Who Do We Serve? Worksite Characteristics, Workforce Attributes and Occupational Assistance Programming in Canada.

One component of a 2003 national cross sector survey of Canadian organizations with 100 or more employees was an assessment of whether occupational assistance programs were mechanisms of social control or additional employee benefits of those already economically privileged. Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) were the most common form of assistance provided, followed by health promotion initiatives and drug testing programs, though only EAPs were found in the majority of workplaces studied. Organizations that scored higher in management control and employee involvement were significantly (p < 0.001) less likely to have an EAP and health promotion programming compared with those companies with greater scores in employee involvement. An inverse relationship between employee involvement and the establishment of a drug testing program was close to significant (p < 0.10). Organizations that employed a greater proportion of persons of colour and female employees were the least likely to have an EAP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]