What Moves Us: Why Absence Isn’t Always Sickness

In this episode, we speak with Antonio Ribeiro, CEO and Founder of Yurtle, a care-tech startup born from his personal journey as a caregiver. Antonio shares the story behind Yurtle’s creation: a platform designed to support employees when their usual care arrangements with a registered provider, such as a nursery or domiciliary care agency, unexpectedly fall through.   Yurtle helps people stay in work, avoid unplanned absences, and navigate the challenges of the “sandwich generation” caring for both children and elderly relatives.   We explore how this solution is addressing critical gaps in the social care system by providing financial support during care breakdowns. This empowers employees to respond quickly and practically in moments of crisis.   Antonio also highlights how Yurtle’s model not only reduces absence rates, particularly in shift-based sectors like rail, but also supports a more diverse and multigenerational workforce. By enabling carers, often women, to stay in work and maintain career progression, Yurtle promotes a more inclusive and empathetic workplace culture.   This conversation reveals the hidden cost of broken care systems on employment and how smart, empathetic tech can make industries like rail more inclusive, resilient, and people focused.