CONSENT PROTOCOL IN A VIRTUAL WORKSPACE

Consistent with the predicted mental health wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, LifeAssist has seen an increase in the level of anxiety and stress presentations. Research conducted by Afriforte (April – July 2020, https://lifewithcovid19.co.za/assessments/) into the mental health of South Africans during the pandemic shows that the top two concerns shared by all respondents relate to the state of the economy and concern for family health and wellbeing. This research shows that 48% of those sampled, displayed high levels of psychological stress symptoms with 29% moderate levels and only 24% low symptoms.

Thus, the impact of this pandemic has been wide-reaching, but it appears that it has also increased the levels of stress for line managers. While managers are expected to look after the business and staff performance, more emphasis has been placed on managers to understand and monitor staff wellbeing while they are working remotely. Under normal circumstances, this would be a fairly routine task, however, in a virtual teaming environment this has proven to be a challenge. Thus, support for management teams and executives has become imperative within organizations that are looking to EAPs to assist in positioning support not only for staff but for these management teams as well.

The resulting changes to the operational aspects of the business highlighted above have motivated LifeAssist to draft this communication, with the intention to provide information and assistance to managers on how best to engage with the programme. When a need arises to refer an employee into the EAP programme, the following tips can be adopted and used where necessary:

  • The EAP cannot be a substitute for, or part of, a disciplinary process (e.g. the referral to the EAP can still be declined by the employee as engagement with the programme is voluntary). An internal discussion (constructive engagement) between the employee and the manager, prior to the manager proceeding with the intention to refer, needs to have taken place.
  • All manager referrals must be done as a result of poor performance.
  • As a result of working remotely, there has been a significant increase in managers requesting that LifeAssist directly contact a staff member.
  • When these referrals are manager referrals, the staff will sign consent using the Manager Referral Document.
  • In the case of manager-initiated referrals (concern for an employee but no current performance-related issues and no feedback needed), then a manager can chat with the staff member and transfer them to the call centre.
  • Where it is not possible to either sign the manager referral document or transfer the client telephonically, please note that LifeAssist is ethically bound to require consent from the individual before we contact them. There are several reasons for this:
  • There is a legal obligation for consent.
  • People have differing Health Belief Systems – some are comfortable opting for psychotherapy, while others choose to use of religious leaders in their communities, or traditional healing practices.
  • EAP Counselling is voluntary, and staff should not feel pressured into using the EAP.
  • The outcomes of therapy are significantly improved when clients take responsibility for their treatment and “ask for help”. The process of “asking for help” is significant in the therapeutic process.
  • LifeAssist can only accept consent that is indicated in the form of a signature (by the employee), conversation trail (electronic) where there is a clear indication from the employee that they would like to be referred or in a case where the employee is present when the manager engages LifeAssist telephonically.

We welcome the opportunity to facilitate workshops with line managers to help them to identify staff that may need further assistance, how best to access your EAP services and to ensure that managers get the maximum benefit of the EAP in the virtual workspace.

Issued: September 2020