EAP in 2028is employee assistance “tech proof”?

PresenterMarina London, LCSW, CEAP

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Mini mental status exam

Three unrelated concepts:• “Tech proof”• 2028• Employee assistance

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So… I went to VegasI hadn’t been there since 1972

And all of my friends said “wait until you see how much it’s changed.”

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…I wanted to have the complete Vegas experience

…the slot machine was invented in 1895

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…blackjack was first played in the 18th century

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…Cirque du Soleil

The modern circus dates from the 18th century

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…comedy

is as old as the ancient Greeks

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…Magic has been around forever

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…beautiful women have been on display since antiquity

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That’s when it hit me• The Vegas experience: playing the slots

and blackjack, going to the circus, magic and comedy shows, existed before computers and the Internet.• It hasn’t changed at all.• Las Vegas is "tech proof”

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What do I mean by “Tech proof”

• Those objects, activities, feelings or experiences that continue to exist • regardless of advances in technology

and science.

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2028 is 12 years from now

In a speech about “The Future”, Al Gore stated:• There is no prior period of change that

remotely resembles what humanity is about the experience.

• We have gone through revolutionary periods before. But not as powerful or as filled with peril and opportunity - as the ones beginning to unfold.

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Facts about the world in 2028• Islam will be the world's largest religion with 2.2 billion

followers• The "average” person will be a 34 year man from India• 50% of today's jobs will be replaced by artificial

intelligence• It will be possible to store the entire contents of the

Internet on DNA • Most cars will be driverless• 1 in 3 people will live beyond 100 years of age.

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And what will that world look like?

• “Borrowed” 9 of Fast Company magazine’s key predictions for the next 20 years

• and thought about what they mean for EA

• http://www.fastcompany.com/3052872/twenty-predictions-for-the-next-20-years

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Prediction 1: speed will triumph

Every industry has to be prepared for frequent iteration and redefinition and embrace change.

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Implication for EA

EA incorporate evidence based practices and knowledge – as they develop• EAPs will delivers services in novel ways through

text/chat/video-counseling• on cutting edge devices – apple watch• Include the use of evidence based apps

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Prediction 2: Malala will build

• Malala Yousafzai won the Nobel Peace Prize as a teenager

• She represents the leading edge of a cohort: young talent growing up in obscure corners of the globe.

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Implication for EA

• Huge opportunities in China, India, and Africa for EAP growth and practice.

• US EA professionals may be restricted to video counseling in your state but not the world

• Opportunity to deliver remote management consultation and services in Siberia

• Maybe even on Mars – ‘cause we are def going there in the 2030s

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Prediction 3: Digital Tools Will Unlock Opportunity

• Inequality remains rampant across the United States and around the world. • But rising mobile penetration offers

the potential to shift that dynamic.

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Implication for EA

• The clients of tomorrow will not be confined by geography • Nor will employee assistance

professionals• Return to the office model – except it

will be a virtual office enabled by the global spread of the Internet and mobile devices.

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Prediction 4: Diversity will deepen

• Our population is becoming increasingly heterogeneous.

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Implication for EA

Get ready to serve: • five generations of • multi racial, • multi ethnic • And multi gendered clients.

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Prediction 5: Professional Training Will Be Rewritten

• As our knowledge expands beyond any human ability to retain mass quantities of information,

• the EA professionals of the future will have to become data interpreters,

• tapping into Watson-like technical tools to both evaluate situations and optimize interventions.

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Implication for EA

• We will access the best tools, resources and interventions for our clients – instantly – during our meetings

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Prediction 6: for EAPs, cybersecurity Will Be Costly

• Every company is a "tech company” - because we all use technology to operate.

• We are all vulnerable to cyber disruption• whether from hackers or incompetence.

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Implication for EA

• Are your social networks HIPAA compliant? • Do you understand encryption? • Are your client records safe?• Under what circumstances and how will you

release EAP records?• You may need to hire an expert to be sure

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Prediction 7: We Will All Be Family

• The ongoing wave of technological change will only draw us into closer proximity. • It will be increasingly difficult to ignore

the troubles in other parts of the globe.

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Implication for EA

• Any terrorist attack creates anxiety everywhere in the world and may lead to a client calling EAP because they no longer feel safe.

• Pandemics like the Zika virus. • Think globally.

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Prediction 8: DNA Will Be Unstoppable

The decoding of the human genome has already launched a wave of new treatments and approaches. Inspiring as these examples are, the impact of genetic data is in its infancy.

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Implication for EA

Many mental disorders will be treated with individually targeted medication. Will the role of talk therapy change?

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Prediction 9: Human Empathy Will Be Central

• As machine learning and artificial intelligence penetrate ever more deeply into the workplace, • the one arena that will never be

usurped by technology is human-to-human communication.

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Implication for EA

EAP Core Technology: • “Consultation with, training of, and assistance to

work organization leadership”• “Use of constructive confrontation, motivation,

and short-term intervention with employee clients to address problems that affect job performance”

• relevant in 2016, still relevant in 2028

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Remember those 3 concepts?

EAP“Tech Proof”

“2028”

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Contact

Marina London, LCSW, CEAP www.iwebu.info

webeditor@eapassn.org