From accidents and illnesses to caretaker responsibilities and military relocations, people may encounter various anxiety-causing situations within their working years. Workers in the past often powered through mental and emotional exhaustion to fulfill work obligations, but today’s workers are increasingly prioritizing well-being, mental health and work-life balance, resulting in growing demand for employers to acknowledge the need for personal leave time and support employee requests for it.

Fortunately, access to leave benefits is expanding. However, navigating leave benefits is also increasing in complexity, frustrating both the individuals requesting leave and the human resources staff responsible for processing requests. That’s why companies that streamline the leave benefits process have recruitment and retention advantages — an invaluable asset in today’s highly competitive labor market.

In this playbook, we outline four common mistakes employers make when managing employee leave and provide tips on how to avoid them. These mistakes include:

• Misallocating time and resources
• Leaving questions unanswered
• Keeping it “secret”
• Doing the bare minimum

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