NAME OF GROUP MEMBERS

MOHD UZAIR BIN YAHYA

PC76984 PC76950 PC76972 PC76948 PC76954 PC76955 PC76962

LEE CHEE WEI JOSEPH LAU CHIH HIN

HAMDI BIN ADAM MOHD SAHRUL BIN HATTA HAIRUL HAQIM BIN HITAM MOHD NOOR FIZUAN BIN MOHD SOHIB

LECTURERS NAME: PN. HUSNI BINTI MOHD RADZI SUBMISSION DATE: 29TH OF AUGUST 2008

CONTENT
TITLE PAGE

1.

INTRODUCTION a. What is counseling?

b.

What is counseling in corporate industry?

c. What is workplace counseling?

2.

HISTORY OF WORKPLACE COUNSELING PROBLEMS IN WORKPLACE WHY WORKPLACE COUNSELING? MODELS OF WORKPLACE COUNSELING CRITICISM OF WORKPLACE COUNSELING CONCLUSION & REFERENCES

2 4 6 7 12 14

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

INTRODUCTION
Nowadays, counseling has been applied widely in corporate industry. One of the most applied counseling is workplace counseling. It is a system that helps to improve the smoothness & productivity of a corporate industry. What is workplace counseling?

What is counseling?
Counseling is a service provided to help people in a systematic way according to psychological concept. It involves the verbal and non-verbal communication between a helper (counselor) and the person who needs help (client). Counseling is proven as an effective way to facilitate and solve psychological issues.

What is counseling in corporate industry?

Counseling in corporate industry is a specialized counseling practice which is used in a corporate industry. It consists of a variety of counseling practice such as organizational counseling, vocational counseling, workplace counseling and others. The main purpose of counseling practice in a corporate industry is that it is a part of workers welfare and to enhance the productivity of the industry.

What is workplace counseling?

Workplace counseling is a counseling practice that is held in a corporate industry. It is conducted to help workers in a corporate industry by solving their problems in their workplace. Workplace counseling usually deals with workers who have problems in their workplace. Some of them may be referred by the employer while some of them may come willingly for the counseling session. Big corporate industry usually have employed counselor in their human resource unit so that the counseling session can be done within the company itself, but some corporate industry send their workers to private counseling practice that specializes in workplace counseling. Workplace counseling consists of many modules according to the clients problems. The modules of counseling are usually done in a quick way. This is to ensure that the productivity of the company will not be affected.

HISTORY OF WORKPLACE COUNSELING

If modern counseling started during the Reformation Era in 1900 then when did workplace counseling started? Counseling in the workplace actually has existed about the same time in the early 1990s although it is uses a much different format than the ones we use today. In brief, there are three stages or eras in the history of corporate counseling. The three eras are: 1. Human Relationship Era 2. The Alcohol Awareness Era 3. Internal and External Counseling Provision Era (Michael Carroll 1996) THE HUMAN RELATIONSHIP ERA (1900s-1940s) Where did it started? It began in the US and is intertwined with the arrival in industry of medical, psychiatric and social work provision (Michael Carroll 1996). The first era in employee COUNSELING emphasizes on human resources and human relations. 1913- By this year, there were about 2000 welfare workers in the industry (Carter, 1977) 1914- First counseling program in industry was initiated by the Ford Motor Company 1920- A survey commissioned by the Engineering Foundation of New York found out that 62 percent of employees where discharged sue t social problems than occupational incompetence. 1922- Metropolitan Life Insurance employed full time psychiatrists. 1924- R.H. Macey employed full time psychiatrists. Anderson, the first psychiatrist for Macey provided the first book connecting psychiatry with industry entitled Psychiatry and Industry (McLean et al., 1985) 1948- It was only until this year the first training program in occupational psychiatry was introduced. (McLean et al., 1985) THE ALCOHOL AWARENESS ERA(1940s-1960s) What happened during this era?

During this era a new phase of interest emerged directed at employee health and growth. However, alcohol concerns pretty much dominated much of the counseling provision from this stage until the 1960s. The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism introduced the term EAP (Employee Assistance Program) as a way of widening the counseling provision to include other than alcohol. During this era, a whole range of people became involved with employees: ex-alcoholics, psychiatrists, social workers, psychologists and personal officers. Counseling covers a variety of approaches from job testing to alcoholism and family problems. INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL COUNSELING PROVISION ERA What happened during this era? The third phase in employee counseling move beyond dealing solely on alcohol issues. Still with an emphasis on drink and drunk problems, corporate counseling move swiftly to encompass a range of services, legal and financial help, stress management, telephone counseling and face-toface counseling. The numbers of EAPs grew quickly and were set up as either: 1. Internal services as a part of the organization 2. External Services- a service specializing in providing EAPs to a number of organizations Apart from internal and external EAPs, in-house counselors, counselors hired by companies to work with their staff, began during this era. TRADITIONAL AND CONTEMPORARY EAPs What is the difference between corporate counseling now and in the past?

