When an employee needs to request a leave of absence from work, their manager is often their first point of contact. That can put managers in a challenging position. They want to be supportive, but they may not know what to say, what questions to ask, or when to bring in HR or other resources.
That’s why manager preparedness matters. While managers aren’t expected to be leave experts, they can play an important role in recognizing when support may be needed, connecting employees with the right resources, and helping them navigate transitions before, during, and after leave.
Guardian’s Absence Support for Managers video series explores common leave situations managers may encounter and offers practical guidance for responding with empathy, clarity, and appropriate support.
Here are some of the key takeaways:
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1. Managers should know what their role is (and isn’t)
Employees don’t necessarily need their managers to have every answer. They need someone who can help connect them to the people who do.
Key considerations include:
Recognize potential signals: Changes in attendance, performance or behavior, or signs of personal, medical, or family strain may indicate that an employee needs support.
Focus on support, not decisions: Managers can listen, help plan for workload and coverage, maintain appropriate communication, and connect employees with HR, benefits, or leave resources.
Know when to bring in others: Determining eligibility, interpreting medical information, and making decisions about leave belong with the appropriate HR and leave professionals.
2. Planning for parental and maternity leave should start earlier than you think
Maternity and parental leave can be complex. Depending on an employee’s situation, their time away may involve FMLA, short-term disability benefits, employer-provided parental leave, state leave programs, or other paid time off, sometimes with multiple programs applying at the same time. Managers can play an important role in making that experience feel more manageable by helping employees connect with the right resources and providing consistent support at each stage of leave.
Here’s what that support can look like:
Before leave: Discuss handoffs, workload coverage, and communication preferences with the employee. Start this early; babies do not wait for you to be ready!
During leave: Respect communication boundaries and remember that leave is time away from work.
Upon return: Re-onboard employees to changes and priorities, give them space to transition, and partner with HR around accommodations when needed. Remember that coming back after leave will take some adjustment for employees to find their new normal.
3. Approach mental health leave with support, not assumptions
Mental health-related needs may be less visible, more difficult to discuss, and less predictable than other reasons for leave. Managers might first notice changes in focus, attendance, energy, or engagement rather than hear a direct request for help.
Managers should:
Focus conversations on observable changes and work impact.
Avoid probing for diagnoses or treatment details.
Connect employees with available support resources, including HR, benefits, and leave programs.
Approach the return to work as a transition, recognizing that workload, flexibility, or accommodations may need to evolve.
4. Recognize the often-invisible demands of caregiving
When an employee takes leave to care for a family member, they may be balancing substantial responsibilities at work and at home, often amid unpredictable and emotionally demanding circumstances. Managers may notice schedule disruptions, last-minute absences, difficulty focusing, or signs of fatigue before an employee explicitly asks for support.
Managers can help by creating space for conversation, revisiting priorities, providing appropriate flexibility, and connecting employees with caregiving, Employee Assistance Program, HR, benefits, or leave resources when needs extend beyond day-to-day work management.
The objective is to help employees remain successful at work while navigating competing responsibilities.
5. Leave for cancer or a serious illness is not linear
Cancer and other serious illnesses may not follow a predictable path. Treatment schedules can change, leave can be intermittent, and employees may move in and out of work throughout treatment and recovery.
That makes adaptability especially important. Managers can:
Focus on priorities as needs change.
Offer appropriate flexibility within their role.
Partner with HR and leave resources when needs involve leave, benefits, or accommodations.
Support phased or flexible returns.
Focus on sustainable success rather than an immediate return to previous productivity.
Key takeaways
Better leave experiences start with prepared managers. Across all five lessons, a consistent theme emerges: managers don’t need to have every answer to make a meaningful difference. Knowing how to listen, what boundaries to maintain, when to connect employees with additional resources, and how to support changing needs can help managers navigate some of the most sensitive moments employees experience at work.
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