The Implementation of Employee Assistance Programmes amongst Nurses in Mahikeng Provincial Hospital
Keywords:
Employee Assistance Programme, Employee wellbeing, Employee efficiency, Organisational productivity, South AfricaAbstract
Purpose: The main purpose of this study was to peruse the implementation of Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP) at Mahikeng Provincial Hospital (MPH). The study investigated how best to implement the program to the benefits of the users. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Herzberg Motivation and Hygiene Theories underpinned this study, emphasising the importance of satisfying the employees' needs to ensure they remain productive at the workplace. Methodology: This study was conducted using pertinent literature review related to the study. Information on EAP was obtained from books, journals and other periodic publications. We collected data from thirty (30) purposefully selected participants. Atlas-ti Software (version 8.2) was used to analyse data after transcribing it from field notes. Findings: The findings of this study revealed that the EAP implementation process at MPH had been disengaged from its purposes due to managerial cum administrative concerns. The programme implementation, EAP training, EAP marketing, networking, and monitoring and evaluation are lacking in the implementation process. Findings further portrayed that the challenges of EAPs at MPH include awareness and marketing issues, stigmatisation of employees, lack of standardised procedure, and issues related to cost. There is also inadequate case monitoring, non-confidentiality of cases, communication issues, inability to follow guidelines, incompetent staff, lack of education and lengthy procedure. Implications: The study recommends that improving the situation through staff training, funding, continuous monitoring and evaluation, and others would help perfect EAP implementation at MPH. Originality: This study succeeded in unveiling the relationship between employee and employer through the implementation of EAP in Mahikeng, South Africa, with theoretical foundation that links them together Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Herzberg Motivation and Hygiene Theories.
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