The absenteeism rate was slightly higher in recent months than in the same period last year. Most reports concerned flu and colds. More employees reported sick, especially in healthcare. In the catering industry, among others, absenteeism rates were lower.
From January to March, the average absenteeism rate was 5.8 percent, statistics office CBS reported on Friday based on new figures. That was higher than in the same quarter a year earlier, when it was still 5.5 percent.
Just over half of sick reports in 2024 were due to flu, colds and other viral infections. Other causes that were often mentioned were psychological complaints, burnout and overwork. Furthermore, abdominal complaints and headaches were the cause in 5 percent of cases.
Psychological complaints are increasingly leading to absenteeism, according to research by TNO earlier this week. Employers can give leave for this, so that employees have time to work on their mental health. For example, companies can give time off for therapy sessions to prevent stress-related complaints.
Absenteeism increased in almost all sectors in the first quarter. But in the sports, culture and recreation sector, fewer employees were absent. The percentage was also somewhat lower in the catering industry and agriculture. Absenteeism was the lowest in the catering industry for a long time, but it increased rapidly during the corona pandemic. The percentage has been falling again since 2022.
At 8.1 percent, absenteeism in healthcare was the highest in the first months of this year. A year earlier, that was 7.8 percent. Within that, mental healthcare experienced the largest increase: from 7.7 to 8.3 percent.
How CBS measures absenteeism
An absenteeism rate of 5.8 percent means that on 1,000 working days, an average of 58 days were missed due to illness.
The CBS always compares these figures with the same quarter in the previous year and not with successive quarters. This is because there is a seasonal effect with absenteeism. Absenteeism is on average higher in the winter than in the summer.