The number of sick calls at work has almost returned to the level before the corona pandemic. However, the share of so-called psychological absenteeism has actually increased dramatically. According to data from health and safety providers HumanCapitalCare and ArboNed, this type of absenteeism is now about 10% higher than in the same period in 2019.
“That’s a lot,” says company physician and director of medical affairs Jurriaan Penders of HumanCapitalCare. “The share of absenteeism for mental reasons is further increasing in the total number of illness reports”.
These are reports of illness due to high work pressure and stress. “Which is related to the shortage in the labor market,” Penders says. But there are also people who cannot work because they suffer from depression. “Even less relaxation at work affects this.”
However, the company doctor believes that absenteeism is not exclusively related to the circumstances of the work. “It’s the whole society. People have worries, it’s hard to participate. Society demands a lot more of us.”
According to Penders, not only is there more pressure at work, but there is more pressure across the board. “Everyone participates in the cause and solves it”.
In August, total sickness absenteeism was still a fraction higher than in the same month in 2019. “This difference can largely be explained by the absenteeism of people with long-term covids.” Corona plays almost no role in the number of disease reports.
–
