Only fraction of employers have policies on wellbeing and long-term absenteeism

Only 7% of employers in Belgium have a policy around long-term absences among staff. Such a policy – which has been legally required since 2022 – should include prevention of burnout or other conditions that keep employees away for weeks or months, as well as a re-integration plan for returning employees.

“Employers often simply don’t know how to go about creating such a policy,” says Christel Schabon of Mensura, the occupational health service that carried out a survey among 600 companies. “And especially smaller companies don’t see the point of making the effort.”

Most companies have ad-hoc ways of tackling absenteeism, she notes, but do not create a culture or room to talk about wellbeing in the workplace. “It’s about implementing an overall approach, not just putting something on paper.”

Two-thirds of the companies said they offer an alternative work schedule or tasks to employees returning after a long-term absence, but this does not match up with the employees’ responses. Only half of them report that they were offered adjusted working conditions. “Again, it’s the smaller companies that struggle with that,” notes Schabon.

Mensura’s study also shows that in 40% of companies employees do not feel safe or comfortable talking about stress or their workload. Schabon says that companies only benefit from creating an environment where these problems can be discussed openly.

“Younger generations find wellbeing at work really important,” she says. “If companies want to attract young employees, then they need to start paying attention to prevention and absence.”