The past year has redefined absence management, shifting from reactive processes to employee-centric strategies that treat leave as a promise, not a perk. Employers are integrating strategic absence planning into holistic wellness programs, streamlining processes through trust and transparency, and time away is a consequential part of an employer’s benefit program. Aflac’s 2025 Time Away study highlights the impact to workers caring for the work of coworkers on leave and uncovers the true impact to employees’ mental and physical well-being as well as productivity.

In this session, we reviewed key findings from this year’s study and heard from experts on how to promote employee resilience and well-being. We highlighted what leaders should be on the lookout for when identifying signs of burnout, stress, and physical breakdown. Finally, we uncovered what one employer considers when creating time away programs and strategies they have in place to highlight resources for managers, teams, and employees in an effort to reduce the impact of covering for extended leaves.