Worker Assistance programs (WAPs) assess and refer for treatment workers who have experienced personal problems that detract from their job performance. Researchers and program practitioners have long recognized the influence of organizational and sociocultural influences on the development and operation of workplace programs. This article attempts to broaden our understanding of WAPs by suggesting that they have historically emerged, developed and been responsive to evolving labor process control strategies, and to economic and labor force conditions. To explore the influence of labor control strategies on worker assistance, this article identifies the labor process perspective and representations of the theme of social control in the worker assistance literature. Next, it presents the concurrent evolution of management control strategies and WAPs. Attention is given to new developments of control strategies in technocracies, external Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) and managed health care. The article concludes with a discussion of the theoretical and substantive implications of this research, and recommendations for future study.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AmesG. M.1989Alcohol-related movements and their effects on drinking policies in the American workplace: An historical review. Journal of Drug Issues19:489–510.
2.
AranoffM.FricanoP.HaffnerP.PustizziM.1980A content analysis of formal company and policy statements on employee alcoholism and employee assistance programs. Unpublished seminar report, I.L.R. report 677. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University.
3.
AsmaF.HilkerR.1971Long-term experience in rehabilitation of alcoholic employees. Journal of Occupational Medicine, 13:581–5.
4.
BernsteinI.1970Turbulent years: A history of the American worker 1933–1941. Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin.
5.
BeyerJ.M.TriceH.M.1978Implementing change. New York: Free Press.
6.
BeyerJ.M.TriceH.M.HuntR.1980Impact of federal sector unions on supervisory use of personnel policies. Industrial and Labor Relations Review33:212–32.
7.
BlumT.C.1988New occupations and the division of labor in workplace alcoholism programs. In Recent developments in alcoholism, ed. GalanterM., 6:205–21. New York: Plenum Press.
8.
BlumT.C.MartinJ.K.RomanP.M.1992A research note on EAP prevalence, components and utilization. Journal of Employee Assistance Research1:209–29.
9.
BlumT.C.RomanP.M.TootleD.M.1988The emergence of an occupation. Work and Occupations15: 96–114.
10.
BrandesS.1976American welfare capitalism, 1880–1940. Chicago, Ill.: University of Chicago Press.
11.
BravermanH.1974Labor and monopoly capital: The degradation of work in the twentieth century. New York: Monthly Review Press.
12.
BrodyD.1980Workers in industrial America: Essays on the twentieth century struggle. New York: Oxford University Press.
13.
BucheleR.1976Jobs and workers: A labor market segmentation perspective on the work experience of middle-aged men. Unpublished paper. Northampton, Mass.: Smith College.
14.
Bureau of National Affairs1987Employee assistance programs: Benefits, problems and prospects. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.
15.
BurawoyM.1978Toward a Marxist theory of the labor process: Braverman and beyond. Politics and Society, 8:247–315.
16.
BurawoyM.1979Manufacturing consent. Chicago, Ill.: University of Chicago Press.
17.
BurrisB.H.1987Towards a theory of technocracy. Unpublished paper.
18.
BurrisB.H.1989Technocratic organization and control. Organization Studies. 10:1–22.
19.
BurrisB.H.1993Technocracy at work. Albany: State University of New York Press.
20.
BurrisB.H.HeydebrandW.V.1984Technocratic administration and educational control. In Critical studies in organization and bureaucracy, eds. FischerF.SirianniC., 191–210. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
21.
ChopraK.S.PrestonD.A.GersonL.W.1979The effect of constructive confrontation on the rehabilitative process. Journal of Occupational Medicine21:749–52.
22.
CleggS.DunkerleyD.1980Organization, class and control. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
23.
ConradP.SchneiderJ.W.1992Deviance and medicalization: From badness to sickness. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
24.
DelaneyT.1986From the executive director. The ALMACAN15(7):4.
25.
DicksonW.J.RoethlisbergerF.J.1966Counseling in an organization: A sequel to the Hawthorne researches. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
26.
