Through an examination of employee assistance programs we address Foucault’s contention that the pervasive surveillance characteristic of disciplinary control is facilitated by a discourse claiming therapeutic rather than punitive aims. By characterizing poor job performance as evidence of substance abuse or other ‘behavioral-medical’ illness, the EAP discourse endeavors to overcome the reluctance of supervisors to identify poor performers, for whom job loss is the frequent consequence of failure to improve. Following Foucault’s view that power effects occur without express intention to exercise power, we analyze the web of institutional and professional disciplinary mechanisms that effect heightened supervisory surveillance.
Alvesson, Mats , and Dan Karreman2000‘Varieties of discourse: On the study of organizations through discourse analysis’ . Human Relations53: 1125-1149 .
2.
Ames, Genevieve1993‘Research and strategies for the primary prevention of workplace alcohol problems’ . Alcohol Health and Research World17: 19-28 .
3.
Ames, Genevieve , and William Delaney1992‘Minimization of workplace alcohol problems: The supervisor’s role’ . Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research16: 180-189 .
4.
Ames, Genevieve , Joel Grube , and Roland Moore1997‘The relationship of drinking and hangovers to workplace problems: An empirical study’ . Journal of Studies on Alcohol58: 37-48 .
5.
Bacharach, Samuel , Peter Bamberger , and Valerie McKinney2000‘Boundary management tactics and logics of action: The case of peer-support providers’ . Administrative Science Quarterly45: 704-736 .
6.
Ball, Kirstie , and David Wilson2000‘Power, control and computer-based performance monitoring: Repertoires, resistance and subjectivities’ . Organization Studies21: 539-565 .
7.
Bennett, Joel , and Wayne Lehman1998‘Workplace drinking climate, stress, and problem indicators: Assessing the influence of teamwork (group cohesion)’ . Journal of Studies on Alcohol59: 608-618 .
8.
Beyer, Janice , and Harrison Trice1978Implementing change. New York: Free Press .
9.
Beyer, Janice , and Harrison Trice1979‘A reexamination of the relations between size and various components of organizational complexity’ . Administrative Science Quarterly24: 48-61 .
10.
Beyer, Janice , and Harrison Trice1982‘Design and implementation of job based alcoholism programs: Constructive confrontation strategies and how they work’ in Occupational alcoholism: A review of research issues: 181-239. Washington, DC: US Department of Health and Human Services .
11.
Beyer, Janice , and Harrison Trice1984‘A field study of the use and perceived effects of discipline in controlling work performance’ . Academy of Management Journal27: 743-764 .
12.
Beyer, Janice , Roger Dunbar , and Alan Meyer1998‘Comment: The concept of ideology in organizational analysis’ . Academy of Management Review13: 483-489 .
Blum, Terry1990‘The organizational and structural context of employee assistance programs’ in Structures of power and constraint: Papers in honor of Peter M. Blau. C. Calhoun , M. Meyer , and W. Scott (eds), 321-344. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press .
15.
Blum, Terry , and Paul Roman1995Cost-effectiveness and preventive implications of employee assistance programs. Washington, DC: US Department of Health and Human Services .
16.
Blum, Terry , Paul Roman , and Jack Martin1993‘Alcohol consumption and work performance’ . Journal of Studies on Alcohol54: 61-69 .
17.
Brissett, Dennis1988‘Denial in alcoholism: A sociological interpretation’ . Journal of Drug Issues18: 385-402 .
Clegg, Stewart1994‘Weber and Foucault: Social theory for the study of organizations’ . Organizations1: 149-178 .
20.
Coch, Lester , and John R. French1948‘Overcoming resistance to change’ . Human Relations1: 512-532 .
21.
Conrad, Peter , and Joseph Schneider1992Deviance and medicalization: From badness to sickness. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press .
22.
Dickens, R.1999‘The alignment of EAP and business unit goals’ in The employee assistance handbook. J. Oher (ed.), 421-438. New York: Wiley .
23.
Dixon, Keith1984‘The coercion of labor by mental health professionals’ . Social Policy14: 47-54 .
24.
Dobbs, Justin1999‘Employers benefit from assistance program’ . Indianapolis Star, 29 August: D04 .
25.
The Economist1994‘To the couch’ . 23 July: 65-66 .
26.
Faulkner, William , Diane Savage , and Brendan Maguire1988‘The disease concept of alcoholism: The persistence of an outmoded scientific paradigm’ . Deviant Behavior9: 317-332 .
27.
Foote, Andrea1990‘EAPs and early intervention for alcohol problems at the workplace’ in Alcohol problem intervention in the workplace. P. Roman (ed.), 227-236. New York: Quorum .
28.
Foucault, Michel1977Discipline and punish. New York: Pantheon .
29.
Foucault, Michel1980Power/knowledge: Selected interviews and other writings, 1972-1977. New York: Pantheon .
30.
Giddens, Anthony1985The nation-state and violence. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press .
31.
Gordis, Enoch1999‘Alcohol and the workplace: A commentary’. Alcohol Alert, National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse , Number 44.
32.
