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WorkplaceChaplains:

Filling a NeedTraditional EAPs

Can't Meetby Joe Meyer and Elaine Davis

• More organizations are finding secularcounseling provided by enfiployee assistanceprograms (EAPs) is inadequate for manyemployees. As a result, increasing numbers ofemployers are providing services of workplacechaplains. Chaplain services are not necessarily partof the recent fad toward ''spirituality" in orgnizations,but rather address the needs of an increasinglynonchurchgoing culture living in a more stressfulworld. 4

In today's rapidly changing world,employ-ees are dealing wilh more stressful lives.There has also heen a suhstantia! loss ofcommunity in Americans" hves; this is seendirectly in fewer interactions with neigh-

bors and extended families. It is also evident inreduced numbers at religious ceremonies: only31% of Americans regularly attend a church,less than half of the percentage that attendedduring the 1970s. The lack of extended relation-ships leaves many people without the supportto handle personal difficulties. As we spendmore hours at work and less in relationships,employees and many employers are lookingmore for help from the workplace. Accordingto the Gallup Organization, 95% of Americanssay they believe in God or a universal spirit and48% said they talked about religious faith atwork that day.' Lutheran Brotherhood, a Min-nesota-based insurance company, recently sur-veyed clients and found that 70% of them talkabout their faith in the workplace.' Faith is onthe minds of employees.

Each year, more than one out of every sevenemployees is faced wilh personal problems thatseriously affect his or her job performance.These problems may include marriage and fam-ily issues, drug and alcohol addiction, financialand legal problems, as well as many work-related stresses. Employee assistance programs(EAPs) have proved to be very successful athandling empioyee problems and crises. Accord-ing lo a recent survey conducted by the Bureauof National Affairs (BNA), 69% of employersprovide EAPs as a benefit for their employees.EAP use results in reduced absenteeism, fewersick days and greater productivity.The BNA sur-vey released in May 2000 reported that fi5% ofemployers utilizing EAPs reduced their healthplan costs.' Forty percent of companies usingEAPs also reported lower workers' compen-sation eosts, and over half the firms reducedtheir disability costs.

However, one of the drawbacks cited byfirms that offer EAPs is the low rate of utiliza-tion by employees. Most firms report only a 4%to 8% rate of use by eligible employees."' Thecommon factor that appears to keep many em-ployees away from the service is the perceivedstigma attached to seeking help from a thera-pist or psychologist.

22 BENEFITS QUARTERLY. Third Quarter 2002

]n Ihc past, chaplains were used extensivelyin workplaces that deal with dai]y trauma. Hos-pitals, police and fire departments and thearmed serviees eonsidered chaplains as stan-dard positions within these organizations. Peo-ple working in jobs with daily exposure to trau-matic events have someone they know andtrust to help them cope with traumatic experi-ences that are unique to their occupations.These organizations understand the value thatchaplains have on the well-being and produc-tivity of their staff.

Most other types of organizations tradition-ally do not incorporate religion or faith intotheir counseling services. However, there is agrowing number of faith-based EAPs acrossthe country, and more firms are utilizing chap-lains to counsel and support employees on anongoing basis. Chaplains, unlike secular EAPs,provide spiritual support and counseling. Cur-rent estimates are that close to 5,000 chaplainsprovide support services to businesses and theiremployees in the United States.'This numberhas doubled from six years ago, and current ser-vice providers project the number to doubleagain in the next six years."

WORKPLACE MINISTRYIhe two largest providers of chaplains in the

workplace are Inner Active Ministries of WakeForest. North Carolina and Marketplace Min-istries of Dallas,Texas.These firms alone em-ploy over 80() chaplains and have helped estab-lish national educational programs for trainingand guidelines for chaplain certification. Theseare both Christian-based nondenominationalorganizations that also help clients access chap-lains of diverse faiths such as Buddhist monksand Jewish rabbis. Both firms arc experiencingdouble-digit annual growth in new elients andstaff. Gil Strickland, founder of MarketplaceMinistries, stated. "Our passion is to show careand concern, along with God's love to workersin corporate America." This is where faith-based EAPs excel.

