This may sound contradictory at first, but the distinction is analogous to the difference in healthcare between curative interventions and care. While absenteeism – as evidence consistently shows – primarily manifests at the lower and middle levels of an organisation and is frequently rooted in excessive workload and poor management (distinct from true leadership), vitality focuses on performance optimisation for those who set the strategic direction of the organisation.
Naturally, vitality is relevant to all employees. However, the core issue lies in the fact that the term “vitality” is now applied so broadly that it often encompasses entirely different concepts.
Many consultants specialising in absenteeism prevention label their work as “vitality programmes”. The inherent problem with this approach is that it is rarely suitable or effective across all organisational layers.
The same applies to underlying causes. Management challenges at lower levels often stem from leaders who themselves possess only marginally greater capacity than those they manage. In contrast, vitality at the executive level operates on an entirely different plane.
Much like sleep optimisation, I observe that the higher individuals rise in the organisation, the more they – quite rightly – distance themselves from generic, “one-size-fits-all” solutions. As a result, for a significant portion of the organisation, there is currently no truly effective approach to vitality.
This is precisely the domain of the new book I am currently writing.