UNDERSTANDING THE EMPLOYEES’ PERCEPTION AND WILLINGNESS TO SEEK COUNSELING IN THE WORKPLACE

Abstract

Stress in the workplace brought about by one’s personal and professional problems seems to be the focus of many researchers nowadays. The researcher would like to explore in the possibility of strengthening the applicability of workplace counseling in which employee perceptions were first gathered and their willingness to seek counseling in the workplace then recommending possible applications. Counseling in the workplace is said to be an important and useful program or strategy to improve employee’s overall well-being. Quantitative research using survey method was used to gather data. One hundred seventy (170) responseswere gathered using convenience sampling. In general, it was stated that the employees overall well-being is important to an organizations’ success. The research found out that in terms of perceptions to counseling, agency aspects which includes counseling process, counseling fee, handling of personal information and confidentiality are some of the concerns that needs to be addressed in order to implement counseling in the workplace effectively. On the personal and socio-cultural aspects of counseling, in general, the respondents showed positive responses on counseling. On one hand, it was noted that the preference and intention to seek counseling, the respondents preferred their intimate partners and/or friend playing the role of a counselor or “go to person”. Recommendations were provided to maximize the results of this study.