Managers are often the first to notice when an employee is struggling, yet few are prepared for what comes next. A 2026 survey of US employees found that fewer than three in ten managers had received training on how to talk about mental health with their teams (NAMI-Ipsos, 2026). Closer to home, support often goes unused: in a SADAG survey of 963 South African employees, fewer than half had access to an EAP, and only 28% of those had ever used it (SADAG, as reported in TimesLIVE, 2026).
” Closer to home, support often goes unused “
Coaching and counselling: two different roles
Coaching sits with the manager. It is forward-looking and performance-focused: clarifying expectations, building skills and agreeing on goals. Counselling sits with the EA professional. It explores the personal, emotional and, at times, clinical factors behind a change in behaviour.
Problems arise when well-intentioned managers move from one role into the other. Boundaries blur, confidentiality is put at risk, and the employee’s access to the right help is often delayed. A useful principle for managers: they address what is happening with performance, while the EAP explores why.
” A useful principle for managers: they address what is happening with performance, while the EAP explores why. “
Recognising the referral moment
Coaching is working when performance improves. A referral to the EAP should be considered when:
- Performance keeps slipping despite clear expectations and support.
- Personal issues surface, such as grief, debt, relationship strain or substance use.
- Behaviour changes, including absenteeism, withdrawal, irritability or safety incidents.
- The manager feels out of their depth, which is a signal rather than a failure.
The EAP Core Technology lists the “use of constructive confrontation, motivation, and short-term intervention” as a core element of EAP practice (EAPA, n.d.). For managers, this means raising a specific, documented performance concern respectfully, presenting the EAP as support rather than punishment, and limiting follow-up to performance, leaving personal matters to the EAP. Given how many employees never use their EAP, a timely manager referral may be the route through which someone first reaches support.
” ‘use of constructive confrontation, motivation, and short-term intervention’ “
The EAPA-SA Standards in practice
Equipping managers for this moment is core EAP work. The EAPA-SA Standards identify training as an intervention strategy for EAPs, and they set out how managerial referrals should be made, including documenting job performance concerns before a formal referral, with confidentiality maintained throughout (Standards Committee of EAPA-SA, 2010).
For EAP practitioners, this translates into three practical priorities:
- Train managers to distinguish coaching from counselling, using realistic workplace scenarios.
- Provide a manager consultation service, so leaders can talk a situation through before acting.
- Agree on feedback boundaries upfront, so managers understand what they will, and will not, hear after a formal referral.
When managers know when to coach and when to refer, more employees reach the right support at the right time. EAP practitioners make that possible, and the EAPA-SA community is where that expertise keeps growing.
” When managers know when to coach and when to refer, more employees reach the right support at the right time “
References
- National Alliance on Mental Illness and Ipsos (2026). 2026 NAMI-Ipsos Workplace Mental Health Poll (survey of 2,153 US employees). NAMI. nami.org
- Gifford, G. (2026). “How SA’s economic squeeze is fuelling a burnout crisis” (reporting a South African Depression and Anxiety Group survey). TimesLIVE / Sunday Times. timeslive.co.za
- Employee Assistance Professionals Association (n.d.). Definitions of an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and EAP Core Technology. EAPA. Accessed 26 October 2026. eapassn.org
- Standards Committee of EAPA-SA (2010). EAPA-SA Standards Document. Employee Assistance Professionals Association of South Africa.