Dawn's Digest (Nov-26) - Winter is when culture is tested. Do you know how yours is holding up?
 Dawn's Digest | November 2026Winter is when culture is tested. Do you know how yours is holding up?
IN THIS EDITION: Why winter is a culture issue, not just a wellbeing one | Presenteeism and the cost of 'pushing through' | The Christmas party and the new harassment duty | What recent tribunals tell us | Introducing the EA Cultural Healthcheck I've always thought winter has a way of telling the truth. In spring and summer, organisations can carry quite a lot without anybody noticing. People have more energy. Holidays are on the horizon. Small cracks don't always feel urgent. But winter has a habit of exposing what's already there. The team that's quietly exhausted. The manager who's carrying too much. The colleague who hasn't quite found the confidence to say they're struggling. The culture where everyone says they're fine, even when they're not. As the evenings get darker and workloads start competing with year-end deadlines, wellbeing and culture become much harder to separate. The data reflects what many leaders are already seeing. According to the Office for National Statistics, workers lost an average of 4.4 working days to sickness or injury during 2025. Different studies measure absence in different ways, but the picture is familiar: wellbeing, attendance and productivity remain significant challenges for organisations. Yet absence is only part of the picture. For every employee who's at home recovering, there may be others quietly working through illness, stress or burnout because they don't want to let the team down. That's why this month I want to reframe the conversation. Winter wellness isn't really about fruit bowls, step challenges or another wellbeing poster on the intranet. It's a culture question. Do your people feel able to say they're struggling and does anything happen when they do? And with strengthened employer duties around preventing harassment now in force, the festive season is the first real test of whether "all reasonable steps" is something you can evidence or something you simply hoped would be enough. That's why this month's theme is the cultural healthcheck. The same way you'd book an MOT before a long winter drive, it's worth checking how your culture is running before the pressure peaks, not after something has gone wrong.
AROUND THE WORLD
What leaders should know this month
UK | Absence remains a cultural challenge. The latest absence data shows employees continue to lose significant working time through illness, while many organisations report increasing levels of presenteeism and employees working despite being unwell. Dawn's view: What strikes me is that absence is the cost we can see. Presenteeism is the one we can't. A culture where people log on with flu because they don't want to appear uncommitted isn't resilient. It's quietly running on empty. UK | The new harassment duties are now live. Since 30 October, employers must take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment and can be liable where third-party behaviour contributes to harassment related to protected characteristics. Dawn's view: The upcoming festive season will be the first real test. Parties, client hospitality and customer-facing events all sit squarely within the scope of the new duties. Employers increasingly need to demonstrate not only what they did, but how they checked it was effective. EU | Parliament pushes for action on psychosocial risk. Earlier this month, the European Parliament voted to ask the European Commission to consider stronger protections around psychosocial risks, including workload, harassment, algorithmic management and the right to disconnect. The vote itself does not create new legal obligations, but it signals the direction of travel across Europe. Dawn's view: Wellbeing is steadily moving from a "nice to have" to a workplace risk that organisations are expected to manage proactively. AUSTRALIA | Psychosocial enforcement steps up. Psychosocial risk remains one of SafeWork NSW's key enforcement priorities, with particular focus on violence, aggression and workplace harm. Dawn's View: Regulators are increasingly interested in whether organisations have identified the causes of harm, not simply whether support services exist. JAPAN | Customer harassment becomes an employer responsibility. New measures require employers to help protect employees from customer and third-party harassment. Dawn's View: The UK and Japan have arrived at a similar conclusion. Third-party behaviour is no longer separate from workplace culture. It is part of it. US | When complaints go nowhere. In October, the EEOC announced a $3 million settlement involving restaurant chain Il Fornaio over allegations of sexual harassment. The company denied the allegations. Separately, a Nevada logistics company agreed to pay more than $396,000 following allegations that concerns about religious harassment were not adequately addressed. Dawn's View: What stands out in both cases isn't only the alleged behaviour. It's what happened after concerns were raised. Speaking up matters. Responding properly matters even more.