DorrisR.T.Sr.1985The history of alcoholism in America. Unpublished manuscript.
27.
EdwardsR.1979Contested terrain: The transformation of the workplace in the twentieth century. New York: Basic Books.
28.
EtzioniA.1968Social control: Organizational aspects. In International encyclopedia of the social sciences, ed. SillsD. L., 396–402. New York: MacMillan Co. and the Free Press.
29.
FennellM.L.RodinM.B.KantorG.K.1981Problems in the work setting, drinking, and reasons for drinking. Social Forces60:114–32.
30.
FormW.1987On the degradation of skills. Annual Review of Sociology13:29–47.
31.
FrancoS.C.1960A company program for problem drinking: A ten years follow-up. Journal of Occupational Medicine2:157–62.
32.
GordonD.M.EdwardsR.ReichM.1982Segmented work, divided workers: The historical transformation of labor in the United States. London: Cambridge University Press.
33.
HachenD.1985Technology and control in complex organizations. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, Washington D.C.
34.
HartwellT.D.FrenchM. T.PotterF.J.SteeleP.D.ZarkinG.A.RodmanN.F.1994Prevalence, cost and characteristics of employee assistance programs (EAPs) in the U.S.Research Triangle Park, N.C.: Research Triangle Institute.
35.
HaywardB.SchlingerW.HallanJ.1975Occupational programming: A review of the literature. Raleigh, N.C.: Human Ecology Institute.
36.
HendersonR.M.BaconS.1953Problem drinking: The Yale plane for business and industry. Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol14:247–62.
37.
HeroldD.M.ConlonE.J.1981Work factors as potential causal agents of alcohol abuse. Journal of Drug Issues11:337–54.
38.
HeydebrandW.V.1977Organizational contradictions in public bureaucracies. Sociological Quarterly18:83–107.
39.
HeydebrandW.V.1983Technocratic corporatism: Towards a theory of occupational and organizational transformation. In Organizational theory and public policy, ed. HallR.QuinnR., 137–5. Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage.
40.
HeydebrandW.V.1985Technocratic administration: Beyond Weber's Bureaucracy. In Bureaucracy against democracy and socialism: Weberian predictions and modern choices, ed. GlassmanR., Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press.
41.
HilkerR.AsmaF.EggertR.1972A company-sponsored alcoholic rehabilitation program: Ten year evaluation. Journal of Occupational Medicine14:199–320.
42.
HollingerR.C.1988Working under the influence: Correlates of employee drug and alcohol use. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science24:439–54.
43.
HoreB.PlantM.1981Alcohol problems in employment. London: Croom Helm.
44.
JohnsonL.1981Union responses to alcoholism. Journal of Drug Issues11: 263–77.
45.
KellerM.1974Problem drinkers on the job. In Alcohol and health: Second special report to Congress, ed. KellerM., 169–81. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare.
46.
KinmanM.L.RomanP.M.1982EAP consultants in 1982: An overview profile. Labor-Management Journal on Alcoholism12:65–76.
47.
KraftP.1979The industrialization of computer programming. In Case studies on the labor process, ed. ZimbalistA., New York: Monthly Review Press.
48.
KurtzN.R.GooginsB.HowardW.C.1984Measuring the success of occupational alcoholism programs. Journal of Alcohol Studies45:33–45.
49.
LenderM.E.MartinJ.K.1982Drinking in America, A history. New York: The Free Press.
50.
LevineH.1982Industrialization, economic development, and worker drinking: Historical and sociological observations. In Institute of Medicine, legislative approaches to prevention of alcohol-related problems. Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences Press.
51.
LockwoodD.1958The black-coated worker. New York: Oxford University Press.
52.
LotterhosJ.F.1975Historical and sociological perspectives of alcohol-related problems. In Occupational alcoholism programs, eds. WilliamsR.L.MoffattG., 3–39, Springfield, Ill.: Charles C. Thomas.
