Employees With Positive Leave Experience 75% More Likely to Stay at Job 5+ Years

October 27, 2025

A new report finds that a positive leave experience boosts employee morale and loyalty, according to Guardian Life Insurance Company of America.

According to “The Employee Leave Experience,” employees who report a pleasant leave experience are two times as likely to say their employer cares about their well-being.

The report analyzed employers’ and employees’ attitudes around the leave experience, including sick leave, vacation leave, mental health days, paid time off, bereavement leave, maternity leave, family care leave, paternity leave, paid family and medical leave (PFML), Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), short-term disability insurance (STD), and long-term disability insurance (LTD).

When asked about priorities for their absence management programs and supporting employees with non-maternity injuries or illnesses, 40 percent of employers say their top absence management priority is helping employees remain in the workplace.

Additionally, 36 percent of employers said it’s ensuring policies and procedures are compliant, 33 percent said creating a culture of care, empathy, and well-being, and 29 percent said it is supporting an employee in their return to safe and meaningful work.

When asked how they can continue to help support a positive leave experience for employees, more than 80 percent of employers say they’re considering moving toward a broad paid leave policy that addresses multiple leave reasons, rather than maintaining separate policies.

“Evolving worker expectations are driving organizations to reexamine their leave management practices to offer the best experience,” said Jessica Vanscavish, head of Disability, Absence, Life, and Supplemental Health at Guardian. “When processes are streamlined, communications are clear, and there is a single point of contact for questions, employees are more likely to feel supported before, during, and after a leave, directly translating into improved morale and loyalty.”

Additional findings of the report include that 81 percent of employers say mental health issues contribute to absences at their organization, with 50 percent seeing an increase in mental health claims and 30 percent seeing an increase in postpartum depression claims.

While on leave, 39 percent of workers used mental health counseling benefits and 35 percent used physical therapy benefits. Fifteen percent also claimed benefits from their supplemental health insurance policies.

Half of employers say having a supportive manager is the most influential factor impacting the employee leave experience. Fifty-six percent of employees said their manager’s support made a positive difference in their leave experience.

Thirty percent of employers say the ability to make a single request for all applicable types of leave has the greatest positive impact on their employees’ absence experience.

Twenty-four percent of employers referenced ease of interacting online as most important.

Employers voiced several priorities for their absence management programs, with 65 percent considering adding artificial intelligence (AI) into their absence management programs, and 19 percent reported already incorporating AI into their disability and FMLA administration through benefit administration tools or partnerships.

Nearly eight in 10 employers rate the employee leave experience at their organization as “excellent” or “good,” including submitting a request for disability/FMLA leave (79 percent), return to work (78 percent), communications across parties while on leave (77 percent), approval of disability/FMLA leave (76 percent), claims payment (76 percent), educating managers and supervisors (75 percent), and educating employees (74 percent).

More than half of employers (52 percent) said their top reason for benefits integration was to increase employee access to benefits, followed by reducing HR workload (41 percent), improving program outcomes (36 percent), providing more comprehensive data (33 percent), and decreasing employee confusion (30 percent).