Why EAP utilization is low and how employers are addressing it

In a recent partnership with Employee Benefit News, we surveyed HR and benefit leaders to better understand where employee assistance programs (EAPs) are excelling and where they’re falling short.

The findings reinforced a shift away from traditional, “check-the-box” EAPs towards more integrated models that deliver measurable employee-level impact.

Why is EAP utilization so low, and how can employers fix it?

In the survey, HR and benefits professionals pointed out areas where EAPs could improve. More than half of those surveyed offer traditional EAPs, and their responses aligned with common causes for low utilization in traditional EAPs:

• Awareness gaps—43% said employees lacked awareness about EAP resources.
• Difficulty accessing and long wait times—the most common feedback surveyed respondents received from their employees.
• Lack of care continuity—36% said EAPs could improve by making it so employees could stick with their therapist and not be limited to a few covered visits.
• Lack of digital options—35% said EAPs could improve with services beyond short-term counseling, such as digital mental health tools.

According to the survey, employers offering more advanced EAPs that combine traditional services with digital tools saw higher utilization. They highlighted things employers can look for to improve utilization.

• Rapid access to care, because when employees make the effort to engage, it’s important they don’t have to wait.
• Comprehensive support, including access to psychiatry, therapy, coaching and digital tools, to meet the needs of each employee.
• An integrated platform that makes getting started easy and can guide people to the right level of support.

How can employers prove the ROI of their EAP?

Utilization is easy to measure, but it doesn’t tell the full story. Leadership wants to see health outcomes and business impact, not just engagement volume. In our survey, four in 10 survey respondents said actionable reporting is a top opportunity for improvement.

Most traditional EAPs fall short in tracking key ROI metrics, especially clinical outcomes. Assessments, such as Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), have become the standard in mental healthcare and are critical to understanding the impact of an intervention. Improvements in PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores are associated with fewer missed days of work, employee retention and more.

Employers with traditional EAPs should be rethinking how they evaluate the benefit. Look for EAPs that provide:

• Clinical outcomes—change in PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores over time.
• Time-to-care—how long does it take from first engagement to the first visit?
• Productivity and presenteeism—clinical outcomes give a full picture of workforce well-being.

These metrics give HR and benefits professionals the framing to change the conversation with leadership from “Are people using it?” to “Is it working?”

Should we replace our traditional EAP?

Many employers are evaluating hybrid or integrated models due to measurable improvements in utilization and outcomes.

If your challenges include low utilization, delayed access, limited continuity or shallow outcomes reporting, it may be time to consider a new approach. Of the HR and benefit professionals surveyed, perceptions around EAPs were more positive around more modern EAP models.

Wellbound: the reimagined EAP from Teladoc Health

We designed Wellbound to address the core shortcomings of traditional EAPs—improving utilization, providing rapid access to the right support, ensuring continuity of care and delivering measurable outcomes—so benefits teams can demonstrate value with confidence.

It’s because of these meaningful advancements that Wellbound recently received the Mental Health Innovation Award from MedTech Breakthrough. With its unique capabilities, Wellbound has the potential to redefine EAPs.

Comparison: Traditional EAP vs. Wellbound