53.
ManelloT.A.SeamanF.J.1979Prevalence, costs and handling of drinking problems on seven railroads. Final report. Washington, D.C.: University Research Corporation. Mimeographed.
54.
MasiD.1984Designing employee assistance programs. New York: American Management Associations Publications Group.
55.
McClellandK.1982An overview of occupational alcoholism issues for the 80s. Journal of Drug Education12:1–27.
56.
McDonnell Douglas Corporation and Alexander and Alexander Consulting Group1990McDonnell Douglas Corporation employee assistance program financial offset study 1985–1989. Bridgeton, Mo: McDonnell Douglas Corporation.
57.
MeyerS.1977Mass production and human efficiency: The Ford Motor Company. 1908–1921. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University.
58.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism1972Alcohol and alcoholism: Problems, programs and progress. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
59.
NelsonD.1975Managers and workers: Origins of the new factory system in the United States, 1880–1920. Madison, Wis.: University of Wisconsin Press.
60.
NelsonD.CampbellS.1972Taylorism versus welfare work in American industry: H.L. Gantt and the Bancrofts. Business History Review46:1–18.
61.
NevinsA.1954Ford: The times, the man, the company. New York: Scribner.
62.
New York Times1994Business using therapy data to lower cost, April.
63.
NormandJ.LempertR.O.O'BrienC.P., eds. 1994Under the influence? Drugs and the American work force. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
64.
OzanneR.1967A century of labor-management relations at McCormick and International Harvester. Madison, Wis.: University of Wisconsin Press.
65.
PerlisL.1980Labor and employee assistance programs. In Mental wellness programs for employees, eds. EgdahlR.H.WalshD.C., New York: Springer-Verlag.
66.
PresnallL.1966Alcoholism and employees. Paper presented at the Utah School of Alcohol Studies, Salt Lake City, Utah.
67.
PresnallL.1981Occupational counseling and referral systems. Salt Lake City: Utah Alcoholism Foundation.
68.
ReganR.1982The role of federal, state, local, and voluntary sectors in expanding health insurance coverage for alcoholism. Alcohol Health and Research World5:22–6.
69.
ReichmanWBeidelB.E.1989Implementation of a state police EAP. Journal of Drug Issues19:369–83.
70.
RoethlisbergerF.J.DicksonW.J.1939Management and the worker. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
71.
RogersD.T.1978The work ethic in Industrial America. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
72.
RomanP.M.1974Settings for successful deviance: Drinking and deviant drinking among middle- and upper-level employees. In deviant behavior: Occupational and organizational bases, ed. BryantC. D., Chicago: Rand McNally.
73.
RomanP.M.1981Medicalization and social control in the workplace. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 16:407–422.
74.
RomanP.M.1982Further evidence for the medicalization of social control. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science18:125–7.
75.
RomanP.M.BlumT.C.1987The relation of Employee Assistance Programs to corporate social attitudes: An empirical study. In Corporate Social Performance and Policy, Vol. 9.
76.
RomanP.M.TriceH.M.1976Alcohol abuse and work organizations. In Social aspects of alcoholism, eds. KissinB.BergleiterH., New York: Plenum Press.
77.
Rothschild-WhittJ.1979The collectivist organization: An alternative to rational bureaucratic models. American Sociological Review44:509–27.
ShainM.SuurvaliH.BoutilierM.1986Healthier workers: Health promotion and employee assistance programs. Lexington, Mass.: D.C. Heath Company.
81.
ShermanP.1988Personal communication.
82.
SonnenstuhlW.J.1982Understanding EAP self-referral: Toward a social network approach. Contemporary Drug Problems11:269–93.
83.
SonnenstuhlW.J.1986Inside an emotional health program: A field study of workplace assistance for troubled employees. Ithaca, New York: ILR Press.
84.
