The health insurance company DAK-Gesundheit has presented a “psych report”, according to which the number of sickness absences due to mental illnesses reached a new high in Hesse last year. In a ten-year comparison, employee absenteeism increased by 54 percent.
On average, a sick note due to mental illness lasted 32.2 days. In total, there were 326 days of absence for every 100 DAK insured people, compared to 302 in the previous year – an increase of eight percent. Psychological suffering is therefore the third-largest reason for absence from work due to illness. In first and second place are respiratory and musculoskeletal diseases, such as bronchitis or herniated discs.
“We need to pay more attention to mental health issues in the workplace. Employees must not run the risk of burning out prematurely one day,” warned the regional head of DAK-Gesundheit, Britta Dalhoff. Overall, employees in Hesse were “sick as often or for as long as the national average,” said Dalhoff.
Julia Schaaf Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 67 Monika Ganster Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 8
The group of men between the ages of 15 and 19 recorded the greatest increase compared to 2022 – with an increase of 61 percent. This age group was also particularly affected among female employees and increased the most at 43 percent. The number of days absent among 35 to 39 year old women also rose significantly to 35 percent.
In a sector comparison, people in the healthcare sector are most affected by mental illnesses with 469 days of absence – based on 100 employed DAK insured people – 143 days more than the average for all other sectors.
Anxiety disorders are on the rise
According to the report, by far the most days of absence due to mental illness were caused by depression. In second place were so-called stress and adjustment disorders. This refers to reactions to stressful life events such as bereavements, which “can be expressed in negative changes in the state of mind or in disorders of social behavior,” as the report states. With an increase of 14 percent, they – like anxiety disorders – recorded the largest increase.