EAP as a Cross‐Cultural Endeavor: Stranger in a Strange Land

Presented byJeff Christie, LCSW, CEAP

EAP Manager, JPS Health NetworkOctober 6, 2015

Stranger in a Strange Land

• We say an experience is cross‐cultural when we encounter a context where the very beliefs, values, customs, and language that we took for granted are not the implicit characteristics of the new context.

• Then for many counseling professionals, immersion in a business environment is a cross‐cultural experience.

What Constitutes a “Culture”?

The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, beliefs, institutions, and all other 

products of human work and thought typical of a population or community at a given time

Webster’s Dictionary

Stream of Consciousness

What words come up when you hear the term “business”?

Loss of Ethics

Another Stream of Consciousness

Terms associated with “boss”:How many here are bosses?Does that describe you?

How Can You Work for a Corporation?

• I love a challenge• I sold my soul to the devil• Reality check: 

– Unless you are wealthy, you work for a living– Sad but true: on most days, we spend half our conscious hours in the workplace

– The workplace represents both a meaningful context for and a driver of human behavior

– Introductions: “ Hi, I’m ___ and I’m a _____”

Working by Studs Terkel

“This book, being about work, is, by its verynature, about violence – to the spirit as well asthe body. It is about ulcers as well as accidents,about shouting matches as well as fistfights,about nervous breakdowns as well as kicking thedog around. It is, above all (or beneath all),about daily humiliations. To survive the day istriumph enough for the walking woundedamong the great many of us.”

Working by Studs Terkel (cont.)

“It is about a search, too, for daily meaningas well as daily bread, for recognition as wellas cash, for astonishment rather than torpor,in short, for a sort of life rather than aMonday through Friday sort of dying.”

Understanding the Client

“Because work preoccupies our lives and is thecentral focus of our time and energies, it notonly provides us with income, it literally namesus, identifies us, to both ourselves andothers…we cannot understand a person unlesswe understand his or her work and how he orshe deals with it.”

Everett C. Hughes

Two Contrasting Perspectives

So:• Is it about “selling out” to Corporate America or • Is it the study of the phenomenon of work, its impact on people,  and the application of clinical, organizational, and advocacy skills within a major facet of their lives?

Definition of an EAP

An EAP is a workplace program designed to assist: (1) work organizations in addressing productivity issues, and (2) "employee clients" in identifying and resolving personal concerns, including health, marital, family, financial, alcohol, drug, legal, emotional, stress, or other personal issues that may affect job performance.

Employee Assistance Professionals Association

The Core Technology of Employee Assistance

1. Consultation with, training of, and assistance to work organization leadership (managers, supervisors, and union officials) seeking to manage troubled employees, enhance the work environment, and improve employee job performance; 

2. Active promotion of the availability of EA services to employees, their family members, and the work organization;

3. Confidential and timely problem identification/assessment services for employee clients with personal concerns that may affect job performance; 

4. Use of constructive confrontation, motivation, and short‐term intervention with employee clients to address problems that affect job performance; 

The Core Technology of Employee Assistance

5. Referral of employee clients for diagnosis, treatment, and assistance, as well as case monitoring and follow‐up services; 

6. Assisting work organizations in establishing and maintaining effective relations with treatment and other service providers, and in managing provider contracts; 

7. Consultation to work organizations to encourage availability of and employee access to health benefits covering medical and behavioral problems including, but not limited to, alcoholism, drug abuse, and mental and emotional disorders; and 

8. Evaluation of the effects of EA services on work organizations and individual job performance. 

My Start

• My Roots

• My Introduction

• The “You had me with hello” Moment

Taking a Cross‐Cultural Perspective

Contrasts in CultureElements of Culture Counseling Profession Business World

Mission Ease pain; advance human potential

Financial success

Individual vs. Collaborative Often collaborative Competitive individualism

Hierarchy Variable Variable

Language Feeling‐based; Medical Science/Economics/Math

Dress Formal/Informal Formal/Informal

Symbols Open hands; Hearts; Mother & Child

ML bull; Pru rock

Heroes Mother Theresa; Gandhi; MLK Lee Iacocca; Jack Welch

Cross‐Cultural Translators

Empathy Equity

Compassion Competitive Advantage

Respect Retention

Rehabilitation Risk Management

Aspirations of the Culture

Profitability, but what supports profitability?• Income/cost containment• Liability abatement• Productive workforce

