Work/Life Services “Advantage Web” Program Overview
Available through the Employee Assistance Program 800-272-7252
Balancing the competing demands of work and family life can be a very difficult and frustrating task. Work/Life provides a helping hand—a little-extra support to manage life’s frequent challenges. Advantage Web is a website that includes a complete collection of web-based informational tools, provider search features, articles, assessments, calculators and resources supporting all lifecycle and daily living topics.
The 5 modules of Work/Life Services are Family and Caregiving; Emotional Well-being; Health and Wellness; Working Smarter and Daily Living.
Self-Search for Providers
A self-search website feature allows employees to search for child care, elder care, adoption and education resources on the website. Only licensed providers are included in the provider database.
Assisted Search for Providers
An assisted-search website feature allows employees to complete an online intake form and a Work/Life specialist will contact providers that match the criteria requested and furnish the employee with the results.
Live Connect On-line
Employees can converse electronically in real time with a Work/Life Consultant with the Live Connect feature.
Articles
The website includes over 3,000 Resource Center articles/tips. Topics include time management, anxiety, parenting, communication, families, sleep, self-esteem, effective listening, and much more.
Learning Center
The Learning Center includes 350 interactive self-assessments, personal plans, audio messages and articles. Employees can identify their own conversation style and learn how to communicate with people whose style differ.
Relocation Center
Get inside information on a community. This Center lists schools, hospitals and places of worship and provides statistics on crime rates, cost and types of housing, age, income and more.
Savings Center
A free program for savings of up to 25% on name-brand, everyday and luxury items. The Savings Center contains coupons and discounts to various retailers and services.
MEDLINE
MEDLINE has extensive information on over 500 diseases and conditions. There are also lists of hospitals and physicians, a medical encyclopedia and dictionary, extensive information on prescription and nonprescription drugs.
WebMD
WebMD can be used by employees to communicate with their physician’s office.
Assessments
Assessments include Fitness Test, Emotional/Well-being Assessment, Addiction Assessment, Anger Test, Conflict Resolution Assessment, etc.
Skill Builders
Interactive e-learning sessions on workplace and interpersonal topics.
Health Tools
Interactive health resources and assessments.
Audio Tips
Listen to audio tips with topics that include anger, relaxation, assertiveness, goals, listening tips and more.
Calculators
Financial tools will provide answers and explore different options regarding home financing, personal financing, investment and retirement calculators.
Resource Links
Includes links to National Child Care Information Center, National Council on Family Relations, American Institute of Stress, American Medical Associations Physician Finder and much more.
Monthly On-line Seminars
Register online to view monthly seminars on various Work/Life topics.
Work/Life Services can help employees:
Locate Child Care and Elder Care Providers
Finding care options for children and elder family members can be a time-consuming and confusing process. Advantage Work/Life Services saves employees time and frustration with the provider self-search feature on our website. Employees fill in the location, type of service, etc. and are furnished with an instant provider list.
Locate Adoption Resources
Our website can provide employees with information on various adoption resources. A provider self-search feature provides a list of services, professionals, community support groups and important resources, as well as information on international adoptions.
Locate Education Resources
Information is available to help employees plan for their child’s education (from kindergarten through college). A self-search feature produces a list of educational resources. Employees can complete the educational assisted search locator’s on-line intake form and a Counselor will send, within 12 business hours, information that most closely matches their request.
Receive Discounts to Child Care Centers
Discount coupons for over 8,000 child care centers are available with the self-search feature. Employees print the coupon and furnish it to the center when they enroll their child.
Live Healthy
Employees can locate exercise programs or weight loss programs, access nutrition advice and meditation classes, take a heart disease risk assessment, get tips on promoting healthy habits, access smoking cessation information, just to name a few.
Commit to Wellness
Making a commitment to wellness is more than just adding exercise to a schedule or counting calories. Employees can complete a self-guided assessment on sleep habits, cancer risks or eating behavior.
