Why invest in prevention of absenteeism due to illness…

In 2021, my world turned completely upside down overnight. I was diagnosed with breast cancer and ended up in a situation that I had seen many times before as a sustainable employability business partner at Centraal Beheer. In my work I speak to entrepreneurs and employers and advise them on how they can best deal with absenteeism and how to prevent it. And then suddenly I became a direct object myself.

There is no uniform answer to long-term absenteeism

The impact of the diagnosis was enormous. In my private life, but also at my work. Not only for myself, but also for my employer, manager and colleagues. When someone disappears, many questions arise. How do you deal with a colleague who is out of the running and what do you do with the work that is piling up? Do you divide the extra burden among colleagues, or do you have to switch gears and hire someone else, temporarily or otherwise? These are all questions to which there is no single, uniform answer, and which can completely surprise you as an entrepreneur.

Include the others in the process

At work, I have constantly informed my manager, colleagues and employer about my illness and treatment. This created openness and made coordination about reintegration possible. In the beginning I consciously came out in the media. I made podcasts for employers and fellow sufferers, and I also continued to write. I was suddenly in the middle of the theme that I deal with every day in my work. By sharing my experiences with others, the disease became meaningful and I was able to keep busy during the first treatments. I did consciously step away from direct customer contact for a while. My energy was not reliable for a while and therefore customers could not count on me the way they should. Fortunately, my manager understood that and we were able to divide the tasks fairly within the team.

Have the honest conversation

Although there is no uniform answer to the question of how to deal with long-term absenteeism, two things are extremely important: provide trust and have an honest conversation. Look at possibilities, what is still possible, but also be realistic. Give time and be patient. What helped me a lot was the question from my employer, ‘what do you need?’ People are naturally inclined to create distance around absenteeism, to give someone peace of mind, because that person already has enough on his or her mind. And although that intention is good, it often achieves the opposite. Maintain that involvement, but also be realistic. In the event of long-term absenteeism, the Gatekeeper Improvement Act comes into effect and the inevitable question follows: can you still reintegrate into your current job? This is often only discussed when the time comes, but then you are actually too late. It is confrontational, but be transparent and indicate this at an early stage as an employer or reintegration counselor.

The importance of giving and keeping trust

The last phase of chemotherapy in particular had a great impact. I was no longer able to think with my head. At that moment I really left it completely, but because I have always remained open to my manager and colleagues, and they to me, I also felt a lot of support afterwards. Trust is essential and provided me with something to hold on to. Not only trust from the employer, but also from myself in my own talents. Of course I worried about whether I would still be able to do the work, but I received excellent guidance on the way back. Together with the company doctor, we looked at the load capacity and how we could rebuild this. My supervisor from the hospital had a holistic approach and looked at the total picture of work and private life. By building it up in blocks of three weeks, I was able to return to my position step by step. Starting small is essential. Spend thirty minutes a day calling colleagues or reading up on the subject, but don’t suddenly dive into the deep end.

Employee employability starts with prevention

I have now been working full-time again since January this year. I now use my own experiences as a source of inspiration to show entrepreneurs and employers how important employability is and how important it is to work on it preventively. Entrepreneurs are constantly busy establishing and growing their business. Absenteeism prevention falls under the better-not scenario, but you are aware of the impact that absenteeism has on your business and your other employees. Absenteeism due to illness should not only be a topic when it occurs, but also beforehand.

Use your role model preventively

I am currently working with entrepreneurs and employers on the ‘Fit for Work’ programme. How do you and your employees stay vital, agile and up to date? It is very important that entrepreneurs are aware of the importance of a good balance between effort and relaxation, also for themselves. Entrepreneurs have an exemplary role and must preventively determine that balance for their staff, but certainly also for themselves. Is it feasible, does it still give you energy? Make this a topic of discussion, because it also helps enormously in preventing absenteeism due to illness. Think preventively about how to deal with matters such as insurance, ongoing costs and shifting tasks to colleagues without the workload becoming too high. Are you insured for this or are you taking the risk? Do you have the knowledge and time to guide sick employees with reintegration yourself or is it better to outsource this? All choices to be made in advance. But that is exactly what entrepreneurs can do like no other. And if you still have questions, you can always contact me.