– physical health– mental health (e.g., presenteeism)– morale

Aspirations of the Culture

Health and SafetyReduce accidents and injuriesPreventive:

Drug & Alcohol PoliciesFatigue ManagementWellness

Reactive: Mitigate the impact of accidents and injuriesCritical Incident Stress ManagementGrief/Bereavement Support

“Well, it’s a delicate situation, sir.... sophisticated firing system, hair-trigger mechanisms, and Bob’s wife just left him last night, so you know his mind’s not into this.”

Why Have an EAP?

Aspirations of the Culture

Retention of Value• Even in down economies, businesses do not want to lose employees upon whom they rely

• Typically, it’s pricier to replace than retain• Everyone has hard chapters in their lives: “No one leaves this life unscathed”

• Family & workplace Interventions: same goals, different actors

Oral Communication: Key Phrases in a Business Culture

Safety: major tool for grabbing leadership’s attention

• Without adequate treatment, employee will pose safety risk due to impairment

• Without well‐founded substance abuse policies and practices, corporate liability for  accidents is high (ask Joseph Haywood)

• Without opportunity to debrief, employees who witnessed a critical incident are at risk of accidents due to preoccupation. 

Key Phrases in a Business Culture

Liability Abatement: Ex: Threat of Violence“Sure we could abruptly fire Joe for making such an aggressive remark, but  how does that reduce the risk of violence to his coworkers?  Wouldn’t that just make him madder? Perhaps offering him a chance at treatment might be a wiser risk‐reduction path.”

Key Phrases in Business Culture

• Retention of Value: it’s usually cheaper to allow for treatment than it is to bear the expense of termination costs, recruitment, and training

• Good corporate citizen: examples: charitable giving, disaster relief efforts, mental health plan “champions”

Key Phrases in Business Culture

• Employee Engagement: When other employees witness a troubled coworker receive organizational support, they entertain the notion that the employer might actually care (at least at times).  We are generally more willing to “go the extra mile” when we see some form of reciprocity in return.

Written Communication – You are What You Report

• Stage 1, The Cuisinart Report: Slice and dice client demographics about two dozen ways.  Gleefully hand the report to the CEO and ask, “Aren’t you proud?”.  Serve with linguine.

• Stage 2, The Caesar Report: (veni, vidi, vici) or “They came, we saw, we compiled.”  Only describes a process.

Written Communication – You are What You Report

• Stage 3, The Pear Tree Report: Through our masterful work, we’ve uncovered 4 crying depressives, 3 agitated addicts, 2 Tourette’s, and a schizoid in a pear tree.

• Stage 4, The Aligned Report: based on two key questions:– How do the services you provide align with this organization’s business goals

– If a certain activity doesn’t align, why are you doing it.

Cultural Caution: Respect Their Belief Systems

• Don’t insult their gods.• One example: the god called objectivity• If your clients hail from the lands of science, engineering, accounting, or even medicine, they need to believe that their thinking, and thus their actions, are more logically‐grounded than yours, you  “soft science” person.

How to Converse: Metrics That Matter

• Absenteeism

• Presenteeism

• Retention

• Health Care Expenses

• Reportable Injury Rates

• STD & LTD Rates

• Workers Comp

• Legal Expenses

In Sum• Migrating from the land of “helping professionals” to the world of the workplace requires cultural adaptation

• Successful adaptation requires an understanding of the new culture’s aspirations, values, traditions, and language.

• Exposure to another culture ultimately helps us understand our own.

• The workplace serves as both a fundamental  context and a significant  influence in impacting overall happiness and well‐being.