Disease on the upswing: psychological stress raises absenteeism!

Disease on the upswing: psychological stress raises absenteeism!

In 2024, sick leave in the Düsseldorf region and the district of Mettmann fell slightly, from 5.1 % to 4.9 % compared to the previous year. This survey is based on the evaluations of DAK health, which examined the sick leave of all DAK insured employees. According to the data, 100 DAK-insured employees had around 1,796 absenteeism last year, which represents a drop of three percent compared to 2023. Despite this positive development, however, there are worrying trends, especially in the area of ​​mental health.

The main causes for absent days in 2024 are mental illnesses, respiratory diseases and muscle skeleton diseases. It is striking that the number of absences due to mental illnesses has increased by 5.6 % and thus reached 393 days per 100 employees. In 2023, this value was still 372 days. The circumstances of the past few years, as well as Andreas Storm, CEO of DAK-Gesundheit, emphasize in particular.

psychological stress in focus

storm sees pandemic and global crises as central factors that are increasingly strain on the psyche of the population. The lack of personnel in many industries additionally increases the pressure on the employees. He demands a round table with politics, social partners and health insurance companies to promote the workforce and strengthen the companies. The increase in the absence due to mental illnesses is estimated at 24.3 % and corresponds to an increase of 70 to 87 absent days per 100 employees.

Professor Volker Nuremberg describes this trend as dramatic and compares the situation with a new pandemic. DAK health points out that a third of the muscle and skeletal diseases could have psychological causes, such as psychosomatic back pain. This link between physical and mental illnesses illustrates the need for comprehensive company health management.

The need for prevention

Christian Lipinski, head of the Düsseldorf service center, emphasizes the importance of strengthening prevention measures in the workplace. DAK health recommends companies to invest in systemic occupational health management in order to reduce work-related stress and promote the health of the employees. These investments are crucial to secure the economic performance of companies.

On the way to better health care and prevention, it is essential to address the current challenges and take appropriate measures. DAK health recommends to actively bring about changes in order to stop the increase in the absenteeism and protect the health of the employees. The coming years will show whether and how these recommendations will be implemented.

The analysis of DAK health is based on data of 2.35 million DAK insured employees and was created by the Berlin IGES Institute. This illustrates the extent of the problem and the urgent need for companies to take suitable measures to support their employees.

For more information on the trends in sick leave and the efforts of DAK health, visit Supertipp-online.de and dak.de .