DKK 50 million for stress prevention – but should we wait until employees are already struggling?

The Danish Government plans to allocate DKK 50 million in 2027 to establish a new prevention fund. It is encouraging to see prevention receiving greater political attention. But it also raises an important question:

What do we actually mean when we talk about prevention?

Fjordavisen has recently published an article in which I share my perspective on stress prevention, workplace wellbeing and the importance of acting before employees reach the point of significant distress.

Prevention should begin before stress

When workplace prevention is discussed, the conversation often focuses on stress, sickness absence and preventing people from reaching the point where they can no longer work.

Those issues matter.

But if we only become interested in an employee's wellbeing once there are clear signs that something is wrong, we are starting too late.

An employee does not have to be clinically stressed or absent from work in order not to thrive.

A person may still come to work every day, meet expectations and perform well while feeling overlooked, insecure, under constant pressure, disconnected from colleagues or no longer enjoying their working life.

If prevention simply means intervening shortly before sickness absence, then in my view we are missing a substantial part of what prevention could be.

Wellbeing is more than the absence of stress

A healthy working life is not merely one in which people manage to remain at work.

It also involves:

• feeling seen and heard
• experiencing meaning and influence
• feeling part of the workplace community
• being able to discuss difficulties before they become serious
• having clear expectations and boundaries
• being ambitious without living in a constant state of pressure
• still having energy for life when the working day ends

Very often, prevention begins in the ordinary working day: in relationships, leadership, workplace culture, access to support and the way people communicate with one another.

Should success only be measured in sickness absence?

Reduced sickness absence is valuable, but it should not be the only measure of successful prevention.

If an employee moves from feeling insecure, isolated or constantly under pressure to experiencing greater confidence, connection and enjoyment at work, that is also a meaningful outcome – even if it does not immediately appear in absence statistics.

That is why I believe we should also pay attention to job satisfaction, psychological safety, relationships, belonging and access to early support.

Support should be available before the problem becomes serious

Prevention does not always require a major programme.

It can mean having access to a confidential conversation before sickness absence becomes necessary.

It can mean a manager noticing that somebody has started withdrawing.

It can mean employees becoming better at recognising their own boundaries and warning signals.

Or simply creating a workplace where a person can say:

“There is a little too much going on right now.”

without automatically being regarded as weak or unprofessional.

For me, this is where genuine prevention begins.

DKK 50 million could be the beginning of something important

The final design of the new prevention fund has not yet been decided.

That creates an opportunity to discuss not only what we want to prevent, but also what kind of working lives we want to create.

“The goal should not only be fewer employees becoming ill. It should also be more employees genuinely thriving while they are well.”

That distinction matters.