About Us

Our History

World-class employee support delivered around the corner, around the clock, and around the globe.Workplace Options is a leader in customised work-life services and Employee Assistance Programmes all over the world.

Founded in 1981 as Employee Advisory Resource, we were a pioneer in the provision of employee effectiveness services and were the first to introduce the concept of Employee Assistance Programmes to the UK. Employee Advisory Resource’s roots reached further back however – to the internal employee assistance department of Control Data Corporation - which is a legacy that made EAR particularly sensitive to serving the unique needs of corporate clients. EAR’s reputation grew as it developed truly innovative, tailored Employee Assistance Programmes for organisations and their employees.

At the same time, in Raleigh, United States, Workplace Options began to provide work-life consulting and training to corporations. In 1997, they launched a new business model that focused exclusively on providing resource and referral solutions to EAP and third-party organisations. In 2005, Workplace Options established a partnership with Accor Services North America, the parent company of Work-Life Benefits (Workplace Options’ parent company) to provide management and operational support to that organisation. This created an even stronger range of work-life services and allowed them to leverage their technology and service infrastructures to expand capacity and implement cutting-edge technologies. Workplace Options grew to become the largest provider of work-life services in the United States.

In 2006, Workplace Options acquired Employee Advisory Resource in the UK, which had by this time, established itself as one of the leading providers of Employee Assistance Programmes and integrated work-life services, both in the UK, and across the globe.

After nearly four successful years of working together to provide truly global Employee Assistance Programmes and work-life services, in 2010, Employee Advisory Resource proudly adopted the name of Workplace Options, to reflect itself more accurately as part of the global organisation we have now become.