See how our solution helps HR leaders boost engagement and reduce absenteeism.
For several years now, companies have been facing the growing challenge of employee absenteeism. In France, for example, in 2023 one out of every two employees received at least one medical leave, and long-term absences are lasting longer than ever. This trend reflects a broader issue in the world of work—and it can have serious consequences for both employees and organizations.
Fortunately, there are ways to better anticipate and, above all, prevent these absences. teale is one of the solutions designed to support your workplace well-being strategy.
Absenteeism refers to periods during which an employee is absent from work outside of official leave (vacation, maternity leave, etc.). These are unplanned absences, whether due to health issues, personal reasons, or professional difficulties.
Measuring absenteeism helps organizations understand the scale of the phenomenon and take corrective action if needed. The most common formula is:(number of days absent ÷ total theoretical working days) x 100.
For example, if a company records 1,000 working days and 50 absence days, the absenteeism rate is 5%. This can be calculated annually across the company, but also broken down by department, period of the year, and more.
It is also useful to analyze related data, such as the average duration of absences or the proportion of sick leave among total absences.
It is important to distinguish absenteeism from two related but different notions: turnover and presenteeism.
Whether your absenteeism rate is high, average, or relatively low, it is an issue that HR leaders, managers, and executives must take seriously. Unplanned absences carry direct costs—but also hidden costs that can be just as damaging.
The financial burden of absenteeism includes direct costs: companies must continue paying salaries during absences, temporarily replace employees, and manage productivity losses. Temporary replacements may require using contractors or freelancers, who are often more expensive than permanent employees.
Absenteeism also affects the social climate within teams. When employees are frequently absent, their colleagues may face work overload, higher stress, and lower motivation. This can lead to tension and conflict, undermining cohesion and collaboration.
A poor social climate can, in turn, fuel higher turnover, creating a vicious cycle: absenteeism worsens working conditions, which pushes more employees to leave.
A workplace with high absenteeism may be perceived as stressful or unsatisfying. This perception damages the employer brand, discouraging potential candidates from applying and encouraging current employees to seek opportunities elsewhere.
In today’s labor market, this can create additional challenges: understaffing, reputational risks with clients, and higher recruitment costs.
Repeated absences can also affect the quality of services or products. Temporary replacements and heavier workloads for remaining employees often result in errors, delays, and a general decline in quality. Over time, this directly impacts customer satisfaction, loyalty, and profitability.
The causes of absenteeism are multiple, but often tied to working conditions, workplace climate, workload, stress, occupational illnesses, and accidents. All of these connect directly to employee well-being and mental health at work.
Psychological issues are now among the leading causes of sick leave worldwide. In France, they accounted for around 15% of all medical leaves in 2023—and were the top cause of long-term absences.
The root problem often lies in chronic stress and its consequences for well-being and physical health. Stress undermines cognitive abilities, sleep quality, immune system functioning, and can lead to burnout or other illnesses.
When employees need psychological support but do not have access to adequate care, they often end up requiring extended sick leave. This highlights the direct link between poor mental health and rising absenteeism.
One of the most effective levers against absenteeism is to improve employee mental health through preventive measures and support programs. Employees themselves expect this: 76% consider their company responsible for employee mental health.
Key strategies include:
teale has developed an innovative workplace mental health solution designed to support employee well-being strategies and help companies reduce absenteeism.
The approach has two complementary dimensions:
At the individual level, teale provides each employee with a personalized program to reduce stress and improve overall well-being. Programs include stress management exercises, mental health guidance, and relaxation techniques.
One of teale’s key strengths is the possibility for employees to connect with a dedicated coach. This personalized support helps employees feel listened to and guided, which in turn reduces stress, improves morale, and lowers the risk of absences linked to mental health.
At the organizational level, teale offers interactive dashboards for HR teams to monitor real-time well-being KPIs. This allows them to quickly identify concerning trends and implement corrective actions before problems escalate.
In addition, teale organizes well-being workshops to promote healthy practices and strengthen team cohesion. Topics range from stress management and effective communication to team-building activities.
Finally, teale experts can work directly with organizations to assess specific needs, design tailored action plans, and train managers so they are better equipped to support their teams.
By partnering with teale, organizations can act both preventively—reducing stress risks and building stronger teams—and reactively, by identifying areas for improvement and quickly implementing solutions when challenges arise.
