Models of WPC, Concepts of WPC

1. Understanding Workplace Counseling
(Source: Michael Caroll- WPC)
Prepared by Dr.Evangeline E T

2. WPC-Definition
• Workplace counseling is therapy offered to employees
of a company, often through an employee assistance
program, that provides employees with a safe place to
discuss any issues that they're struggling with.
How it helps?
How it helps?
• Counselling helps the employees to come out from the
problems, gives a new way to deal with the
problems. Counselling shows how much the employer
care for the employee. Counselling may help to
identify the employee the work related problems and
the poor performance.

3. • In this competition world there are de-
stressed employees in each and every
organization. It’s difficult to find a tension free
employee in an organization.
• Organization’s has started Counselling at
Workplace to retain the current employees,
the talented employees, to increase the
productivity and this is one of the way to
motivate their employee.

5. Concept of WPC
• In organizations – Issues such as poor relationships
between two key members, a middle manager
dependent on alcohol, a high level manager getting
distracted due to a divorce, extra marital relationships-
when these issues get unnoticed,undealt with- then
the cost can be effective.
the cost can be effective.
• So Counseling is viewed as preventive service in the
organizations- not only for severely disturbed
individuals.
• Counseling also highlights the value of people as
organizational assets. More and more organizations are
becoming aware that people are truly their best assets.

6. The History of WPC
• The historical development of Employee
Counseling gives an insight into the various
reasons for establishing counseling provision.
• There are 3 phases in the history of Workplace
Counseling
Counseling
1. THE HUMAN RELATIONSHIP ERA
2. THE ALCOHOL AWARNESS STAGE OF WPC
3. INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL COUNSELING
PROVISION

7. The Human Relationship Era
• History of WPC-US
• Intertwined with the arrival in industry of
medical, psychiatric and social work provision.
• WPC has existed in the workplace since the
early 1900s though in quite different formats
early 1900s though in quite different formats
from those we understand by workplace
counseling today. Through evidence, the first
counseling programme in industry was
initiated by the Ford Motor company in 1914.

8. The Engineering Foundation of New York
commissioned a research survey of emotional
problems among employees before 1920. The
discovery that 62% of employees were
discharged because of social rather than
occupational incompetence resulted in the
introduction of preventive measures.
introduction of preventive measures.
2 companies Metropolitan Life Insurance and(In
1922) and R.H.Macey(in 1924) employed full
time psychiatricts.

9. Tehrani(1995) has traced the roots of British
employee counseling to the late 19th century
with the introduction of welfare officers
whose job it was to monitor the physical and
mental well-being of employees.

10. The alcohol awareness stage of WPC
• A lull in mental health provision seems to have
taken place between these endeavors and the
1940s. Mayo was a key figure in researching
employee needs, criticizing industry for not
paying adequate attention to the
psychological needs of employees and himself
psychological needs of employees and himself
establishing a counseling service in 1936.( 40
counselors- assigned 300 employees)
• Findings – problems with employee attitudes,
complaints as stated was not the real source
of the individual’s trouble.

11. • In order to overcome this problem in attitudes
of the employees, the counselors were made
free from taking actions on the complaints
and were asked to be a keen listener, never
interupts,never argues. His function is to
display the right attitude and encourage
employees to talk about anything which may
employees to talk about anything which may
be of importance to him. This programme
began in 1936. In 1940 there were 20
counsellors, in 1959 there were 55.

12. When a new phase of interest emerged directed
at employee health, the earlier emphasis on
‘attendance, production, health and
disciplinary problems gave way to issues of
alcoholism,accident,psychosomatic accidents,
the ageing worker,executives emotional
problems,techniques of management and
structuring of the work environment.In fact
structuring of the work environment.In fact
alcohol concerns dominated much of the
counseling provision from this stage until the
1960s. The term Employee Assistance
Program(EAP) was coined by the National
Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

13. • The 1940s witnessed the beginning of the EAP
era of workplace counselling with such
provision centered principality on alcohol
issues in industry.
• This era – many people involved with
employees- ex alcoholics, psyciatrists and
employees- ex alcoholics, psyciatrists and
personnel officers covering variety of
approaches from psychometric testing to job
appraisal, from alcoholism to family problems.
• This era witnessed the EAP(Employee
Assistance Program)

14. 3. Internal and External Counseling
provision