How to Transform Your Leave of Absence Strategy Into a Culture of Care

About the Panel Discussion

Mental health related leaves of absence have surged globally, driven by burnout, stress and a workforce that’s under increasing pressure. While rising leave rates signal progress in reducing stigma, they also reflect missed opportunities for early support, culture alignment and workforce planning. For many organizations leave is still managed reactively, leading to higher costs, longer absences and frustrated teams.

A modern leave of absence strategy must be human-centered, data informed and performance aligned. Companies that invest in early intervention, flexible support and psychologically safe environments see stronger retention, faster recovery and improved engagement. With five generations in the workforce and expectations rapidly shifting, leave programs must evolve to be more inclusive, responsive and strategic.

Join our interactive discussion to learn how forward-thinking HR and Wellbeing leaders are transforming leave of absence from a compliance task into a culture-shaping opportunity. You’ll discover how to prevent burnout before it leads to extended absence, personalize the leave journey with data and tech and redesign return-to-work experiences that boost trust and business resilience.

Discussion Topics

• How to align leave with business goals:
Shift leave from an administrative burden to a strategic lever that supports retention, wellbeing, and productivity.

• How to prevent mental health-related leave with early intervention: Use leading indicators and flexible support to reduce avoidable absence and keep employees engaged before a crisis hits.

• How to personalize leave through data and clinical insights: Leverage AI, mental health analytics and clinical assessments to design responsive, scalable leave programs.

• How to empower managers to reduce stigma and support earlier: Train leaders to spot signs of distress, initiate timely conversations, and guide employees to the right resources.