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Wouters said the problems with the existing sick-leave system hit home for him as a deputy minister because of an incident in which his driver fell off a roof and broke his back. The man never walked again, and Wouters said he was stunned by how little help the injured and disabled get to recover and return to work.

That’s also when he realized how little data the government had on managing sick leave and disability.

In addition to addressing such problems, many of Wouters’s Destination 2020 reforms will also tackle the thorny organizational and management problems that public servants say get in their way and undermine performance and productivity.

A recent health study of executives in the public service concluded that the workplace was making employees sick.

APEX, which represents executives, has argued that organizational and management problems contribute to mounting stress and depression in the workplace. Mental health claims among rank and file employees also increased in recent years, peaking in 2012 when they accounted for nearly half of all approved claims – led by stress, anxiety and depression.

“The way to fix it is to try and fix the workplace and their work environment and that is what Destination 2020 does, from my point of view, along with support when they are off, which is part of the disability management system we are working on,” said Wouters.

“Part and parcel of a modern workforce (is) having good disability management and helping those who are on stress leave deal with their stress, work with them and get them back to work because at the end of the day if we manage a workplace where people are productive – which is part of Destination 2020 – that is the most positive thing we can do to help people who feel stressed in the workplace.”