If you’re responsible for employee wellbeing, reviewing your Employee Assistance Program data can feel like a moment of truth. You’ve invested in support for your people, so when utilisation rates come in low, it’s natural to wonder what the number is really telling you.
Are employees unaware of the service? Do they feel uncomfortable using it? Is the booking process too difficult? Or could low usage mean your workplace culture, managers, and internal supports are doing their job well?
The answer isn’t always obvious. EAP utilisation is one of the most talked-about metrics in workplace mental health, but it’s also one of the most misunderstood.
For business owners, executives and HR leaders, the goal should not simply be to push the utilisation rate higher. It’s also important to assess whether employees know the EAP exists, trust it, can access it when needed and find it genuinely helpful.
This article will help you unpack what low EAP utilisation might mean in your context, when it’s worth paying closer attention, and how to evaluate your approach in a more meaningful way.
Understanding EAP utilisation rates
At its simplest, EAP utilisation rate tells you how many of your employees are accessing the service over a given period, usually a year.
How is it calculated? You take the number of employees who used the EAP, divide it by the total number of eligible employees, and multiply by 100. So, if 30 people in a workforce of 1,000 access the service, your utilisation rate sits at 3%.
In Australia, most organisations report utilisation rates somewhere between 3% and 8%. But while these benchmarks can be helpful, they aren’t a measure of success on their own.
Nnot every provider defines utilisation in exactly the same way. So before you compare your EAP utilisation rate with an industry benchmark, you need to know what is actually being counted in the date you have.
What counts as EAP utilisation?
Depending on your provider, utilisation may refer to:
The number of unique employees who accessed counselling
Repeat appointments
Manager referrals
Critical incident support
Family member or dependent usage
Use of digital tools, wellbeing resources, assessments, or helplines
This matters because two organisations could both report a 5% utilisation rate while measuring different things. One may be counting only counselling appointments, while another may be including app-based wellbeing tools, triage calls, and family member access.
Any EAP utilisation rate is only meaningful once you know what has been measured. For clearer reporting and actionable insights, ask your provider to define metrics like:
Metric
What it tells you
Why it matters
Unique user utilisation
Percentage of eligible employees who used the service
Best for understanding reach
Session utilisation
Total number of sessions delivered
Helps with budgeting and demand planning
Repeat engagement
Whether employees return after an initial session
Can indicate perceived usefulness
Presenting issues
Broad categories employees seek help for
Helps identify recurring stressors
Manager referrals
How often managers guide employees to support
Reflects manager awareness and confidence
Time to appointment
How quickly employees can access support
Shows whether the service is practical in real life
Satisfaction or NPS
How employees rate the experience
Adds quality context to usage data
What's a good EAP utilisation rate in Australia?
Australian EAP utilisation benchmarks commonly sit in the low-to-mid single digits, with cited figures including 2.6% to 8%, 5% and 6%, depending on the source, industry, and reporting method. A SIRA literature review found that EAP utilisation rates in the reviewed literature ranged from 2.6% to 8%. The same review noted an EAPAA survey utilisation rate of 6% in 2019 to 2020, while the Productivity Commission’s Mental Health Inquiry reported a utilisation rate of 5%, with variation across industries.
That industry variation is important. The Productivity Commission figure cited in the SIRA review noted 9% utilisation in financial and insurance services, compared with 1% in safety and law enforcement.
A useful benchmark table might look like this:
EAP utilisation rate
Possible interpretation
What to check before acting
Under 3%
Low awareness, access friction, low trust, stigma, poor workforce fit, or genuinely low need
Awareness survey, confidentiality confidence, booking process, wait times, and psychosocial risk data
3% to 8%
Common range for many traditional EAPs
Industry, workforce size, promotion frequency, service model, and employee feedback
Above 8%
Strong awareness, easier access, elevated distress, or high organisational change
Recent restructures, workload pressures, incidents, absenteeism, and team-level trends
Sudden spike
Increased trust or a reaction to acute stress
Timing, business events, critical incidents, and presenting issue categories
Consistently high
Normalised help-seeking or ongoing workplace pressure
Engagement scores, psychosocial hazards, turnover and manager capability
The key point is that a “good” EAP utilisation rate is not a universal number. A 3% rate could be concerning in one workplace and understandable in another. A 10% rate could signal strong engagement, or it could point to rising distress during a difficult period.
