employee Wellness Directorate of the Eastern Cape, the Employee Assistance Programme Practitioners saw 576 employees in 2010. These statistics only represent a few districts in the Eastern Cape as some districts do not have Employee Assistance Practitioners offering employee assistance, hence this number could be higher. In some instances employees do self-referral, which may increase the number without the managers knowing who is utilizing the EAP. This makes it difficult for the managers to monitor such employees and the effectiveness of the intervention rendered. Managers refer employees but do not have control over whether employees made use of the EAP and on the progress in sessions as they do not always receive the feedback. The Employee Assistance counsellor may receive a written referral from the nursing manager and then consults the referred employee in private. The employee gives consent and then the EAP counsellor addresses the problem at hand. If it is a complex case needing expert intervention arrangements are made. If the intervention requires follow up sessions, the EAP counsellor makes the necessary arrangements through the referring manager until the problem is resolved. The EAP counsellor monitors the employee and asks the manager to support the employee without divulging details of the problem that was being addressed. However, the Nursing Managers do not know how effective the programme is and whether the employees benefit from the use. The above-mentioned problem led the researcher to ask the following questions: • What are the perceptions that Nurse Managers in the Department of Health in the Eastern Cape Province have of the effectiveness of the Employee Assistance Programme? • How can Nurse Managers optimize employees’ use of the EAP? The goal of this study was to identify the perceptions of Nurse Managers of the Employee Assistance Programme in order to determine how the programme’s use can be optimized. The researcher used a qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual design. The research population was selected purposively and included the Nursing Managers in the Department of Health in the Chris Hani District, Eastern Cape, who have referred employees to the Employee Assistance Programme. Semi-structured interviews were used during the data gathering process. Interviews were conducted at a venue convenient to the participants. Open-ended questions were asked to enable participants to express their perceptions on the topic. The researcher also used observation and field-notes to ensure that the data gathering provided rich information. The data was analysed using Tesch’s method of data analysis. Trustworthiness was ensured by using Guba’s model of trustworthiness. The ethical strategies of informed consent, confidentiality and anonymity, avoidance of harm and voluntary participation were ensured. Two themes emerged from the data analysis. Theme one showed that the participants had contrasting perceptions regarding the effectiveness of the current Employee Assistance Programme. Some felt that they have benefitted from the programme while others felt differently. Theme two described the participants’ views elated to improving the utilization of the EAP. Positive and negative factors that impacted on the implementation of EAP have been identified. Results show that both the employer and the employees could benefit if EAP is well implemented. Decentralization of EAP could be very cost effective and could save the employer thousands of rands because resources would be utilized better.
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