HR managers are challenged with the increase in paid leave requests
55% of employees who requested a leave of absence said it was in order to manage mental-health related issues – more than any other factor including injury and illness.
Employee expectations continue to rapidly evolve and a new study by AbsenceSoft, a leave and accommodation management system, found that leave programs will be top of mind in 2024.
According to the research, the majority of HR managers have seen a rise in leave requests from employees over the last two years. Of the HR managers who saw an increase, 75% reported seeing 20% more requests than in the year prior.
Along with the challenge of increased leave requests, over 50% of HR managers said they face difficulties with recruitment and providing support for hybrid and remote workforces. Additionally, the research found that over half of HR managers struggled with employee stress and burnout, employee experience and employee health and wellbeing in the past 12 months.
Mental health is becoming an increasingly prevalent factor in requests for leave from work. According to the research, 55% of employees who requested a leave of absence said it was in order to manage mental-health related issues – more than any other factor including injury and illness.
In order to address these concerns, many organizations have added new leave benefits. The research found that for the second year in a row, more than half of employers added new paid leave benefits with the goal of increasing recruitment, retention and the employee experience.
In 2024, over 50% of organizations will add paid parental leave, paid mental health days and flexible time off to their benefits. Forty-nine percent said they would add paid compassionate or bereavement leave and 37% will add paid caregiver leave.
Related: Many employers plan to implement big changes to leave programs, study finds
Along with leave, workplace accommodation requests have increased over the past year as well. According to the research, accommodations requests are up 29.7% from just last year. With these rapidly changing workplace requests, organizations will want to ensure their HR teams are well-equipped to face these challenges in the coming years.