Why low utilisation draws attention
When you see low uptake, it can feel like a gap between what you’re offering and what employees are using. That disconnect raises fair questions, especially when the organisation is paying for a service intended to support mental health, performance, and workplace wellbeing.
Low utilisation often draws attention because leaders may worry that:
Employees do not know the EAP exists
The service is not being communicated often enough
People are worried their employer will know they used it
Managers do not know how to refer employees safely
The provider is difficult to access
The service does not feel relevant to the workforce
Employees are struggling silently
There can also be a commercial concern. If the organisation pays a fixed annual fee for a traditional EAP and very few people use it, leaders may question whether the investment is delivering value.
That said, low usage alone does not prove poor value. An EAP is only one part of a broader workplace mental health strategy. It should be assessed alongside workplace culture, psychosocial risks, leadership behaviours, employee feedback, and clinical outcomes where available.
When low utilisation can be a positive sign
Although it often raises concern, low EAP usage can reflect something encouraging about your organisation.
1. Your internal support systems are working
If your managers are approachable, skilled, and proactive, employees may feel comfortable raising concerns early. A workload issue may be addressed before it becomes burnout. A team conflict may be resolved before it causes prolonged distress. A flexible work conversation may prevent someone from reaching crisis point.
In this context, low EAP utilisation does not necessarily mean employees are unsupported. It may mean they are receiving support through managers, peers, HR, flexible work arrangements, internal wellbeing programs, or their own health professionals.
2. Your workplace culture feels safe and supportive
In workplaces where people feel respected, heard, and included, everyday stressors may be easier to manage. That doesn't remove pressure entirely, but it can reduce the need for formal intervention.
Signs of a supportive culture may include:
High perception of psychosocial safety in employee surveys
Low bullying, harassment, or grievance reports
Healthy use of leave
Low regrettable turnover
Employees feeling comfortable raising workload concerns
Managers responding early and constructively
Low EAP utilisation is more reassuring when these other indicators are also healthy.
3. Your employees are choosing other forms of support
EAP isn’t the only option available. Some employees prefer to see their own psychologist, use digital mental health An EAP isn’t the only way people access mental health support. Some employees may prefer to see their own psychologist, counsellor, GP, or psychiatrist outside of their company-provided benefits. Others may use Medicare pathways, private health insurance, digital mental health services, community support, peer networks, or cultural and family supports.
With this considered, you might find that low EAP utilisation doesn’t equate to employees not seeking support. It could mean that fewer employees are using that particular pathway.
When low utilisation needs closer attention
There are also times when low engagement is a warning sign. This is especially true when low utilisation appears alongside high stress, low engagement, increased absenteeism, employee complaints, or signs of burnout.
1. Your EAP doesn’t have enough visibility
If the EAP is mentioned once during onboarding and then disappears, many employees will forget about it. Even those who could benefit may not remember how to access it when they are stressed.
Visibility is not about one big launch email. It's about consistent, practical reminders across the employee lifecycle, including employee onboarding, manager and team check-ins, wellbeing campaigns, internal newsletters, intranet pages, Slack or Teams channels, and periods of organisational change.
2. There’s hesitation around speaking up
Workplace culture has a strong influence on whether employees feel safe asking for support. If people feel pressured to appear constantly capable, or if vulnerability is rarely modelled by leaders, help-seeking can start to feel risky rather than sensible.
This hesitation can be especially strong in high-performance environments, male-dominated workplaces, frontline roles, or teams where stress or burnout culture has been normalised. Employees may tell themselves they should “push through”, wait until things get worse, or avoid speaking up because they don't want to seem difficult. This can lead to low EAP utilisation even when the need for support is clearly present.
3. Confidentiality isn’t fully trusted
Confidentiality concerns can block EAP use. Even when a provider guarantees confidentiality, employees may hesitate if they believe their HR, managers, or executives will find out how they use the EAP.
