Feeling Anxious?

She was alone, five months pregnant, far from her family. Her husband had just left for the gulf. She'd been having trouble concentrating at work. But when she felt herself losing control, overwhelmed by a rising sense of panic, she dialed the toll-free hot line provided by her company for employees in distress. A counselor on the other end referred her to a local psychologist for help.

In the past few weeks, calls to employee help lines have surged; their personnel have noticed a dramatic increase immediately after evening newscasts. At Managed Health Network in Los Angeles, counselors were handling nearly 4,000 calls a week, more than twice the normal rate. Says Brian Quaresma, who fields calls on the night shift: "Sometimes you pick up the phone, and someone is just crying. They just need to know someone is listening, that you are there."

A fast-growing form of employee health benefit, such employee-assistance programs are now available to workers at four out of five FORTUNE 500 firms. Among the largest providers: Human Affairs International, based in Murray, Utah, and American Psychiatric Management of Arlington, Va. The confidential services offer the kind of comfort, caring and guidance once sought from relatives, neighbors and churches. The callers are typically seeking help with problems that include alcoholism, loneliness, marital stress and layoffs. The help-line workers provide some comforting words, make an initial assessment of the problem and refer callers to professional aid ranging from self-help groups and marriage counseling to psychiatric hospitalization in emergencies.

When Iraq invaded Kuwait last August, an increasing number of overstressed employees began turning to the help lines. In Detroit, Stroh Brewery managers urged anxious workers to call the company's counseling service, Employee Assistance Associates. Callers to that service have included uneasy Arab Americans, workers with relatives serving in the gulf, and many people who are simply so anxious about the war that all they want to do is listen to news bulletins all day. Those who answer the phones can empathize. As Quaresma handled calls late one night last week, he was feeling a bit anxious himself. Said he: "I'm 22. I'm wondering if I'm going to be drafted."