Improve Emotional Well-being
Work/Life Services offers a variety of information and resources about essential mental and emotional health issues including addiction, mood disorders, personal growth, and communication. Understanding feelings and behavior is an important step toward self-awareness, problem solving and well being.
Learn about Common Health Concerns
Facts about prevalent health issues can be accessed by linking to a library of health tips, resources, and assessments with information about screening and prevention, everyday health concerns, and coping with illness.
Care for Older Loved Ones
Caregiving is stressful and time consuming. Our website is full of valuable resources intended to assist employees with managing their caregiving responsibilities by providing access to health assessments, drug interaction tools and personal prevention profiles. Articles include topics on the aging process, housing options, safety, caregiver support and much more.
Foster Positive Family Communication
Parenting support groups, articles on communication, strategies to ease the tension among siblings, articles to help them run “family meetings”, resources to help employees talk with their children about alcohol and drug use, and other information is available to help employees foster positive family communication.
Improve Parenting Skills
Caring for infants, dealing with toddler tantrums or setting limits for teenagers can challenge even the most experienced parents. Parents can listen to audio tips on parenting or read articles on activities for helping children deal with divorce, a parent’s guide to internet safety, building positive self-esteem and much more.
Work Smarter
Our website contains several articles that assist employees and managers in working smarter. Article topics include time management, resolving conflicts, stress at work, dealing with difficult employees, and much more. Skill Builder includes a variety of interactive skill builders from management techniques to improving career skills.
Learn about Stress
Employees can take a stress assessment or read articles on stress that include Stress at Work, Tips on Coping with Extreme Stress, and A Word to the Wise: Stress Control. Skill builders assist employees with managing stress and recognizing and avoiding burnout. Additionally, they can link to the American Institute on Stress.
Create Successful Students
Younger children need to master study and organizational habits necessary to balance the demands of higher education later in life. Our website includes articles on school success and early learning. Parents can learn how to save for college and download school report cards to learn how their local public school stacks up.
Link to Financial Information
Information is available on financial planning, saving and investing. Employees can read articles on finances that include How to Set and Attain Financial Goals. Financial calculators can be used to figure out how much the employee will save if they make extra mortgage payments, how long it will take to pay off their credit cards, how much money they can save, or determine whether they are saving enough for retirement. A link to TaxACT offers a variety of free and low-cost, on-line tax preparation options.
Become Wise Consumers
Employees can become wise consumers by reading articles that include home buying, fuel saving tips, insurance, buying a new or used car, computers, appliances, holiday spending, how to protect themselves from false advertising, and much more. A resource link retrieves the “Crash Test Ratings Lookup” for automobiles.
Pet Care
The pet care library has been dramatically expanded due to a partnership with the Humane Society. Additionally, employees can locate pet sitters and make their pet happier by getting tips on everything from diet to travel. Articles include topics on adopting a pet, buying a puppy, choosing the right dog or cat, aggression between family cats, allergies to pets, keeping pets healthy and much more.
Link to Volunteer Information
Employees can search for volunteer opportunities in their area as well as read articles on volunteering. Volunteer links include Red Cross Blood Drive locator, Volunteer Match, and Volunteer Web Portal.
Plan a Vacation
Employees can take advantage of our Travel and Recreation page and make their dream vacation a reality. Articles include topics on air travel, stress-free summer activities, travel safety, national parks, traveling with your pet and more. Links include Free Travel Tips, MapQuest, Dog Park Locator, Great Museums, GasBuddy-find gasoline bargains, and more.
Treasure the Moments with Older Relatives
Older family members can provide a valuable link to the past by telling the story of shared family history—but many people face memory problems as they age. Employees can visit resource links that can point them toward activities and interview questions that can help document precious family history or listen to an audio tip that describes a variety of conditions that can lead to memory loss.
Complete a Health Risk Assessment
The on-line Total Health Grade Health Risk Assessment grades the employee’s overall health by assessing fitness, nutrition, stress levels, coping skills, personal safety habits, heart health and cancer resistance. A personal health risk assessment is provided, accompanied by recommendations for healthier living.
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