Employers should explain, in simple terms:
Whether individual usage is disclosed to the employer
What information appears in aggregated reports
What minimum group sizes apply to protect anonymity
What exceptions exist, such as immediate safety risks
How employee data is stored and protected
Who to contact with privacy concerns
Comcare’s Better Practice EAP guidance notes the importance of outlining key features such as confidentiality, anonymity, exceptions, and how information will be used, stored, and accessed.
4. The service doesn’t meet your workforce needs
A traditional phone-based EAP may not suit every team. Utilisation can be affected by shift work, remote work, language needs, cultural expectations, disability access, digital literacy, gender norms, age, job type, and previous experiences with mental health services.
For example, a dispersed workforce may need online therapy booking, telehealth, and after-hours options. A younger workforce may expect app-based access. A male-dominated workforce may need more practical, scenario-based messaging that normalises support without making it feel clinical or exposing.
5. Managers are unsure how to refer people
Managers often act as the bridge between employees and support. But one usual problem is that many managers aren't confident talking about mental health, especially when they're worried about saying the wrong thing.
A manager does not need to diagnose or counsel. They need to notice changes, ask respectful questions, listen, make reasonable work-related adjustments where appropriate, and guide employees to support options.
A simple manager script like thiscan help: “I’ve noticed you seem under a lot of pressure lately, and I wanted to check in. You don’t have to share anything personal with me, but I do want you to know there are confidential support options available, including the EAP. I can send you the details, and we can also talk about anything at work that may be adding pressure.”
Diagnosing the real cause of low EAP utilisation
Before launching a campaign to increase EAP usage, diagnose the likely cause. Otherwise, you may promote a service that employees still don't trust or cannot easily access.
Area to assess
Questions to ask
Signs of a problem
Awareness
Do employees know the EAP exists and what it covers?
Employees say they have never heard of it
Understanding
Do employees know it can support work and personal issues?
People assume it's only for crisis situations
Trust
Do employees believe it is confidential?
Employees worry HR or managers will be told
Access
Can employees book quickly and privately?
Long waits, unclear steps, or phone-only access
Relevance
Does the provider suit your workforce?
Low usage among shift workers, remote staff or diverse groups
Culture
Is help-seeking normalised?
Leaders rarely talk about wellbeing or model healthy behaviour
Manager capability
Do managers know how to refer safely?
Managers avoid mental health conversations
Service experience
Do users find it helpful?
Low satisfaction, poor repeat engagement or vague reporting
A useful starting point is a short anonymous pulse survey. Ask employees whether they know the EAP exists, whether they know how to access it, whether they trust its confidentiality, and what would make them more likely to use it.
Keep it practical. The goal isn’t to pressure people into using the EAP but to remove avoidable barriers.
Looking at high utilisation differently
It’s easy to assume that higher usage is a sign that your EAP is working well. In some cases, that’s true. Increased awareness and trust can lead to more employees accessing support.
At the same time, spikes in utilisation can coincide with periods of organisational stress. Restructures, rapid growth, or leadership changes can all place pressure on employees, prompting greater use of support services.
If your utilisation rate rises sharply, it’s worth asking what else is happening in your organisation at that time.
Interpreting patterns over time
Pattern observed
What it might suggest
What to review
Gradual increase
Growing awareness and trust
Campaign timing, manager referrals, satisfaction
Sudden spike
Response to stress, change or a critical incident
Business events, incidents, workload, and presenting issues
Consistently low
Strong culture or hidden barriers
Awareness, access, trust, and psychosocial risk data
Consistently high
Normalised support or ongoing pressure
Burnout, absenteeism, turnover, and team-level stressors
High first sessions, low follow-up
Curiosity, poor fit, or disappointing experience
User feedback, clinician match, and session quality
Trends are more useful than isolated figures. Review EAP utilisation monthly or quarterly, but interpret it alongside what's actually happening in your business.
How EAP utilisation connects to psychosocial risk
EAP data can be a helpful signal, but it should never be treated as the whole psychosocial risk picture.
Safe Work Australia states that “a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) must manage the risk of psychosocial hazards in the workplace.” It also says PCBUs must eliminate psychosocial risks or, where that is not reasonably practicable, minimise them so far as reasonably practicable.
