Whether on the assembly lines, on the train, in school lessons or during operations: the high level of sick leave in the south-west causes difficulties for many employers. However, this is by no means the fault of the typical cold at the cool end of the year.
Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) – Sore throat, cough and runny nose, corona and above all fears, neuroses and depression: nationwide, the DAK reports one of the highest sickness rates for many years among its year-round insured employees. The health insurance company said the reason was less the infections in the pandemic or the respiratory diseases typical of the time of year. In fact, mental health problems caused the number of days lost for these diagnoses alone to skyrocket in the third quarter. It increased by 48 percent compared to the second quarter. “The highest level since the pandemic began in Baden-Württemberg,” said Siegfried Euerle, state head of DAK-Gesundheit.
“The sharp increase over the summer months is unusual and alarming,” he said. The number of infections and the acute corona concerns decreased in the evaluated months of July, August and September.
According to DAK information, the total number of days absent in Baden-Württemberg also increased significantly in the third quarter. According to the DAK, sick leave increased from 3.0 percent in the second quarter to 4.1 percent. “This meant that an average of 41 of 1,000 employees in the south-west were absent from work every day from July to September,” said Euerle. With the exception of the first quarter of 2022, the proportion of days absent has been well below this mark since at least the beginning of 2018.
Insured people are also suffering more and more from their backs. According to the DAK, musculoskeletal disorders increased by 41 percent and respiratory diseases by 29 percent in the third quarter. “Together, these three diagnostic groups accounted for every second day of absence in the country,” it said. Absences due to Corona, on the other hand, continued to decrease: Their share of the total sick leave was only 3.8 percent in the third quarter. In the first quarter it was 11.9 percent, in the second 7.0.
The numbers correspond to the trend of the other large Baden-Württemberg health insurance companies, the Techniker and the Barmer. Barmer country manager Winfried Plötze had previously said that the psychological stress and the number of sick days could continue to rise due to the current sharp rise in energy and food prices and inflation: “Crises are always a burden for society.” The southwest is still in the best position compared to other German regions. Because income and quality of life are comparatively high, unemployment, on the other hand, is comparatively low, as Plötze emphasized.
According to its own statements, DAK-Gesundheit is one of the largest health insurance companies in Germany, insuring around 630,000 people in Baden-Württemberg. According to the DAK, the data of more than 250,000 employed members of the DAK-Gesundheit in Baden-Württemberg for the months of July, August and September were evaluated by the IGES Institute for the absenteeism analysis.