Greenberg, Jerald , and Robert Baron2000Behavior in organizations,7th edn.Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall .
33.
Greenberger, Robert1983‘Firms are confronting alcoholic executives with threat of firing’ . Wall Street Journal, 13 January: 1, 26 .
34.
Harris, Michael , and Laura Heft1992‘Alcohol and drug use in the workplace: Issues, controversies, and directions for future research’ . Journal of Management18: 239-266 .
35.
Henderson, Ralph , and Robert Straus1953‘The Yale plan for business and industry’ . Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol14: 247-262 .
36.
Hingson, Ralph , Ruth Lederman , and Diana Walsh1985‘Employee drinking patterns and accidental injury: A study of four New England states’ . Journal of Studies on Alcohol46: 298-303 .
37.
Hood, Jane , and Patsy Duphorne1995‘To report or not to report: Nurses’ attitudes toward reporting coworkers suspected of substance abuse’ . Journal of Drug Issues25: 313-339 .
38.
Inova Employee Assistance2003‘Supervisory guide’, (consulted 4 June 2003) http://www.inova.com/eap/supervisor_c.html
39.
Jackson, John H. , and Cyril P. Morgan1978Organization theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall .
40.
Landeen, R.1978‘Willpower and denial, clinical findings about these pervasive concepts’ . Currents in Alcoholism5: 301-307 .
41.
Li, Ting-Kai2000‘Pharmacogenetics of responses to alcohol and genes that influence alcohol drinking’ . Journal of Studies on Alcohol61: 5-11 .
42.
Lippman, Helen1999‘This is not your father’s EAP’ . Business and Health17: 42-43 .
43.
Luthans, Fred , and Robert Waldersee1989‘What do we really know about EAPs?’Human Resource Management28: 385-401 .
44.
MacDonald, Scott , Samantha Wells , and T. Cameron Wild1999‘Occupational risk factors associated with alcohol and drug problems’ . American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse25: 351-364 .
45.
MacErlean, Neasa1997‘Workplace: Tell me all about it, it’ll do you good’ . The Observer, 20 July: 10 .
Makela, Klaus , Robin Room , Eric Single , Pekka Sulkunen , and Brendan Walsh1981Alcohol, society, and the state. Toronto: Addiction Research Foundation .
48.
Maloof, Bruce , Nicholas Governale , and Daniel Berman1997‘The salvation of the EAP’ . Behavioral Health Management17: 34-38 .
49.
Mangione, Thomas , Jonathan Howland , Benjamin Amick , et al.1999‘Employee drinking practices and work performance’ . Journal of Studies on Alcohol60: 261-270 .
50.
Mann, Marty1958New primer on alcoholism. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston .
51.
Maynard, Lucy2000‘Workplace services and employee assistance programs: The value to employers’ . Workplace Substance Abuse Advisor14: 3-5 .
52.
McKay, Dean , and Mitchell Schare1999‘The effects of alcohol and alcohol expectancies on subjective reports and physiological reactivity: A meta-analysis’ . Addictive Behaviors24: 633-647 .
53.
McKinlay, Alan , and Ken Starkey , editors1998Foucault, management and organization theory. London: Sage .
54.
Merquior, J.1985Foucault. London: Fontana .
55.
Moriarty, A. , and M. Field1990‘Proactive intervention: A new approach to police EAP programs’ . Public Personnel Management19: 155-162 .
56.
Mulford, Harold1990‘The extent and patterning of jobrelated drinking problems’ in Alcohol problem intervention in the workplace: Employee assistance programs and strategic alternatives. P. Roman (ed.), 124-140. New York: Quorum .
57.
NIAAA (National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse)1976Occupational alcoholism: Some problems and some solutions. Rockville, MD: US Department of Health, Education and Welfare .
58.
Newton, Tim1995Managing stress: Emotions and power at work. London: Sage .
59.
O’Brien, C.1949‘Alcoholism among disciplinary cases in industry’ . Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol10: 268-278 .
60.
Opinion Research Corporation1976Executive’s knowledge, attitudes, and behavior regarding alcoholism and alcohol abuse, Study III. Princeton, NJ .
61.
O’Toole, J.1980Work in America. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press .
62.
Owen, P. 1984 The measurement of the concept of denial among alcoholics. University of Minnesota, PhD dissertation.
63.
Pierce, Ed , Jim Lovett , and Dick Groepper1977Employee occupational program supervisory guide and program materials. Georgia Department of Mental Health .
64.
Presnall, Lewis1967‘Folklore and facts about employees with alcoholism’ . Journal of Occupational Medicine9: 187-192 .
65.
Prince, Michael1998‘EAPs becoming part of larger programs’ . Business Insurance32: 14-16 .
Ralfs, Mark , and John Morley1990‘Turning employee problems into triumphs’ . Training and Development Journal44: 73-76 .
68.
Ravin, Ivar1975‘Formulation of an alcoholism rehabilitation program at Boston Edison Company’ in Occupational alcoholism programs. R. Williams and G. Moffat (eds), 194-223. Springfield, IL: Thomas .
