Sickness absence in the Netherlands was 5.6 percent last year; the highest percentage since measurement began in 1996. That concluded Nationale-Nederlanden (NN) on Thursday based on data from the 50,000 companies that are insured there. On average, Dutch employees are sick nine days a year, one day more than in 2021.
Influenza and a cold are by far the most common reasons for calling in sick, followed immediately by psychological complaints. According to the insurer, this development is “worrying”, especially among young adults. According to researcher Markteffect, these work-related psychological complaints are caused by a disturbed private work balance and staff shortages. More than half of the employees regularly work overtime. This also has to do with the high dropout rate, which means that other employees have to work harder.
NN calls on employers and employees to “pay more attention to mental health by discussing the work-life balance”. Currently, one-tenth of employers do so, according to employees. That while almost two out of three employers say they are concerned about one or more of their employees. According to NN, such a culture change could prevent long-term absenteeism. Employers are also interested in this. The researchers concluded that absenteeism due to illness cost Dutch companies more than 27 billion euros last year, nine billion euros more than in 2021.
Absenteeism in the healthcare sector remains the highest, rising from 6.8 to 7.9 percent. This is followed by construction (5.3 percent) and catering (4.7 percent).