Life Coaching Is Here

(This article appears in the November-December 2013 edition of The American Postal Worker.)

Sue Carney, Director

Life Coaching is a new, innovative resource that’s available to postal employees and their families through the Employees Assistance Program (EAP). Life Coaching is not counseling or therapy; it’s a program designed to facilitate personal growth and help individuals enjoy a happier, healthier life.

We all know lifestyle choices have a direct impact on our health and well-being. What’s not as well-known, perhaps, is that lifestyle behaviors are the #1 manageable risk factor in developing chronic health conditions. Most of us, at some point, have tried to make changes but have had trouble staying motivated, and have let our busy lives or lack of direction deter us.

Well, with Life Coaching we don’t have to go it alone. Trained EAP professionals work one-on- one with participants to help them achieve their goals. With the assistance of an EAP coach, program users develop a plan, create targets, and learn how to navigate past obstacles. Coaches are trained to promote self-awareness, enhance skills, and are equipped to keep us inspired.

Life Coaching can help us address unhealthy behaviors such as overeating, sedentary lifestyles, smoking, sleep deprivation and stress. Maybe you’ve been snapping at the kids, finding it difficult to pass on the pie, or need a little push to get on the treadmill. Life Coaching can help. This new resource can also help us build or repair relationships, improve our finances, help reveal our interests, and teach us how to become active volunteers. The program can even help us develop our leadership and communication skills. If you have trouble dealing with difficult people, want to declutter or need to get organized, want to learn how to say no or become more assertive, you might want to give EAP Life Coaching a try. No matter what the goal, Life Coaching can help achieve it.

And Life Coaching is convenient. Recognizing most of us have limited free time, most coaching sessions take less than 15 minutes. Participants can communicate with a coach face-to-face or by telephone, and in some situations by email. Sessions can be scheduled as often as a once a week or as infrequently as monthly, depending on the timetable we set with our coach and subject to our availability.

Our coach will contact us occasionally to check on our progress, offer encouragement, and make sure we are staying motivated. If we encounter a problem or begin to feel overwhelmed, our Life Coach is easily accessible to help us make adjustments to keep us on track.

Leadership Resources

EAP can also be a useful resource to union officers and stewards. The program can assist representatives with many of the challenges they encounter in their workday.

EAP leadership consultations can be situation-specific — associated with a particular event, problem or concern — or they can be broader in nature. Most often only one meeting with an EAP District Consultant is required. Sessions can be offered in a group setting or done one-on-one; they can be conducted by phone or in person. Services can assist union leaders in a variety of areas, such as:

• Motivating the membership
• Helping committees achieve objectives
• Dealing with organizational change
• Enhancing communication skills
• Problem solving
• Making EAP referrals
• Crisis response
• Stress busters

To start a free and confidential coaching session or to coordinate a union consultation, call EAP at 800-327- 4968 (TTY: 800-327-4968).

To learn more about what your EAP can do for you, visit www.EAP4you.com.