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Employees resist using EAPs because they fear being perceived as weak, or they see them as a performance management tool rather than aiding wellbeing, research shows.

Early employee assistance programs took the form of "coercive substance abuse interventions" used as a surrogate for disciplinary action, and although they have evolved into voluntary wellbeing programs, EAPs continue to carry stigma, says University of WA business school HR management lecturer Tianyi Long, in a new research article.

Employees don't trust EAPs, because they see them as managerial tools used to improve performance issues, and believe they serve management's interests more than their own, Long contends...