Psychosocial hazards can include high job demands, poor support, low job control, lack of role clarity, poor organisational change management, bullying, harassment, violence, traumatic events, and remote or isolated work.
This means an EAP can be part of a workplace mental health strategy, but it is not a substitute for identifying and controlling psychosocial hazards at their source.
For example:
If employees are using the EAP because of unmanageable workloads, the solution is not just more counselling. It may include workload review, staffing changes, clearer priorities, and better manager support.
If EAP usage spikes after a restructure, leaders should review change communication, consultation, role clarity, and support for affected teams.
If usage is low but complaints, absenteeism, and turnover are high, the issue may be trust, fear, or poor awareness rather than low need.
EAP data becomes more useful when it is integrated with broader safety and people data.
Moving beyond utilisation as your main metric
If you rely only on utilisation rate, you risk missing important parts of the picture. The Australian Psychological Society has noted that Australian EAPs often rely on utilisation and satisfaction metrics, rather than outcome measures that track change from before to after intervention.
A stronger approach looks at reach, access, quality, outcomes, and organisational context.
EAP metrics dashboard for HR leaders
Metric
Why it matters
Awareness rate
Shows whether employees know the EAP exists
Understanding of services
Shows whether employees know what the EAP can help with
Confidence in confidentiality
Identifies trust barriers
Time to first appointment
Shows whether support is timely
Cancellation or drop-off rate
May reveal friction or poor service fit
Repeat engagement
Suggests whether employees find the support useful
User satisfaction or NPS
Measures experience quality
Presenting issue categories
Helps identify recurring concerns while protecting privacy
Manager referrals
Shows whether leaders know how to guide staff to support
Absenteeism and presenteeism
Adds workforce impact context
Turnover and retention
May reveal stress, burnout, or culture issues
Engagement survey results
Shows broader employee sentiment
Psychosocial hazard data
Connects EAP use to WHS risk management
Strengthening engagement in a thoughtful way
If you decide low utilisation reflects barriers rather than low need, the next step is to improve engagement thoughtfully.
This doesn't mean pushing employees to use therapy. It means making sure employees know what support exists, can access it easily, and feel safe doing so.
1. Keep the EAP visible
Regular communication helps your employees remember that support is available. This can include internal campaigns, team discussions, and reminders at key moments throughout the year. Scenario-based reminders can also help, like poster for when they feel overwhelmed, are dealing with grief, conflict, family pressure, etc.
2. Build trust through clarity
Be transparent about confidentiality. Reassure your people that their privacy is protected, and reinforce that message consistently across leadership.
3. Address cultural signals
Take a close look at how wellbeing is discussed in your organisation. When leaders speak openly and respond with empathy, it creates a more supportive environment overall.
4. Make the service relevant
Ensure your EAP reflects the needs of your workforce. Flexible access options, culturally appropriate support, and a mix of delivery formats can all improve engagement.
5. Support your managers
Managers often act as the bridge between employees and support services. Providing them with the skills and confidence to recognise when someone may need help can have a significant impact.
A grounded perspective for leaders
As you review your EAP data, approach it with curiosity rather than panic. A low EAP utilisation rate is not a conclusion but a a prompt to look deeper.
Ask what’s happening in your organisation right now. Consider how employees experience the workplace day to day. Look at whether people know the service exists, trust its confidentiality and can access it without friction. Then compare the EAP data with broader signals, including absenteeism, turnover, engagement, manager capability and psychosocial risk.
The best EAP strategy is not about chasing a bigger number for its own sake. It is about building a support system employees understand, trust and can use when it matters.
Final thoughts
Low EAP utilisation isn't automatically good or bad. It can mean your workplace is functioning well, or it can mean employees are carrying stress without using the support available to them. The difference lies in the surrounding evidence.
For employers, the next step is to move beyond one percentage and build a fuller picture of employee wellbeing. That means better communication, clearer confidentiality messaging, easier access, stronger manager training, and more meaningful measurement.
For employees, speaking with a therapist can be a practical way to understand stress, anxiety, burnout, grief, conflict or personal challenges before they become harder to manage. A well-designed EAP should make that step feel private, simple and worthwhile.