Traditional Programs
Emphasis on alcoholism Problems identified at late stage of development Services offered by medical and alcoholism specialist Focus on employees with work performance

Contemporary Programs
Broader approach: Any issue appropriate for service Problems identified at earlier stage of development Services offered by counselors Focus on work and non-work related problems

problems

e.g. family problems

PROBLEMS IN WORKPLACE.
Nowadays, there is a lot of pressure at our workplaces. This leads to stress which then leads to diseases and health complications such as hypertension, high blood pressure, asthma, stroke and heart attacks. Stress also cause employers and employees to resort to negative activities to release their daily tension such as smoking, taking drugs and alcohol. Among problems that arise at workplace include: Work-Related Problems a) Low motivation b) Demanding Employer c) Peer pressure d) Sexual harassment e) Low pay Non-work Related Problems a) Family problems b) Addiction e.g. alcohol, drugs c) Personal problems d) Financial problems e) Health problems

Problems at workplace will result low productivity, financial cost and slow growth. How can we tackle these problems? This is where corporate counseling comes in.

SURVEY 1. Do workers think counseling is important?

2. Do workers think that counseling helps them in their working life?

WHY WORKPLACE COUNSELING?

Why do employers and large organizations are turning to corporate counseling?

Overall, workplace counseling is pivotal to ensure that a company is able to succeed.

MODELS OF WORKPLACE COUNSELING

Counseling-orientation models

 These models are characterized by its use of a counseling approach as the key factor in what is offered to employee client. Counselors, by and large, subscribe to or are affiliated to, and trained in, a particular therapeutic approach which they use when working with organizational clients. Subscribing to a particular counseling orientation normally means accepting a specific view of human nature and an explanation of why individuals behave the way they do. This, in turn, leads logically to an assessment congruent with the counseling approach and interventions designed to bring about change. However, their main interest is still focused almost exclusively on individuals and the organizational dimensions of counseling work are largely ignored. Brief-therapy models Brief therapy differs from other schools of therapy in that it emphasizes a focus on a specific problem and direct intervention. In this model, the therapists take responsibility for working more proactively with the clients in order to treat clinical and subjective conditions faster. It also emphasizes precise observation, utilization of natural resources, and temporary suspension of disbelief to consider new perspectives and multiple viewpoints. Rather than the formal analysis of historical causes of distress, the primary approach of brief therapy is to help the client to view the present from a wider context and to utilize more functional understandings (not necessarily at a conscious level). By becoming aware of these new understandings, successful clients will de facto undergo spontaneous and generative change.

Problem-focused models

 These models of counseling see the counselors role as helping individuals to

work with the immediate problems they bring. Whereas these problems may not be entirely worked-based, counseling confines itself to working with the immediate issue. One model of this is contained in a training manual for counselors in the workplace; formulate problem, generate solution, and action plan. Problems-focused counseling emerges for a number of reasons: the limited amount of time counselors can provide to clients, the number of counselors available to service a company, the theoretical background from which counselors emerge, and organizational constraints (e.g.: finance). However, problem-solving approaches to counseling are a fairly well-established perspective in their own right and like brief therapy will no doubt play a large part in workplace counseling. Work-orientated model Work-orientated models of counseling pinpoint the immediate problem as a workplace issue and work with it. They do not spend time on the underlying areas of why problems exist, nor are they interested in problems or issues that are not related to the workplace. Their aim is to facilitate the individual to overcome workplace problems and move back to work as quickly as possible. This is an attractive counseling model for managers who want value for money and want to think that time spent in counseling is for the welfare of the organization through the individual. However, it is not always easy, in practice, to differentiate between what is the workplace problem and what is a personal problem not related to work.

Manager-based models

 Though not widespread, there is vulnerability in some organizations to view managers as quasi-counselors for their staff. With the introduction of counseling training for personnel officers, human resource officers, managers and a host of other individuals in industry and public services, there is the tendency for people to combine a number of roles with employees this gives rise to innumerable problems. It is a small wonder that legislation in the United States of America forbids managers to enter into counseling with their subordinates. On the other hand, training in counseling skills for managers helps them to recognize signs of disturbance in employees and no doubt provides valuable aids in their managerial and personal roles according to Martin (1994). However, Nixon and Carroll (1994) have argued strongly against managers taking on a formal counseling role. Not only does it cross boundaries, in their view, but it puts employees in an impossible situation: asking on one hand, that they share personal issues with their manager, and on the other hand, that they be ready for appraisal their careers with the same manager. Externally based models Externally based models of counseling are the counseling services brought in, and bought in, from outside the organization. It is usually in the form of an Employee Assistant Program (EAP) and they are administered and organized from outside. The format used can be any of the above models, or even mixtures of them. One of the strengths of external counseling services is that it can offer clear confidentiality and training as well as counseling. It also provides a range of services and a number of counselors with different skills and backgrounds. However, it also brings along other unwanted problems. The counselors may not be flexible in what they offer and may not have had experience of workplace counseling. Besides, they may not adapt easily to individual companies and may also not understand the culture of the organization.

