How Employers Can Give Employee Wellbeing Support Through Major Life Changes

Workplaces might operate under structure and organisation, but real life rarely follows such a neat timetable. Employees can deal with bereavement, menopause, becoming a parent, separation, illness, or financial upheaval. These life events can all change what an employee needs from work, sometimes almost overnight, which is why employers need to be ready to offer support.

Of course, employers cannot solve every personal problem, nor should managers try to become counsellors. What they can do is create a workplace where people feel safe asking for help, are treated fairly, and can access practical employee support before a difficult period becomes a crisis.

When employees receive thoughtful employee wellbeing support, they tend to feel valued and stay more connected to the companies they work for. This is supported by recent research highlighting how workers in psychologically healthy environments are six times more likely to stay. So, let’s look at how workplaces can offer employee support at the times it really matters.

Why employee support matters during life changes

When an employee experiences a major life event, it can affect their concentration, energy, confidence, attendance, and finances. However, without the right employee support, people may feel forced to struggle in silence, use annual leave to manage emergencies, or continue working when they are not well enough.

This is shown through recent research, including:

• Survey results published in 2026 highlight how 58% of employees continued working whilst unwell throughout 2024 and 2025.
• This is known as “presenteeism”, and it costs UK employers an estimated £21 billion in lost productivity each year.

Over time, lack of support can contribute to stress, longer absences, reduced engagement, and employees considering whether they can even remain in their role. Beyond this, it also has a direct negative impact on businesses and employers themselves. This is why supporting staff during life changes is so important and cannot be ignored.

How can managers support employee wellbeing?

Managers are often the first person an employee approaches when they’re dealing with life changes and difficulties, so their response can shape the whole experience.

As the first point of call, managers can support employee wellbeing by listening and asking the right questions, such as:

• What would help you most at work right now?
• Is there anything you would like the team to know?
• How and when would you like me to check in?
• Are there any duties, hours, or deadlines we should review?

Managers can then provide reassurance and get the ball rolling with whatever adjustments a member of staff might need. However, they should not try to diagnose health conditions or offer therapy. The aim is to understand, not investigate, so managers should also avoid pushing for personal details that are not needed.

To be ready for initial discussions with employees like this, it can be helpful to have an employee wellness programme in place, which includes preparing managers to listen and be understanding during difficult times.

Supporting employees through bereavement

Grief does not end when bereavement leave does. It can affect sleep, memory, decision-making, emotional resilience, and overall wellbeing for months or longer, with 55% of employees saying it took them 8 weeks to get back to their usual self after a bereavement. And of course, this can greatly vary depending on each loss.

This is where compassion, sensitivity, and flexibility are essential. Every bereavement is different, and a manager’s response can significantly influence how supported an employee feels. Employers can improve bereavement support by:

• Providing a clear, inclusive bereavement policy
• Allowing flexibility around leave and return dates
• Agreeing how much contact the employee wants
• Offering a phased return or temporary workload changes
• Respecting cultural, religious, and family differences
• Signposting grief counselling and specialist charities
• Checking in again after the immediate period has passed

Managers should avoid comparing losses or deciding how much specific relationships “count”. The death of a friend, the passing of an elderly family member, a pregnancy loss, or losing someone outside an employee’s immediate family can all be deeply significant to the individual.

Providing employee wellbeing support through menopause

When employees experience menopause, it can affect how they feel both physically and mentally. The symptoms vary and include fatigue, disrupted sleep, hot flushes, anxiety, low mood, and difficulty concentrating. In fact, 82% of workers who experience menopause or perimenopause symptoms say it affected their ability to work in at least one way.

To provide employee support during menopause, it can be helpful to hold early, regular conversations and consider how working conditions may worsen symptoms. Suggested adjustments can include flexible start and finish times, extra breaks, homeworking where practical, temporary changes to duties, and greater control over temperature or ventilation.

A good menopause approach should also include manager training, a clear point of contact, and a review of related policies covering absence, flexible working, health and safety, and performance. Normalising respectful conversations about menopause also makes it easier for people to seek help earlier, as well as reducing the risk of symptoms being mistaken for poor attitude, disengagement, or declining capability.

