Broeders van Liefde (EAP)
Broeders van Liefde plays an important role in looking after our mental health. The organisation has psychiatric centres and hospitals throughout Flanders, and has a vision that everyone deserves the appropriate treatment, care and tailored support. And that applies to patients and staff alike. Sint-Jan-Baptist and Sint-Alexius psychiatric hospitals work with IDEWE to provide their employees with the right support.
Eddy Carrette, internal prevention advisor at the Sint-Jan-Baptist and Sint-Alexius psychiatric hospitals, explains how the partnership with IDEWE was born: “I came across an employee who was visibly upset. She was struggling financially and couldn’t see a way out. Mentally, she was done. Together with directors Marc Van Uytven (Sint-Jan-Baptist) and Paul Goetstouwers (Sint-Alexius), we sought out – and found – the right support. That story led us to IDEWE, as we looked for a way to improve our employees’ wellbeing in the long term.
Preventing sickness absence
The healthcare sector is well-known for being prone to sickness absence. That’s also noticeable at Sint-Jan-Baptist and Sint-Alexius. “Long-term absenteeism stems from an uneven balance between workload and capacity," explains Marc. “Sometimes it may be caused by too much work pressure, but the real reason could be completely unrelated to work. If you’re struggling at home, with your mental health or dealing with a bereavement, you’ll be thinking about that every day of the week. Logic dictates that working – and in our case, caring for others – then becomes much more difficult.”
Only if you find and address the root cause can you limit or even prevent long-term absences. This benefits all parties involved.
This is particularly true for those who are off work for long periods of time due to mental health or emotional reasons. “Sitting at home doesn't particularly help in situations like that, though," explains Eddy. “After all, putting your work on the back-burner for a while doesn’t solve your problem. Only if you find and address the root cause can you limit or even prevent long-term absenteeism. And that benefits all parties involved.”
On good and bad days
Broeders van Liefde contacted IDEWE to ask how they could improve their employees’ wellbeing to prevent sickness absence, and do it in a way that fit in with their corporate culture. “In both hospitals, we focus on creating a company culture that feels like a family”, says Eddy. “A culture where our staff know they can always come to us, with work-related or personal problems and on good and bad days.” The RECOVER project was developed using IDEWE’s Employee Assistance Programme.
IDEWE’s Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) offers employers a comprehensive solution for mental, emotional and physical employee wellbeing. The programme provides guidance on a wide range of work-related and personal subjects, ranging from stress and relationship issues to depression.
IDEWE partners with Pobos to provide this support. Pobos is a welfare advisory centre that provides support to those who suffer traumatic events and from psychosocial problems. Eddy was already aware of the organisation: “We’d previously worked with Pobos on a project about processing trauma. It felt logical to get the organisation involved with this project as well. Having the advisory centre on board means we have a network of experienced psychologists, psychotherapists and coaches available to our employees at all times.”
Thanks to the RECOVER project, we offer a comprehensive solution for our employees’ wellbeing.
Double the peace of mind
Paul believes both hospitals are sending a clear message through the RECOVER project: “We reach out to our employees when they need us the most. As well as offering a listening ear, we get them the help they need, and quickly.” This approach also benefits the employer: “Knowing that your staff are getting the right help quickly is very reassuring. And not just because it may well lead to shorter sickness absences, but more importantly, because you don’t want to see them suffer.”
“The project also gives us a better understanding of what is happening on the shop floor," adds Eddy. “We’re better able to see where employees are experiencing problems, whether frustration is building around a particular issue, and what works and what doesn’t. These represent valuable insights that we as an organisation are keen to work on.”
From a pilot project to becoming a key piece of the puzzle
RECOVER started out as a pilot project. “The aim was to deal with approximately eight cases and then assess our approach," explains Eddy. Yet the need for support soon became much greater, and Broeders van Liefde started to see long-term sickness absence fall. “In the end, we brought the assessment period forward. We then decided to expand RECOVER to a full-scale EAP offering in both psychiatric hospitals.”
This decision was well-communicated throughout the organisation, and included holding meetings with managers and their committee for prevention and protection at work. “Employees come to RECOVER through different channels, be it through confidential counsellors, managers or our internal prevention advisors. The project is fully embedded in our organisation and we all bring each other on board.”
Marc explains the project’s success as follows: “Close internal collaboration is one of the fundamental pillars of our hospitals. Our boards and departments are always in touch with each other, and that’s crucial for a project like RECOVER. Employees come to you in times of crisis, and often after they’ve mulled it over for a long time. That takes courage. If you keep them waiting too long, they might close themselves off, and that’s something you want to avoid at all costs. It works because we’re all on the same page.”
Close internal collaboration is crucial for a project like RECOVER. Employees come to you in times of crisis. If you keep them waiting too long, they may close themselves off.
The right support
Eddy is extremely happy with the support provided by IDEWE. “Our question was rather broad. We explained our situation and what we wanted to IDEWE, and came up with a clear plan of action together. That co-creation is worth so much more than a ready-made solution.”
Paul: “External prevention services often tend to analyse things and tell you where problems lie. IDEWE, however, go one step further. They provide recommendations and translate them into specific solutions and actions. In short, they back up what they say with actions. And that’s what support is really about.”
Marc: “We put colleagues who come to us with a problem in touch with an expert on the same day through our internal prevention service. Providing the right help any faster isn’t something that can be rushed. The fact that our hospitals can help quickly is all down to IDEWE. The EAP is certainly a hit. The speed with which the project has become embedded and the falling absenteeism rates are further proof that it works.”
We already paid lots of attention to reintegration after a long period of absence. But we didn’t put enough thought into what was causing the absences in the first place. Thanks to IDEWE, we can now offer employees the support they need on time. Mentally, emotionally and physically.
A complete solution for mental, emotional and physical wellbeing in the workplace?
With IDEWE’s Employee Assistance Program, you have everything you need at your fingertips.