5 Leadership skills that help prevent absenteeism

5 Leadership skills that help prevent absenteeism

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Why does one employee stay engaged while another withdraws? And what is the real influence of a manager on that difference?

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In many organizations, absenteeism is still mainly viewed as something that “happens”. Someone calls in sick, HR starts the process, the company doctor gets involved. But more and more research and practical experience show that absenteeism is often impressionable behavior and that leadership style plays a fundamental role in this.

Illness alone is rarely the only explanation for failure. Behavior, work environment, communication and work experience are just as important. And that's where managers, consciously or unconsciously, have a lot of influence.

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At Empowr, we have worked with dozens of organizations in recent years to increase sustainable employability. What we see time and time again: the influence of the immediate manager is enormous. Not only in assisting absenteeism, but precisely in preventing it.

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Most managers really want to do the right thing. They want to be involved, offer support, set boundaries and help employees grow. But they sometimes lack the language, the tools, or simply the space to do that properly.

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What do the numbers say?

• • 36% long-term absenteeism occurs as early as the first year of service (TON, 2023). This can often be traced back to mental overload, insufficient guidance or a lack of connection.
  • Mental complaints are now the main cause of long-term failure (Trimbos, 2024). In many cases, it is not about a medical diagnosis, but about overload that has long been ignored or undiscussed.
  • Teams with a high level of psychological safety have 27% less absenteeism and are demonstrably performing better (Harvard Business Review, 2021).
  • According to (Gallup, 2023) the manager is responsible for 70% of the team's involvement, a direct predictor of well-being, absenteeism and turnover.
  
  

These figures underline what has been felt in practice for a long time: the role of the manager is crucial in preventing failure.

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What can managers do themselves?

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1. Have meaningful conversations before it's too late

Many conversations about absenteeism only start when the absenteeism has already started. While it is precisely the preventive dialogue that makes the difference. Questions like:

• • How are you (personally) doing today?
  • What do you need to do your job well?
  • Where do you lose energy, where do you get it from?
  • What do I see about you that I don't understand yet?
  • What's going on in your work this week?
  • What do you need support or clarity with?
  
  

It's about real contact before the problem escalates. Research into psychological safety shows that employees who feel heard are more likely to ask for help, experience less stress and are less likely to drop out (McKinsey, 2022).

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An easy exercise: introduce a rhythmic moment of reflection with your team or individuals, asking three questions each month:

1. • “How are you?”
   • “What's going well at your job?”
   • “What is hindering your energy or focus?”

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2. The power of coaching

We notice that managers who develop a coaching attitude are more likely to catch signals and are better able to stay connected, even when things get tough. Coaching leadership does not mean becoming a therapist. Well that you:

• • Asks instead of filling in
  • Delay dares to build in
  • Pay attention to the process, not just the goal

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3. Look at behavior, not medical causes

A lot of absenteeism does not start with illness, but with uncertainty, increasing tension or loss of direction. It is often a response to imbalance. This imbalance is usually visible in behavior. Employees feel insufficiently seen or heard, increasing irritation and withdrawing.

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A behavioral approach asks managers not to seek a diagnosis, but to discuss behavior.
For example:

• • “I notice that you are less visible in meetings, is that right?”‍

• “I see that you're not meeting your deadlines as well as usual, how are you doing with your energy?”

The goal is not to solve the problem, but to make it negotiable so that the employee can take control again.

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4. Develop a coaching attitude

Coaching leadership is not a soft skills buzzword, but an approach that helps strengthen responsibility, growth and autonomy. Not by offering solutions, but by offering space for reflection, feedback and initiative.

According to the Gallup (2023) platform, teams thrive among executives who:

• • Do regular individual check-ins (at least every 2 weeks)
  • Ask specific questions instead of giving instructions
  • Focus on development rather than just performance
  
  

Simple tools such as motivational interviewing, the Starr method or a short reflection scan can help to make that attitude concrete in practice.

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5. Reflect on your own patterns

Good leadership starts with knowing who you are.

• • What triggers you?
  • What are you avoiding?
  • How do you react when someone withdraws?

Leaders who deal with this consciously are noticeably more effective because they can act from rest, rather than reflexively. This requires practice, space, and sometimes external guidance.

Research shows that leaders who reflect or are regularly supervised develop more action repertoire and experience more impact in conversations about employability.

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At Empowr, we don't believe in the solution or model. What we do believe and see every day is that small behavioral changes among managers make a big difference in how employees thrive or drop out.
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Preventing absenteeism does not require perfect leadership. Conscious leadership, though. Leaders who dare to slow down, listen, adjust and take themselves seriously.

We are here to empower them in this. Not as an all-rounder, but as a partner with knowledge, experience and the right questions at the right time.

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