Supporting working parents and employees starting a family

With parenting, no two employees share the exact same experience. Pregnancy, fertility treatment, adoption, pregnancy loss, and returning from parental leave can each create different needs, which is why employee support should go beyond explaining statutory entitlements.

Employers can make parenting transitions easier for working parents by:

• Opening communication as early in the process
• Planning work and responsibility handovers properly
• Keeping employees informed without making them feel pressured while they are away

Before a parenting employee returns after a break, it’s also good to discuss working patterns, workloads, and any changes that happened during their absence. A phased return, flexible hours, or a gradual rebuilding of responsibilities may help here, as coming back to work as a new parent can be jarring.

It’s also important to avoid assuming that every new parent wants less responsibility or fewer opportunities. Ask what each employee wants, continue career conversations, and make sure flexible working parents do not feel discriminated against and are not overlooked for developments or promotions.

Responding to separation, divorce, and financial change

Relationships breaking down or divorces are something many employees can go through at some point in their lives. This can affect housing, childcare, legal costs, commuting, and household income, with nearly half (45%) of divorcees seeing their incomes shrink in the first year by an average of 30%.

To support staff experiencing the difficulties that come from separations, managers can focus on practical questions. Does the employee need short-term flexibility, additional leave, a change in location, or help accessing financial and mental health resources?

This is also where a wider benefits package can provide valuable everyday support. BHN Extras helps employers give staff easy access to benefits designed to improve financial and mental wellbeing, which are especially valuable during times of separation. That includes cashback cards and discount schemes for everyday expenses, as well as wellbeing-focused options such as bike savings with Cyclescheme and gym discounts with MyGymDiscounts.

Benefits like these can ease living costs and give people a way to focus on their mental and physical wellbeing, especially when household finances or life circumstances are changing due to divorces or similar separations.

Supporting employees through illness and recovery

For employees struggling with illnesses or health issues, it’s important that managers and employers don’t treat recovery as a straight line or assume that returning to work means someone is fully well.

To support staff going through illnesses and recovery, being adaptable is key for an employer. Start with an individual conversation and consider any changes that may not just help a sick or recovering employee, but even help them perform even better throughout their struggles. This can include:

• Temporary changes might include reduced hours
• Flexibility such as the ability to work from home
• Amending or removing duties that may make recovery more difficult
• Additional breaks where necessary
• More time to complete certain tasks

During this time, you should keep medical information confidential and only share what is necessary and agreed. Employers should also review adjustments regularly, as the right arrangement at the start of treatment may not be suitable later. And of course, it’s important to approach all of this in a way that doesn’t make a member of staff feel guilty and cause them to rush back into a work situation they aren’t physically ready for.

Benefits related to healthcare, such as Bupa Health Cover offered by BHN Extras, can be especially valuable for employees with health issues. Through this particular benefit, employees can gain access to diagnosis, treatment, and specialist care with reduced waiting times and support for faster recovery.

Build a consistent employee support framework

The strongest organisations do not wait for an employee to experience a crisis before deciding how they will respond. They create a simple framework that gives managers direction while leaving room for individual needs. That framework should include:

• Clear policies written in plain English
• Trained managers who can hold sensitive conversations
• Flexible working and leave options
• Confidential routes to HR or wellbeing support
• Accessible benefits and specialist signposting
• Agreed check-ins and written action plans
• Regular policy reviews using employee feedback

Employees cannot use support if they don’t know it exists. Introduce relevant policies and benefits during onboarding, remind teams throughout the year, and make information easy to find in one place.

Support your people, not just your processes

Major life changes are personal, but the principles of good employee support are consistent: listen, protect privacy, offer practical choices, and keep the conversation open. What matters is responding with empathy, following through on agreed actions, and treating the person fairly as their needs evolve.

When employee wellbeing support is built into everyday culture, people do not have to reach breaking point before asking for help. They know where to turn, managers know what to do, and benefits become more than a list of perks. They become part of a workplace that genuinely has its people’s backs.

Give your employees simple benefits that ease financial pressure and support everyday wellbeing. Contact BHN Extras through our contact page or email enquiries@workplaceextras.com to learn more about how you can sign up for free today.