Case Studies
Our expertise works in so many ways! AXA ICAS Employee Support and Wellbeing Programmes make a very real difference to employees and their employers.
The following examples show Employee Support and Wellbeing Programmes in action. They also demonstrate that situations don't necessarily have to be earth-shattering to cause major problems at work...
Case study 1 - John
John had bought a new car from a garage. Within a few weeks, problems started to arise. He complained to the garage many times and they became less and less helpful. Eventually, John was unable to use the car and was having to call the garage two or three times a day, trying to sort out the problem.
Because of this, John's work was suffering. The car was constantly on his mind so his mind was not on his job. He also had no easy way to get to work. Plus he was making many calls in company time.
Recognising the worsening situation, John's supervisor reminded him about the Employee Assistance Programme. That evening John contacted us and was put straight through to a counsellor. He told of his frustrations and his distress. His counsellor listened to his problems and also directed him to a member of the LifeManagement™ Services team. Together they discussed the problem and the guarantee given by the garage.
The LifeManagement™ Consultant informed John of his legal rights in consumer law and guided him through the process of contacting the trade association and writing to the garage's managing director, setting out the problems and warning of legal action unless the matter was swiftly and satisfactorily resolved.
When they received his letter, the garage contacted John and quickly put things right with the car. There have been no further problems and John is free to concentrate on his job again.
Case study 2 - Alan
Without any apparent reason, Alan began taking more and more time off work – saying he was sick. This was noticed and he received a verbal warning about his increasing absences.
However, one of Alan's colleagues recognised that this was out of character and suspected that there was an underlying problem. He encouraged Alan to call the Employee Assistance Programme.
At first, Alan really did not know what to say to us – just that he felt very alone and vulnerable. A professional counsellor encouraged Alan to 'open up' and explain the real reason for his absences. It turned out that he felt he was being picked on by his supervisor and nothing he did was good enough. Also, he was not the only one who felt this way – the problem seemed to be spreading to others in the workforce.
The conversation with our counsellor helped Alan realise that he must face the problem rather than simply avoid it by not turning up for work. He was given support on ways of approaching his supervisor, asserting his views and resolving the problem.
He arrived at work the next day in a far more positive frame of mind and spoke to his supervisor – who was actually horrified to discover that her behaviour was perceived by Alan and others to be unfair. She had been under the impression that she was simply being tough to get the job done more efficiently when in fact the converse was true. Now the situation has been resolved and things are running smoothly.
Case study 3 - Sue
Sue had just split up with her husband and had been left with two children to bring up. As well as being a mother, she was holding down a job and therefore was finding it very difficult to cope. She called the Employee Assistance Programme and spoke with a counsellor. From their conversation, it was recognised that Sue had an immediate need for legal support following her separation.
During the discussion with a member of the LifeManagement™ Services team, Sue broke down in tears and the LifeManagement™ Consultant suggested that she might benefit from further counselling. She phoned the next evening and was able to speak with a counsellor immediately. She felt better for having someone to talk to and was very receptive when the counsellor suggested that a face to face meeting with a counsellor might benefit her.
Face to face counselling was arranged at Sue's convenience, every Tuesday after work. After five sessions, Sue is firmly back in control – secure in the knowledge that she can always call us up and speak with a counsellor over the phone should the need arise.
Case study 4 - Brian
Brian was struggling with his usual workload – missing deadlines and getting behind with important tasks. His manager had noticed that Brian was 'not himself' and suspected that something was troubling him and interfering with his work. They talked it over and, although Brian said everything was fine, the manager suggested that it might help to talk things over with a counsellor.
That evening Brian called the Employee Assistance Programme and soon felt confident enough to unburden himself: his wife was ill, his children were playing up at school and he had debt problems – which was why he was finding it hard to cope at work.
One of our debt counsellors helped him sort out his money problems and, following a couple of sessions of face to face counselling, he is now better equipped to face his daily life. After discussing his problems with his manager (who, having fully appreciated the situation, was very supportive) his workload was temporarily reduced until Brian got back to his old self again.
Case study 5 - Jane
It was becoming increasingly apparent at work that Jane was experiencing problems. There was a growing concern about the quality of her work and her drop in productivity – important deadlines were being missed and a marked change in her personality was also apparent.
Jane's supervisor spoke to her about the situation and it transpired that Jane was feeling deeply depressed but really did not know why.
As part of her company's poor performance review, the supervisor called the Employee Assistance Programme and referred Jane for counselling because of her depression. We called Jane and discovered that she, unknowingly, had unresolved guilt over the death of her mother ten years ago. This had recently been triggered by the serious illness of Jane's partner's mother.
Jane was referred for a series of face to face counselling sessions, while – with Jane's consent – feedback was given to her superviser in order to let the company know the situation and when they could expect Jane to return to work as her normal self again.
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