The American Psychological Association has awarded the University of Southern California with a Best Practices Honor for fostering a psychologically healthy work environment, crediting its Center for Work & Family Life for successfully addressing work-life challenges.

The center, which is affiliated with the USC School of Social Work, is an employee assistance program for faculty, staff and their dependents to obtain free, confidential counseling and resources on personal and work-related concerns. USC was the first to introduce the concept of an EAP in a university setting.

“Attending to the psychological, social and human service needs of workers should never be seen as extraneous to the goals, mission and success of an organization,” said John Gaspari, executive director of the center who accepted the award on behalf of the university at the association’s annual awards ceremony March 9 in Washington, D.C. “Organizations, like ours, are intensely human endeavors.  This award not only recognizes our good work in supporting the health and well-being of our employees, but serves as an important focal point for ensuring the continued integration of business imperatives with humane business practices.”

In choosing USC for this award, the American Psychological Association noted that the university has shown its commitment to employees by establishing and maintaining the Center for Work & Family Life, which has offered an array of services, including stress assessments, referrals for dependent care and workplace dynamics consultation, for more than 30 years. The center also administers the USC Healthy Trojans website, which features campus resources dedicated to enhancing psychological, emotional, intellectual and social wellness.

The center was founded by the late Frances Feldman, MSW ’40, a pioneer in the field of social work and longtime USC faculty member who joined the School of Social Work in 1954. Her seminal research on the effects of money stress on families resulted in the founding of the consumer credit counseling movement, and her research on familial stress and worker productivity paved the way for the industrial social work specialization at the school, the first such curriculum in the West.

"Frances recognized the importance, well before most, that the university's efforts to assist faculty and staff in the integration of their work and personal lives would pay dividends for both the individual and the enterprise," Gaspari said.

USC was one of nine organizations to receive the Best Practices recognition this year for having a program or policy that contributes to a psychologically healthy work environment and meets the unique needs of the organization and its employees. The university previously won the California Psychological Association’s state-level Best Practices Honor and Psychologically Healthy Workplace Award in 2006 and 2008, respectively.

“Forward-thinking employers such as the University of Southern California are taking steps to create a positive work environment where employees can thrive,” said David Ballard, head of the American Psychological Association’s Center for Organizational Excellence. “In turn, employees are more engaged and committed to the organization’s success. This shared responsibility for creating a psychologically healthy workplace promotes an organizational culture that values well-being and performance and delivers results on both sides of the equation.”