Psychological absenteeism: recognise the signs and tackle the causes

Recognising the signs

“We know that absenteeism due to stress and tension is most common among employees aged 25 to 45. This is the period when a lot can change in their private situation: they start their first job, buy their first house, have children. It remains personal, of course, but you can be extra alert to colleagues you know are dealing with major changes in their lives,” says Jan Machek, psychologist at ArboNed.

You can train managers and colleagues to recognise signs of psychological complaints. This way, you increase the likelihood of engaging in the conversation earlier and prevent complaints from piling up. Support from the manager plays an important role in this. Data from HumanCapitalCare shows that experiencing support from the manager has a correlation with lower levels of stress complaints.

Gaining an understanding

Besides recognising the signs, it is especially important to address the cause. Feelings of stress or working under high pressure are risk factors that need attention at the organisational level. A preventive medical examination (PME), which employers are required by law to perform frequently, gives an understanding of the psychosocial workload of employees: how do they experience work pressure within their organisation? How is the relationship with their manager/colleagues? Do they experience any undesirable behaviour? Based on that understanding, employers and employees can set goals and initiate corresponding actions to address the causes.

Safe culture

In the workplace, more than one in three employees keep quiet about mental problems. Fear of negative career consequences or shame perpetuate the taboo. As a result, the subject is not discussed or is discussed too late. You only break this by creating a culture where employees feel safe to raise the alarm and discuss these complaints. Machek: “We call this psychological safety, which is about the unwritten rules in dealing with each other. It is important that employees experience the space to be in charge of their own work and that they can indicate when things are not going well or are getting a bit too much.”

Good leadership

A psychologically safe work environment and a good relationship with the manager reduce the likelihood of absenteeism due to psychological complaints. Unfortunately, in practice, such a good relationship does not come naturally. Research (NEA 2021) shows that 12% of all employees experience little social support from their manager. Discussing your mental health is difficult in that case. Data from HumanCapitalCare and ArboNed also show that one in five employees never or only sometimes feel appreciated by their manager. Appreciation from the manager has been shown to reduce the likelihood of stress-related complaints. At the same time, appreciation from the manager also increases employee job satisfaction and engagement.

Job satisfaction

Unwanted changes in work can also lead to psychological complaints. Research by Academische Werkplaats Arbeid en Gezondheid Tranzo and others shows that job content can be a barrier to returning to work. Employees who experience this no longer enjoy the content of their job. Step by step, they have moved further and further away from what they find valuable in their work. As a result, working costs them too much energy. Therefore, regularly discuss with employees whether they experience enough job satisfaction and whether they can exert enough influence on this themselves. The Work as Value questionnaire, which can be added to the Preventive Medical Examination (PME), is a great tool for this. Do employees experience not enough job satisfaction or influence? If so, employers and employees can address this preventively and look for solutions such as career coaching or look at other, more challenging tasks to regain job satisfaction.

Professional guidance for organisations

Organisational stress management policies are necessary in order to provide a structural solution to unhealthy stress. A sustainable solution is not about fighting the symptoms, but about developing policies aimed at solving or removing the causes. Employers and employees each have a responsibility in this. The timely identification and discussion of tension, stress or psychological complaints can prevent a lot of problems. Because the longer you wait, the worse complaints often become. And that benefits no one. As an employer, therefore, seek professional help in time, as stress can be prevented in many cases with the right approach and support.