Exploring the Perceptions of Supervisors in the South African Police Service on Supervisory Referrals

Abstract

The Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) at the South African Police Services (SAPS) is a service established to assist employees who experience both personal and work-related challenges. It is recognised as a unique tool for addressing issues that could impede employees' effectiveness and productivity. Supervisors are recognised as important stakeholders as they are responsible for referring troubled employees to the EAP. This study draws from existing literature that highlights the growing prevalence of organisational stress in the workplace and the high rate of underutilisation of EAP services, despite supervisory training efforts aimed at empowering supervisors to refer employees to the EAP. The primary purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of SAPS supervisors on supervisory referrals. The study employed qualitative research, and purposive sampling was used to recruit nine participants and three key informants at the SAPS to participate in the study. Data was collected through semi-structured one-on-one interviews, guided by an interview schedule, and ethical aspects were considered. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data, to identify themes and contextualise the findings. Findings from the study suggest that supervisors understand their role in supervisory referral and value the importance of employee assistance practitioners (EAPS) rendering supervisory training. The findings further identified constraining factors that hinder supervisory referral, including a lack of trust, poor training attendance and a lack of visibility of EAPS even when the programme is well marketed. Therefore, frequent supervisory trainings and re-evaluation of the marketing strategies and content of the training are recommended.