OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH PROGRAMMES FOR ALCOHOLISM IN THE U.S. AND AUSTRALIA: DILEMMAS IN TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER

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Abstract
Since the early 1970s work‐based interventions to deal with the emotional problems of workers arising from the workplace have emerged from the practitioner community. “Employee Assistance Programmes” (EAPs) have developed principally in the US and other English‐speaking cultures. A descriptive analysis of the emergence of EAPs in the US and the attempt by Australians to transfer this technology to Australia, the structure of that effort and apparent reasons for its eventual stagnation is presented. It points to the relative importance of government agencies, programme development specialists and treatment delivery agencies in programme adoption and implementation. It is evident that employers are working to demonstrate interest in employee health in terms of its impact on productivity and performance and its effects on the costs of health care. These developments are not limited to the USA. As a multinational phenomenon, employer involvement has an open‐ended potential for subtle forms of social control.