Holding up a mirror
to the issues of today and tomorrow

Bupa Employee Assistance

By virtue of their broad reach, Bupa Employee Assistance has a unique perspective of the trends in issues affecting employees today and coming tomorrow.

My Family Care spoke to Stephanie Evans,
Business Manager at Bupa Employee Assistance to learn more.

Bupa Employee Assistance speaks to a broad spectrum of the employed population through the 800 companies of all different sizes and sectors for whom they provide employee assistance.

Over three-quarters of a million people in the UK have access to a BUPA helpline, giving them a unique insight into the issues affecting employees across the UK.

Stephanie says: "The issues that we see raised offer a reflection of the issues concerning individuals today and an insight into the upcoming issues of tomorrow. It still holds true that stress and relationship issues remain the two top reported trends year on year."

"Increased redundancies and job insecurity have also driven more people to contact us with increased levels of stress which often affects the quality of their personal relationships."

Juggling working life and home life

"On the family front, many of the issues that we hear about through our service relate very much to the stresses and strains of working parents trying to juggle both working life and home life. Of course it’s no longer the case that women have the choice to stay at home as the main provider of childcare and that men are the breadwinners."

Two salaries are needed...

"Financial pressures dictate that quite often two salaries are needed to keep things on track and heads above water and this means that the majority of callers trying to balance family and work are often female and in need of support both emotionally and practically."

An increase in men calling the helpline

"Even though there has been an increase in the number of male callers using the service their issues tend to relate to the enormity of being responsible for the family if they are the main breadwinner or contacting us to obtain some direction on how they can best support their partner who is struggling to cope."

Different family life stages and key challenges

"There is also a trend towards calls relating to the different stages of family life and one of the key challenges is raising teenagers and the ability to communicate effectively and productively with them."

"Although it’s not a completely new issue, changing dynamics of family structures, i.e. the increase of single parent households and the joining of two separate families due to new relationships, definitely have a part to play in the increase. A new baby can often create all kinds of anxieties but having a teen is another story altogether."

The impact of the current economic climate

"Other issues that are presented through our helpline include stress due to work demand and the pressure to perform within a backdrop of increased job insecurity, support with debt due to juggling the family finances and the increased cost of living and childcare cost that can often be on par with the cost their mortgage or rent. There is enormous pressure on relationships and couples struggle to take time out without the support of extended family close to home."

Eldercare and the sandwich generation - future issues

"There is another aspect of the services that has been increasing over time and that is support for individuals trying to deal with a parent with Alzheimer’s or dementia. The caller is often overwhelmed by the emotions attached to this change in their parent and dealing with it can often create rivalry between siblings and guilt associated with not being able to do enough."

"With the ageing population being one of the biggest growth areas for care this issue is not going away and more resources and support will be essential in helping people to cope effectively."

"Our data shows a steady increase in these kinds of calls and there has been a 27% increase for this year alone on 2010. We are also seeing an increase in the number of caller who is trying to cope with both teenagers at home and the need to care for an elderly parent."

About Stephanie Evans

For the last 9 years she has been working within the health industry leading International Employee Assistance Programmes based in the UK.

Stephanie was Operational Account Director for Ceridian Lifeworks and was instrumental in implementing the largest EAP service in the UK Unum-Lifeworks. Stephanie joined Bupa Employee Assistance in December 2009 to lead the Service Delivery function. She is a member of EAPA UK, Chartered Building Societies Institute (CBSI) and Member of the CIPD.

About Bupa Employee Assistance

Bupa Employee Assistance has over twenty three years' experience of providing and more significantly, developing EAPs in the UK.

Bupa is committed to Employee Assistance and delivering an integrated health and wellbeing service. In 2003 Bupa purchased the Personal Effectiveness Centre, which was founded in 1985 and was one of the first organisations to provide EAPs in the UK. Our aim is to provide the highest quality confidential counselling, consulting and information services to companies and their employees throughout the UK and Ireland.

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