Collaborating Within the Work Organization: Creating Strong Partnerships with Other Units can Help Eaps Fulfill Their Core Technology and Deliver More Value to Employees and Work Organizations (Employee Assistance Programs‪)‬

Numerous benefits can accrue to EAPs by building collaborations within the work organization. Collaborations raise the visibility of EAPs and promote greater understanding of their services, thus increasing program utilization. Collaborations are also a good way of building a positive reputation and eliminating the stigma that is sometimes associated with EAPs. Finally, collaborations can help EAPs deliver all of the services outlined in the EAP Core Technology. Workplace collaborations have been a part of EAP history since their inception. Occupational alcoholism programs (the forerunners of EAPs) recognized the need to work with supervisors to identify troubled employees. In the 1980s, EAPs began to integrate with managed behavioral health care (MBHC) organizations, since both provided access to counseling and substance abuse services. However, this partnership steered EAPs away from their Core Technology, largely because it involved integration rather than collaboration. Integration requires combining two or more separate parts into one harmonious, coordinated whole, whereas collaboration involves working together or joining with another element to provide assistance that is mutually beneficial.