The number of sick reports at work was also at a significantly higher level last year. This is shown by an evaluation by the health insurance company DAK. Most days of absence were due to respiratory illnesses.
According to an evaluation by the health insurance company DAK-Gesundheit, there were also an unusually high number of absences from work due to illness last year. Employees were absent from work for an average of 20 days in 2023, as the fund determined based on its own insured data. The sickness rate once again reached the record high of 5.5 percent as in 2022.
“Even if the result does not come as a surprise after the waves of colds in spring and autumn, it is alarming for the economy,” said cashier Andreas Storm told the dpa news agency. The high level of absenteeism affects the work processes of many companies and authorities, especially when staffing levels become increasingly thin due to a shortage of skilled workers. Long-term cases in particular are a major problem for the economy. What is needed is an “offensive for company health management,” said Storm.
Mental illnesses are increasing
The DAK explained that the main reasons for the many absences due to illness last year were respiratory diseases such as colds, bronchitis and flu. Coughs, colds, etc. caused 415 days of absence per 100 insured people. Musculoskeletal diseases such as back pain led to 373 days of absence per 100 insured people.
There was also an increase in mental illnesses: mental illnesses such as depression led to 323 days of absence per 100 insured people. The sickness rate of 5.5 percent is the highest value since the analyzes began 25 years ago. In previous years it had been in the region of four percent.
For the analysis, the Berlin Iges Institute reportedly evaluated data from 2.4 million employed DAK insured people in Germany. Almost two thirds of employees (64.5 percent) had at least one sick note in the past year. 35.5 percent were not reported to be unfit for work at all.