A faith-based EAP is not usually seen as analiernative to a secular EAP but as an enhance-ment. In times of need, such as illness, death, vi-olence, divorce, drug and alcohol abuse, faith-based programs take on greater meaning formany employees. Chaplains are able to reach

another level in caregiving and support notcomparable with a secular EAP service pro-vider. Most recently, the bombing of the WorldTrade Center in New York City created a hugedemand for spiritual counseling that went be-yond what a secular counselor could provide.Organizations, particularly in the New Yorkarea, reported a significant increase in requestsfor chaplains or ministerial services.

Mark Cress, CEO and president of Inner-Active Ministries, calls his services a "safety netfor employees," a person to turn to, someoneemployees know, not a stranger. RosemaryBoyd, a chaplain in St. Cloud. Minnesota,stated that it is a chaplain's responsibility to"see to the spiritual needs of the employeesthat management cannot fulfill due to the na-ture of the management and employee rela-tionship." Chaplains do not evangelize orpreach religion: they meet the spiritual needs ofthe individual and act as an advocate for theemployee. Talking with a chaplain at work has amuch lower stigma than seeing a therapist.Many employees that would not use a therapistthrough an EAP willingly share their concernswith a visiting chaplain.

Not only do chaplains provide support intimes of crisis, they also minister to employees'ongoing needs for spirituality. Some chaplainsoffer workshops, seminars and training sessionson spiritual topics. Many businesses offerchapels, prayer rooms and meditation areas fortheir employees. Chaplains can contribute to afirm's ability to recognize religious diversityand understand the needs of employees. Theyare able to help give employers guidelines onwhat the methods of expression are for differ-ent religious groups, holy days that arc impor-tant for a group of employees, and how to besensitive to religion.

Firms are beginning to recognize the impor-tance of religious expression among an increas-ingly diverse workforce. According to a recentsurvey conducted by the Society for HumanResource Management (SHRM) and theTanenbaum Center for Interreligious Under-standing, religious diversity is increasing rap-idly in our country.' Former SHRM presidentand CEO, Helen Drinan. recently stated, "It'simportant to view religious accommodationnot just as a way to avoid legal claims, but

BENEFITS QUARTERLY. Third Quarter 2002 23

"Chaplains that make frequent visitsbecome sounding boards for empioyee

issues. The information chapiainsprovide management can help increase

the effectiveness of managersand the human resources department."

rather as an opportunity to increase retentionand boost the cohesiveness and productivity ofthe workforce." For example. Gold'n Plump, aMinnesota-based poultry processor, employslarge numbers of people of different ethnic andreligious backgrounds. They've learned the im-portance of allowing these groups to expressthemselves through religious clothing, etc.Doing so has had the unintended benefit ofdrawing numerous applicants from diverse eth-nic groups. Empioyees at Gold'n Plump knowthe firm cares about their needs and respectstheir religion.

CHAPLAINS ASCOMMUNICATIONS TOOLS

Chaplains also serve as "ears" for manage-ment. They are held to strict confidentialitywith employee problems (unless they believethe employee poses a significant threat to oth-ers), but they are able to provide managementwith general insights and information on hottopics or areas of concern for employees. With-out notice, these issues may go undetected orbe considered trivial problems by management.They also notice small issues that can affect em-ployee morale, productivity and turnover. Cressof InnerActive Ministries said, "A lot of whatthe employer sees is the tip of the iceberg."Chaplains that make frequent visits becomesounding boards for employee issues. Tlie infor-mation chaplains provide management can

help increase the effectiveness of managers andthe human resources department.

Cress stressed the importance of the abilityof a chaplain to help owners shape communica-tions and make decisions to alleviate potentialproblems and handle issues before they be-come critical. This is one of the biggest benefitsthat his clients offer when asked about his ser-vices. Cress stated. "People bring their prob-lems to work with them, and lo the extent thatwe can talk them through some options andhelp them emotionally with some of these is-sues, we can help them be more productive andhappier at work." Most chaplains" visits are typ-ically made weekly for general socialization.trust building and for counseling sessions, hutthey are on call for employees 24 hours a day.seven days a week.