 There are several formats of external counseling provision used by organizations: some employ established EAPs, others set up an internal EAP while others opt for employing individuals to work on a session basis with employees. Full-service programs, limited utilization programs and information and referral-only programs are the examples of EAP programs.

Internally based models In-house counseling provision is the norm in a number of companies. A part-time or full-time counselor, or a team of counselors, is employed to work with employees. The counseling service can be part of an already-existing department or an independent unit in its own right. The strength of internal counseling services is that the counselors are in touch with the culture of the company. Thus, they can adapt counseling work to organizational needs and they have flexibility to adapt to client needs. This can build up great credibility for the counseling service. However, one of the weaknesses is that the counselor can be more subjective in his or her assessments and he or she may get involved in politics of the organization. It is also more difficult to maintain confidentiality. In-house counseling provision can be set up in a variety of ways: an in-house EAP, with a team of counselors, with an individual counselor, as within a particular department, as outside all departments, as part-time or full-time.

 Welfare-based models Welfare-based models of counseling combine a number of roles with employees, one of which is counseling. Welfare officers have traditionally been employed in a number of organizations to fulfill several tasks depending on client needs: befriending, information-giving, advocate, home-visiting during sickness, giving legal and financial advice, advising on a range of topics and counseling. Welfarebased models of counseling have been the predecessors of counseling provision in the workplace. Such models were more social work based, seeing counseling as one of many roles enacted with employees. Their strength is their ability to provide a range of interventions, one of which may be counseling.

Organizational-change models Counseling which is targeted on the organization as a whole though is mainly implemented by working with individuals and groups. Counseling in organizational settings is directly valuable to the individual and indirectly beneficial to the organization. Perhaps beginning to integrate counseling more specifically into organizational growth, development and transition would be a valuable asset to organizations.

CRITICISM OF WORKPLACE COUNSELING

From the Newtons criticize about the current theories of stress and the use of such provision as individual counseling as a method of managing, he criticizes workplace counseling such as: Individualizes problems such as stress will makes someone become in isolation and not interested in politic. When the counseling was introduced in 1936, Newton looks to the history of EAPs where the Hawthorne Works as a prime example of employee problems becoming individualized and made the responsibility of the individual. The way of managing emotions where it could be view as a method of organizational social control to individual client which emotion are permitted and which not within the organization. Newton summarizes: Rather than expressing problems and grievance through a collective channel, through stress management practices they become individualized, a personal problems rather than one which be share by a large number of employees (1995:146) Allied to the criticism, further indictment counseling in the workplace is that it becomes a tool of management. In some organization, there is great anxiety that going for counseling will be seen as a weakness that will take its roll on career and promotion.

There is some validity in the criticism that counseling help individual deal with emotion that needs advice to be more appropriately directed outwards towards the injustice.

Counseling is not integrated into the organization but remains on the outside. This can happen all too easily in certain kinds of companies which relegated counseling to the periphery of the organization.

If inadequate introduced, the counseling service itself can become dysfunctional. On the other hand, over-involvement of the organization in its counseling service can lead it to become a form of social control.

Wilensky and Wilensky were critique the Western Electrics counseling service in 1951, The company has developed a network of lower-level functionaries to drain off hostility and has integrated into its structure those forces which represent a potential challenge to its control over the worker(1951:280)

The other criticisms from the other person about the counseling of the workplace:

Trying to teach employees to cope with stressful working conditions, proponents of this approach can be seen to be blaming the victim of poor communication channels, inadequate training, autocratic management styles and other common sources of workplace stress.

The second criticism often directed at the individual-oriented approach is that strategies aimed at helping people to cope with stressful working conditions, without addressing those conditions, contravene the occupational health and safety legislation that exists in many industrialized countries. In the UK, for example, employers must monitor both physical and psychosocial hazards and, as a result, a failure to address adverse working conditions, so far as is reasonably practical, is a breach of that legislation.

The final major criticism directed at the worker-oriented stress prevention strategies is that they often fail to achieve any significant health and or productivity outcomes.

It is important to take the criticisms of workplace counseling seriously and to isolate the underlying philosophies that drive the implementation of counseling services. It is nave to see automatically as of value to employees .Organization are certainly beyond introduction counseling to control their employees above making organization problem the responsibility of individual employees.

CONCLUSION
Workplace counseling is proven to be effective in handling workers psychological problems in their workplace. The usage of counseling in corporate industry must always be revised and improved, and the criticism on it must not be taken lightly for the better of both corporate industry and their employees.

REFERENCES
1. Workplace Counseling by Michael Carroll, SAGE Publications (1996)

2. An Introduction To Counseling by John McLeod , Open University Press (1998) 3. Counseling At The Workplace by Norman C. Hill, McGraw-Hill Book Company (1981) 4. Psychology Applied To Work by Paul M. Muchinsky, Thomson Wadsworth (2003) 5. Introduction To Industrial / Organizational Psychology by Ronald E. Riggio, Prentice

Hall (2000)