SonnenstuhlW.J.TriceH.M.1990Strategies for employee assistance programs: The crucial balancerev. ed.Ithaca, New York: ILR Press.
85.
SonnenstuhlW.J.StaudenmeierW.J.Jr.TriceH.M.1988Ideologies and referral categories in EAP research. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science24:383–96.
86.
SpellerJ.L.1989Executives in crisis: Recognizing and managing the alcoholic, drug-addicted, or mentally ill executive. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
87.
StarkD.1980Class struggle and the labor process. Theory and Society9:89–130.
88.
StaudenmeierW.J.Jr.1985Alcohol and the Workplace: A Study of Social Policy in a Changing America. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. St. Louis, Miss.: Washington University.
89.
StaudenmeierW.J.Jr.1987Context and variation in employer policies on alcohol. Journal of Drug Issues17:255–71.
90.
SteeleP.D.1981Labor's perceptions of drug use and drug programs in the workplace. Journal of Drug Issues11:279–92.
91.
SteeleP.D.1985The changing role of organized labor in employee assistance: 1975–1985. Paper presented at the EAP Research and Training Institute, Atlanta, Ga.
92.
SteeleP.D.1986Employee assistance programs as mechanisms for social control: A conflict model of worker assistance. Paper presented at the annual meetings of the American Sociological Association, New York.
93.
SteeleP.D.1988aEmployee assistance programs in context: An application of the constructive broker role. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science24:365–82.
94.
SteeleP.D.1988bSubstance abuse and the work place, with special attention to employee assistance programs: An overview. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science24:315–26.
95.
SteeleP.D.1989A history of job-based alcoholism programs: 1955–1972. Journal of Drug Issues19:511–32.
96.
SteeleP.D.HubbardR.L.1985Management styles, perceptions of substance abuse, and employee assistance programs in organizations. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science21:271–86.
97.
TaylorF.W.1911Scientific management. New York: Harper and Row.
98.
ThompsonP.1983The nature of work: An introduction to debates on the labour process. London: McMillan Press.
99.
TimberlakeJ.H.1970Prohibition and the Progressive Movement: 1900–1920. New York: Antheneum.
100.
TriceH.M.1962Alcoholism in industry: Modern procedures. New York: Christopher D. Smithers Foundation.
101.
TriceH.M.1965Alcoholic employees: A comparison of psychotic, neurotic, and “normal” personnel. Journal of Occupational Medicine7:177–88.
102.
TriceH.M.BelascoJ.A.1968Supervisory training about alcoholic and other problem employees. Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol29:382–98.
103.
TriceH.M.BeyerJ.M.1979Women employees and job-based alcoholism programs. Journal of Drug Issues9:371–85.
104.
TriceH.M.BeyerJ.M.1981A data-based examination of selection bias in the evaluation of a job-based alcoholism program. Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research5:489–96.
105.
TriceH.M.BeyerJ.M.1982Social control in worksettings: Using the constructive confrontation strategy with problem-drinking employees. Journal of Drug Issues12:21–49.
106.
TriceH.M.BeyerJ.M.1984Employee assistance programs: Blending performance-oriented and humanitarian ideologies to assist emotionally disturbed employees. Research in Community and Mental Health4: 245–97.
107.
TriceH.M.RomanP.M.1978Spirits and demons at work: Alcohol and other drugs on the job. 2nd ed.Ithaca, New York: ILR Press.
108.
TriceH.M.SchonbrunnM.1981A history of job-based alcoholism programs: 1900–1955. Journal of Drug Issues11:171–98.
109.
TriceH.M.SonnenstuhlW.J.1988Drinking behavior and risk factors related to the workplace: Implications for research and prevention. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science24:327–46.
110.
WhiteH.R.AidalaA.ZablockyB.1988A longitudinal investigation of drug use and work patterns among middle-class, white adults. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science24:455–69.
111.
WrichJ.1974The employee assistance program. Center City, Minn.: Hazelden Foundation, Inc.
