Impact
Work
THEMe: Employee engagement and wellbeing

How to reduce absenteeism

The current crisis of absenteeism at work is more than a HR metric—it’s a wake-up call.

Behind the numbers lie real people, struggling with stress, disconnection, or a work culture that doesn’t support their health and motivation. In today’s world of hybrid teams, high workloads, and rising mental health challenges, traditional approaches like rigid return-to-work policies or surface-level wellness perks are no longer enough.

That’s we as ImpactWork can help. We guide your shift from reactive absence management to a proactive, sustainable strategy rooted in employee wellbeing, engagement, and future-proof HR design. No quick fixes, but long-term solutions. 

94%
of Dutch employees consider a healthy work-life balance a top priority. 61% would reject a job offer if it disrupted that balance.
Why?

The Challenge: 

Absenteeism isn’t random—it’s the result of underlying friction between people and their work. And the numbers are telling: stress-related absence is rising sharply across sectors, especially in roles with high emotional or cognitive load. Hybrid and remote work models—while offering flexibility—also bring isolation, blurred boundaries, and fatigue.

Here’s what we’re really dealing with:

  • Rising burnout due to chronic stress and lack of recovery time

  • Low engagement—employees feel disconnected from purpose and leadership

  • Inflexible HR models that don’t reflect how people really work today

  • Lack of psychological safety and poor team dynamics that go unaddressed

Left unchecked, absenteeism erodes productivity, burdens teams, and weakens your employer brand. It's a business risk—one that grows over time.

Our approach.

Our starting point? Understanding what’s really going on. We begin by analysing the key drivers of absenteeism in your organisation—ranging from workload imbalances and leadership gaps to psychological safety, team dynamics, and systemic stressors. We look at both hard data and human stories, combining absence rates with feedback from employees, managers, and HR.

Once we have a clear picture, we co-create a solution with your internal stakeholders. This includes:

Mapping the employee journey
We use tools like journey mapping and segmentation to uncover critical friction points—moments where people disconnect, become overwhelmed, or start withdrawing. 
Embedding wellbeing into work design
We redesign roles, workflows, and team rhythms to support energy and recovery.
Training leaders to spot and solve early signals
Absenteeism prevention starts with leadership. 
''Reducing absenteeism isn’t about managing presence—it’s about creating a workplace people don’t want to escape from. ''
— ImpactWork.

The impact.

Lower absenteeism isn’t just a cost saver—it’s a culture signal.

When employees feel supported, healthy, and valued, they show up. And when they do, your entire organisation benefits.

Here’s what starts to shift:

  • Higher productivity – Less disruption, more energy, stronger team performance.

  • Stronger retention – Wellbeing builds trust—and trust keeps people.

  • Better leadership – Managers spot early signs of burnout and act with empathy.

  • Attractive employer brand – A low-absence culture attracts purpose-driven talent.

  • Sustainable growth – Fixing absenteeism means fixing broken systems too.

Reduced absence is more than a metric—it’s proof your employee experience works.

HR medewerker met oorbellen in stijl van Wes Anderson

Want to get started with employee wellbeing?

Discover how our services can help you with your employee wellbeing and employee engagement. From redefining your entire HR strategy to helping you improve employee experience and intervening where necessary. We help you pave the way towards a better employee experience with increased workforce productivity!

Let's create a workplace where working wellbeing is central- and we can all thrive!

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of HR executives expect talent shortages in the coming three years.

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avatar
Jildert Huitema
|
Co-founder ImpactWork
There's many challenges in the world of work, but together we can tackle them. With a passionate team, we're here to help you improve your HR strategically and creating thriving workplaces. Check our services pages for more information on how we can help, and feel free to reach out!
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Increasing engagement and workplace wellbeing can help boost retention and productivity. Happy employees = thriving business!

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