Some people believe that chaplains only di-rectly benefit individuals who arc not membersof a church. However, Gil Strickland, presidentof Marketplace Ministries, points out that manychurchgoers do not want to tell their own min-isters about their personal problems. They be-come too close to their ministers to share per-sonal weaknesses. TTiey will, however, utilize achaplain that they know, but not as well.

RESEARCH SUPPORTThere is no quantitative research yet on the

value added for firms using chaplains except foranecdotal information. Austaeo, a large PizzaHut and Taco Bell franchisee corporation, hasreduced its annual turnover from 300% to125%.TTiey credit the chaplain program fromMarketplace Ministries tor this dramatic de-crease. Employees are using the services andcredit it with improving their lives.

According to Dr. Diana Dale, executive di-rector of the National Institute of Business andIndustrial Chaplains (NIBIC), it is very difficultto conduct research and separate out what fac-tors to measure—attendance, accidents, produc-tivity, morale—and isolate what causes change.There is a growing body of research that ad-dresses "spirituality in the workplace." This le-search is tapping into organizations that haveput spirituai themes into mission statements,goals and objectives, made corporate ethics aparamount theme and do spiritual retreats,among other things.

24 BENEFITS QUARTERLY. Third Quarter 2002

A study completed by McKinsey & Co. foundthat productivity improved and turnover was re-duced when companies offered programs thatuse spiritual techniques for their employees."^Ian I. Mitroff- professor of business policy at theUniversity of Southern California, has re-searched and written extensively about spiritu-ality in the workplace. "A Spiritual Audit of Cor-porate America." co-authored by Mitroff. foundthat organizations considered to be spiritual bytheir employees had less fearful and more ethi-cal employees."They also were more committedto their jobs and considered their firms a stepabove their competitors. The study found em-ployees wanted to be associated with a good,ethical organization."' Firms that allow and en-courage employees to express their spiritualityharness the spiritual energy and passion of eachemployee. Mitroff says. "Fully 60% of thosepolled for the book say they believe in the bene-ficial effects of spirituality in the workplace, solong as there's no bully-pulpit promotion of tra-ditional religion."

CONCERNS ABOUT CHAPLAINSMost chaplain programs incorporate a code

of conduct that does not allow evangelizing, yetcertain chaplains may promote their religiousviews. Furthermore, in some organizations thatoffer chaplain services, evangelizing is includedin their mission statements. This has occurred inprivately held organizations where the ownerspromote their religion to employees and encour-age the chaplains to do so. This doesn't sit wellwith most employees. Americans view religionand spirituality very differently. Mitroff andDenton's research. "A Study of Spirituality inthe Workplace," found widely different views ofreligion and spirituality. Survey respondentsviewed religion as a highly inoppropriale form ofexpression in ihc workplace yet they viewed spir-ituality as appropriate for the workplace. Theseviews may stem from the principles in the found-ing of our country and our right to freedomfrom religious oppression and discrimination.

Employers considering hiring a chaplainneed to understand the chaplain's view onevangelizing and religious recruitment. Someemployers go as far as removing the title ofchaplain, preferring the softer "spiritual coach."This may also help remove any stigma felt by

certain employees toward chaplains becausethey assume they are all Christian.

There are some critics with greater causesfor concern involving chaplains in the work-place. Lewis Maltby of the American Civil Lib-erties Union says, "It could easily slide into co-ercion, even subtle coercion."" Employees mayrebel if they feel that they are being preachedto or recruited. Tliere may be potential legalproblems that could leave the business with lia-bility issues as well as productivity and moraleissues. An overzealous chaplain from an orga-nization that promotes evangelizing could bevery damaging to employees and businesses.

A final concern relates to credentials. Re-cently, a whole array of untrained people havepicked up on the title "chaplain" and gone intocompanies, and many of these people also wantto proselytize. To avoid problems. look for clini-cally trained chaplains, who over the years havegotten licensures and other certifications be-yond seminary training.