69.
Roman, Paul1980‘Medicalization and social control in the workplace: Prospects for the 1980’s’ . Journal of Applied Behavioral Sciences16: 407-422 .
70.
Roman, Paul1982‘Employee assistance programs in major corporations in 1979: Scope, change and receptivity’ in Alcohol and health monograph 3, prevention, intervention and treatment: Concerns and models: 177-202, Washington, DC: Government Printing Office .
71.
Roman, Paul , and Terry Blum1985‘The core technology of employee assistance programs . The ALMACAN15: 8-12 .
72.
Roman, Paul , and Terry Blum1987a‘Ethics in worksite health programming: Who is served?’Health Education Quarterly14: 57-70 .
73.
Roman, Paul , and Terry Blum1987b‘The relation of employee assistance programs to corporate social responsibility attitudes: An empirical study’ . Research in Corporate Social Performance and Policy9: 213-235 .
74.
Roman, Paul , and Harrison Trice1968‘The sick role, labelling theory, and the deviant drinker’ . International Journal of Social Psychiatry14: 245-251 .
75.
Rouse, K. n.d. ‘What to do about the employee with a drinking problem’. Long Grove, IL: Kemper Insurance Companies .
76.
Sewell, Graham , and Barry Wilkinson1992‘’Someone to watch over me’: Surveillance, discipline and the justin-time labour process’ . Sociology26: 271-289 .
77.
Shahandeh, B.1985‘Drug and alcohol abuse in the workplace: Consequences and countermeasures.’International Labor Review124: 207-223 .
Sonnenstuhl, William1986Inside an emotional health program. Ithaca, NY: ILR Press .
80.
Sonnenstuhl, William , and Harrison Trice1990Strategies for employee assistance programs: The crucial balance. 2nd. edn.Ithaca, NY: ILR Press .
81.
Steele, Paul1995‘Worker assistance programs and labor process: Emergence and development of the employee assistance program’ . Journal of Drug Issues25: 423-450 .
82.
Straus, Robert1952‘Recognizing problem drinkers in business and industry’ . Management Review61: 496-497 .’
83.
Taylor, Stuart1988‘V.A.’s denial of benefits to alcoholics is upheld’ . New York Times, 21 April: 8 .
84.
Townley, Barbara1994Reframing human resource management. London: Sage .
85.
Townley, Barbara1998‘Beyond good and evil: Depth and division in the management of human resources’ in Foucault and management theory. A. McKinley and K. Starkey (eds), 191-210. London: Sage .
86.
Trice, Harrison1962‘The job behavior of problem drinkers’ in Society, culture, and drinking patterns. D. Pittman and C. Snyder (eds), 493-509. New York: John Wiley .
87.
Trice, Harrison1964‘New light on identifying the alcoholic employee’ . Personnel41: 1-8 .
88.
Trice, Harrison1966Alcoholism in America. New York: McGraw-Hill .
89.
Trice, Harrison1981‘Two basic ways of looking at primary prevention’ in Preventing alcoholism: Primary prevention.74-75. Mill Neck, NY: Christopher Smithers Foundation .
90.
Trice, Harrison1986‘The workplace as motivator’ in Corporate strategies for controlling substance abuse. H. Axel (ed.), 30-31. New York: The Conference Board .
91.
Trice, Harrison , and James Belasco1965‘Identifying and confronting the alcoholic employee: Role of the industrial nurse’ . American Association of Industrial Nurses Journal: 7-11 .
92.
Trice, Harrison , and Janice Beyer1982‘Social control in work settings: Using the constructive confrontation strategy with problem-drinking employees’ . Journal of Drug Issues12: 21-49
93.
Trice, Harrison , and Janice Beyer1984‘Employee Assistance Programs: Blending performance-oriented and humanitarian ideologies to assist emotionally disturbed employees’ . Research in Community and Mental Health4: 245-297 .
94.
Trice, Harrison , and Paul Roman1972Spirits and demons at work. Ithaca, NY: ILR Press .
95.
Trice, Harrison and Paul Roman1980Spirits and demons at work, 2nd edn.Ithaca, NY: ILR Press .
96.
97.
Von Wiegand, Ross1974‘Advances in secondary prevention of alcoholism through the cooperative efforts of labor and management in employer organizations’ . Preventive Medicine3: 80-85 .
Weiss, Richard2003‘Effects of program characteristics on EAP utilization’ . Employee Assistance Quarterly18: 61-70 .
100.
Wiener, Carolyn1981The politics of alcoholism. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books .
101.
Wiese, Jeffrey , Michael Shlipak , and Warren Browner2000‘The alcohol hangover’ . Annals of Internal Medicine132: 897-902 .
102.
Worklife Report1998‘Substance abuse in the workplace’ . Worklife Report11: 5 .
103.
Wrich, James1992‘Beyond testing: Coping with drugs at work’ in Managing people and organizations. J. Gabarro (ed.), 543-553. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publications .
104.
Yandrick, Rudy1998‘The EAP struggle: Counselors or referrers?’HR Magazine43: 90-96 .