CASES & CONSEQUENCES
What the tribunals are telling us
UK | Njiiri v Cambridge City Council. A tribunal found that the claimant's anxiety and depression met the legal definition of disability, following a prolonged period of work-related stress and difficulties with management relationships. Dawn's view: "Work-related stress" on a fit note is often the beginning of the conversation, not the end of it. Leaders should be alert to when stress may develop into a disability issue requiring further consideration and support. UK | Stress is behind more claims than you think. Recent analysis of tribunal decisions found workplace stress was a contributing factor in around one in ten cases reaching a final judgment. Dawn's view: Performance issues and wellbeing issues can look remarkably similar from the outside. Before assuming one, make sure you've explored the other.
COMING UP
Dates to have on your radar
16-20 November 2026 Anti-Bullying Week This year's theme is Break the Silence. Leadership question: Would someone in our organisation feel safe breaking the silence and who would they tell? December 2026 Expected EU Developments The European Commission is expected to continue considering measures relating to quality work, telework and psychosocial risks, following parliamentary requests made this autumn. Leadership question: Do we understand how workload, availability expectations and burnout risks affect our people across every country in which we operate? Late Nov-December 2026 Party and Hospitality Season The first festive season under the strengthened harassment prevention duties. Leadership question: Have we briefed managers, reviewed expectations and considered the risks associated with social events? January 2027 The Post-Holiday Dip The weeks after a break are often when unresolved culture issues resurface. Leadership question: What would we want to know about our culture now so we're not finding out in January?
EA PRODUCT FEATURE
Introducing the EA Cultural HealthcheckSo... you've got a wellbeing strategy. An employee assistance programme. Mental health first aiders. A dignity at work policy. Maybe a winter wellness campaign on the intranet. But here's the uncomfortable question: how healthy is the culture those things sit inside? Do people feel able to say they're struggling? Do managers notice, and know what to do? Is workload sustainable, or is everyone quietly running on presenteeism? Would someone speak up about a comment at the Christmas party - and would anything happen if they did? The Cultural Healthcheck is designed to answer those questions quickly. Think of it as a culture MOT: a focused, evidence-based look at how your organisation is really running, before the pressure of winter and year end peaks.
WHAT WE EXPLORE
WHAT IT REVEALS
WHAT YOU RECEIVE
Two things are worth saying plainly. The first is timing. Most organisations look at culture after something has gone wrong - a grievance, a resignation, a tribunal claim. A healthcheck lets you find the issues while they're still small and still fixable. The second is evidence. Under the new duties, good intentions aren't enough. A healthcheck gives you a dated, documented picture of where your risks sit and what you've done about them - exactly the kind of evidence the law now expects. For organisations that want to go further, the healthcheck leads naturally into the full EA Culture & Behaviour Audit.
Want to check your cultural health this winter? Get in touch to book a conversation about the EA Cultural Healthcheck.
A SMALL SEASONAL OFFER
FREE Festival Social Events Review
The festive season and end of year celebrations can be one of the loveliest times of year at work. It can also be the point where misunderstandings, poor decisions or blurred boundaries create problems nobody intended. Most organisations have policies in place. Far fewer have checked whether those policies are ready for the realities of festive events, alcohol, client attendance, third-party behaviour and social media. That's why I'm offering a free Festive Social Events Review throughout November. If you're not sure whether your Christmas party or social event communications strike the right balance between being welcoming, inclusive and clear about expectations, I'd be happy to take a look. I'll also happily share my Christmas Party Expectations Template with anyone who would find it useful.
WHAT I'LL REVIEW
WHAT I'LL REVIEW
No lengthy audit. No obligation. Just a second pair of eyes before the party season begins.
For organisations looking for a broader assessment, ask about the EA Cultural Healthcheck and Culture & Behaviour Audit.
THREE QUESTIONS FOR LEADERS
What should your leadership team discuss?
DAWN'S FINAL THOUGHT
One thing I've learned over the years is that culture rarely reveals itself when everything is going well. It shows up when people are under pressure. The tired team. The manager who's never had a wellbeing conversation. The 'banter' everyone laughs along with. A colleague who needs support. The person who stopped speaking up because nothing happened last time. Winter doesn't create those pressures. They were all there in the summer. Winter just turns the volume up and shines a brighter light on them. So as we move towards the end of the year, I'd encourage you to spend a little less time asking whether people are coping and a little more time asking whether they feel able to be honest when they're not. That answer will tell you far more about your culture than any policy ever could. Stay warm, look after each other, and until next month. Dawn x |
