#sickness-absence

#sickness-absence

Sick days are costing the whole of the UK a lot of money, and that's one of the reasons we're involved in the prevention sprint, to look at ways to try and stop people from becoming ill in the first place.

For decades, work was designed around a fiction, that of the 'neutral' worker, an abstract individual assumed to be fully available, consistent, rational, and unaffected by bodily constraints. But this neutrality was never real.

"The clothing works with me, like another colleague," wrote the shunting attendant on the blog of the Cologne-based workwear manufacturer Bierbaum-Proenen.

My husband has just been let go from his fourth job in five years. The first time it happened was during Covid when he was laid off, but it seemed to start a pattern.

My co-worker, "Alyssa," joined the office a few months ago. As far as I can tell, she is significantly hard of hearing but doesn't use any hearing aid. I've tried to train myself to speak loudly and clearly with her (I have family who are going deaf, I get it), but she still often misses part of what I say.

Workplace wellness programs have exploded over the past decade or so, with companies rolling out a suite of subsidized perks, such as gym discounts, mental health apps, and other benefits aimed at attracting and retaining workers. The pandemic upped the ante even more - in the face of a tight labor market and a hyper-stressed workforce, plenty of business leaders looked around and thought, "Well, a Zoom meditation session can't hurt, right?"

Resume Builder reported last October that 30% of companies will eliminate remote work in 2026. According to a survey of business leaders by Vena Solutions , a private financial software company, 83% of CEOs globally anticipate a return to full-time office work in 2027. But what if there's a better way to frame this conversation? What if the focus shifts away from where employees are working to when employees are working?

Being a leader today requires a new level of performance. One that overrides fatigue, can suppress internal signals, and absorbs constant urgency, all while rapidly context-switching. Simply said, modern leadership demands have increased, and not everyone is-or wants to stay-on board. Today's leaders face growing expectations, dynamic responsibilities, and constant pressure to perform amid deep uncertainty and an ever-accelerating business ecosystem.

Most company policies are written for a hypothetical, 'best-case' employee: rational, attentive, well-rested, and operating in a low-pressure environment. They assume employees will read the rules carefully, remember them, and apply them consistently at the point of purchase. As appealing as this assumption may be, it bears little resemblance to how real workplaces operate.