CONCLUSIONAnecdotal evidence strongly suggests that

offering chaplain services is of real value toorganizations, but research studies have notbeen conducted yet to give us empirical data tosupport these conclusions. Clearly, it is an areain need of study. Statistical analysis of similarfirms with and without chaplain programs thatcompare financial benchmarks would be ofgreat value.

Employers may tend to err on the side ofavoiding all spirituality and religion in theworkplace due to concerns about legal issuesregarding discrimination, harassment and civil

The Authors

Joe Meyer is co-owner and president of Avisla Water, operating inMinnesota and Nevada for the past five years. He earned his M.B.A.from St. Cloud Stale University. He is an active menitier of theInlcrnational Water Quality Association.

Elaine Davis h a professor of humati resource management at St.Cloud Slate University in St. Cloud. Minnesota. She holds a Ph.D.from the Universily of Nebraska-Lincoln. She has over two dozenjournal publications on various HR issues, with health care cost con-tainment her primary research area. She was recently namedteacher of the year in the Herberger College of Business at SCSU.

BENEFITS QUARTERLY. Third Quarter 2002 2B

"Many employees neednonsecuiar counseling,

and firms that provide such servicescan oniy benefit from them."

liberties. Many fear evangelical efforts and po-tential conflicts. However, if your firm is atrendsetter in benefit offerings or has specificproblems that you feel need the attention of achaplain program, now may be the time to ex-plore this as an enhancetnent to an existingEAP. Companies with diverse employee groupsmay especially want to consider a chaplain as aspiritual guide who helps to bring care and con-tinuity to religious policy and expression.

What we do know is this: Many employeeshave no emotional and spiritual support in theirlives. Personal problems are more frequent,more severe and more complex than in thepast, and they impact our workplace economi-cally. Many employees need nonsecuiar coun-seling, and firms that provide such services canonly benefit from them. The emerging trend toplace chaplains in the workplace has great po-tential to positively impact organizations. -̂

Endnotes

1. Michelle Conlin. "Religion tn the Workplace."Bu.sine.s.s Week. November 1. 1999.

2. Sandra Baker, 'Tailh at Work," Tarrant Business,September 7. 1998.

3. Ihid.4. Margaret Miller, "Employee Assistance Plans

Evolving to Meet New Workplace Challenges." July 31.2001. SHRM Web site: www.shrm.org.

5. Interview with M;irk Cress. CEO and presideni ofInnerActive Ministries.

6. Ibid.7. SHRM and Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious

Understanding, "Religious Diversity In Ihe Workplace,"June 2.5.2(K11.

8. Miehelle Conlin. "Religion in Ihe Workplace."Busities.s Week. November I. IWJ.

y. Ibid.10. Ian I, Mitroff and Elizabeih A. Denton. "A Siudy

of Spirituality in the Workplace." ^f^T Sloan MtinagenwniReview..Voiumt: 40. Summer 1999,

11. Stephanie Armour. "Chaplains-for-hire provide ser-viees in workplaces." USA TODAY. Money section, page 1.November 14. 1997.

Further Informatiun on Chaplains

Corporate Chaplains of Ameriea. 2t)18 S. Main St.. Suite804. Wake Forest. NC 27587.

ELCA Information available online at www. elca.org.American Association for Ministry in the Workplace,

Inc. Information available online ;U www.aamw.org.National Institute of Business and Industrial Chaplains.

Information available online at www.nibic.com.Marketplace Ministries available online al www.mar-

ketplaeeministries.eom.InnerAetive Ministries available online at www.inner-

activeniinistries.com.Walker, Rutli. "Preachers on the Payroll," The Christian

Science Monitor, June 25. 1998.Watkins. Elizabeth. "InnerActive Ministries—Caring in

the Workplace."' Biisines.s- Leader. February 20()(). Availableat www.husinessleader.eom February 2(K)().

Welles. Edward O. "Chaplain to the New Economy,"Inc. Magazine, November 1, 1997.

26 BENEFITS QUARTERLY, Third Quarter 2002