"Sorry, I really intend to get back to work soon." It's striking how often I hear this when I first speak to someone on the phone. As if my call means that something needs to be defended. As if I'm calling to check whether someone is really sick or already productive enough to start again. That image stems from a different era. A time when occupational health and safety services were mainly associated with control. But that role is long gone. Yet the idea sometimes still lives on.

The misunderstanding surrounding 'that call from the occupational health and safety service'

When I call, my first question is never, “When are you going back to work?” My first question is, “How are you really doing?” My role as Labor and Health Advisor beyond just absenteeism management or legal obligations. Of course, we monitor compliance with the Gatekeeper Improvement Act and advise on next steps. But at its core, it’s about understanding what’s going on with the employee and the employer—without assumptions and without judgment. In this way, we try to answer the following questions:

  • What's going on?
  • What does help?
  • What exactly isn't working?
  • How do we keep the conversation open and human?

In doing so, I look not only at the employee, but also at the context. How is the contact with the employer going? Are expectations clear? Are there opportunities for adjustments? Employability is rarely an individual issue; it is almost always a collaborative effort.

Discussion partner for employers and employees

In my work, I act as a discussion partner for both sides. For employees who are dealing with physical or mental health issues, uncertainty, or stress. But also for employers who want to know what they can and cannot ask, how they can remain involved without exerting pressure, and how they can act carefully within the law.

These questions are understandable, especially within SMEs, where HR support is not always a given. Employers want to do the right thing, but sometimes need guidance. My role is to provide clarity: what are the options, what are the obligations, and how do we keep the conversation careful and humane?

Employability begins before absenteeism

What I consider even more important than providing support during absenteeism is having a conversation before someone drops out. Signs of overload, doubts about work capacity, or tensions in the workplace are often visible for some time. By discussing employability in a timely manner, we can work together to find sustainable solutions. Sometimes this involves minor adjustments. Sometimes it involves a different distribution of tasks. Sometimes it involves discussing what is difficult.

Rewriting the image together

So when I call, you don't have to sit up straight. You don't have to apologize. It's not an inspection, it's not a means of exerting pressure, and it's not a checklist. It's a conversation. Sometimes difficult, often enlightening, but always focused on recovery and sustainable employability. Hopefully, we can work together to change the outdated image of the occupational health and safety service: not as a party that inspects, but as an advisor that thinks along with you, monitors frameworks, and helps to create movement where necessary.

Want to know more?

Would you like to discuss employability or do you have questions about absenteeism? Feel free to contact us. Together, we will determine what is needed.

Geschreven door Juliette van den Bilt, Adviseur Arbeid & Gezondheid MKB bij De Arbodienst