Master Executive Council

Your Employee Assistance Program (EAP) extends a heartfelt thanks and three cheers for the hard work and dedication that has carried us this far in our effort to retain representation.  We have witnessed, up close and personally, the blood, sweat and tears you’ve poured into this campaign. As we enter the final stretch, we encourage everyone to stand together in commitment to a unified front. Our message to you is this: Hang in there! We’ve almost arrived! The goal is in sight! Please let us know if we can help in any way.  We are always just a phone call away. EAP contact information can be found HERE.

~ Submitted by MEC EAP Chair Rosemary Miller and DTW LEC EAP Chair Rosemary Peek

Tough times affect everyone differently. Even defining just what’s tough can vary from person to person. You know the old saw not to judge until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes? (Or hand-run 24 meals in new heels…) You may never know an individual’s life circumstances, passenger or peer. Their “off day” could be the result of Cabin Fever, full flights and bad catering. Or, it could be a symptom of something much larger: a bad home situation, health problems, abusive relationship, financial difficulties, a sick family member, depression, anxiety, alcohol or chemical dependency, to name a few. Your AFA Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a confidential peer-to-peer assessment, support and referral service, and they are always just a phone call away. No one’s job should be put at risk because they are having a bad day, trying to cope with a difficult season in life, didn’t smile enough, or rubbed someone the wrong way. For a list of current EAP contacts, click HERE. For additional EAP information and resources, click HERE and HERE.

The Association of Flight Attendant’s Employee Assistance Program (AFA EAP) is a confidential resource available to the members, their families, and their partners to assist with personal, as well as work-related concerns.  AFA’s EAP provides three distinct but interrelated services including:

(1) Assessment, support and resource referral: EAP representatives assist members in identifying and developing an action plan to address personal and work-related concerns. EAP Committee members provide support to the troubled flight attendant during the problem resolution process.  When professional services or resources are required, the EAP identifies an appropriate referral(s) and facilitates successful linkage to it.

(2) Professional Standards: EAP representatives offer a range of conflict resolution strategies, skills, and support to help coworkers resolve disputes among themselves without the need for management intervention.

(3) Critical Incident Response Program: EAP representatives offer and/or coordinate a range of Critical Incident Stress Management Services to promote and accelerate recovery in the aftermath of traumatic and/or critical incidents, on and off the job.

AFA’s objective in providing these services is to enhance the health, safety, and well-being of its union family with the highest quality of peer support services available within the EAP industry.

Why have Flight Attendants called the AFA EAP?

Work related – 23%
Workplace Trauma/Critical Incident – 18%
Psychological/Emotional – 17%
Family Issues – 15%
Chemical Dependency – 12%
Other – 6%
Physical Health – 6%
Financial/Legal – 2%
Compulsive-Addictive Behaviors – 1%

**Up to 30% of workers will suffer at least one episode of serious depression during their lifetime.

**Nearly 40 million Americans – as many as one in five – suffer from some form of major mental illness.

**76 million people – about 43% of US adults – have been exposed to alcoholism in the family.

**At any given time, one out of every four Americans could benefit from the services of a professional counselor.

**One out of every 100 American men and women is afflicted with schizophrenia.

**80% of working adults say balancing work, life, and family is their most pressing challenge.

**Workplace assaults caused over half a million employees to miss an average of 3.5 days of work per year – 1,751,100 days in total. This represents at least $55 million in lost wages alone on an annual basis.

Acts of domestic violence occur every 15 seconds in the U.S.