Helping employees is not only a matter of being kind or generous, it is also a strategic approach to increasing company profit and value. It is estimated that on average, a troubled or distracted employee costs the company 25% - 50% in reduced personal productivity. The cost of lost productivity to Canadian businesses is quite startling. It has been estimated that in Canada, $21 million is lost every work day due to illness and injury of those in the work force. Consider the following:

• Emotional illness was the principal reason for absence of 61% of those questioned, according to a recent study of job-absenteeism.
• 65% - 80% of work force terminations are due to personal/interpersonal factors rather than technical factors.
• Chronic or problem drinkers are absent from work 16 times more than the average worker. They are four times more accident prone, take three times as many sick benefits and make five times as many compensation claims.

80% - 90% of all industrial accidents are related to "personal problems". Approximately half of those involve alcohol abuse.