ABSTRACT
The earliest example of helping services in the workplace is the welfare department. The welfare department can be traced back to the early 1900s, where employers encouraged mature employees to 'look after' the welfare of their employees. The occupational health department within organizations has often indirectly provided a form of counselling service. In 1971 the British Institute of Management conducted a survey of 200 firms in the UK enquiring about their provisions for health care. In 1977 the Standing Conference for the Advancement of Counselling, the forerunner of the British Association for Counselling (BAC), published the first book that discussed the need for and application of counselling at work. A written policy statement of overall philosophy concerning the health and well-being of employees or which addresses specific features, for example alcohol, should be available. The UK has seen agencies such as Alcohol Concern establish a government-funded workplace unit to promote the adoption of educative programmes and policies in the workplace.
