Press Statement Absenteeism Report: “A Vicious Cycle of Illness Looms”

Hans-Jürgen Urban, Executive Board Member: “Working conditions are a key factor in employees’ ability to work and their health. Stress, a frantic pace of work, heavy workloads, and alienating work are increasingly becoming a threat to employees and companies. Occupational health and safety is an employer’s obligation and, ultimately, also a competitive advantage.

Good working conditions are increasingly decisive for a company’s attractiveness and employees’ ability to work. Companies must finally take the consequences of mental strain and long periods of absence seriously. The number of days lost to mental illness has increased by nearly half since 2014. This is a wake-up call. Employers must finally live up to their responsibility for the mental health of their employees. Instead of creating new bureaucratic hurdles for sick leave, we need more prevention through binding regulations from policymakers, such as an anti-stress ordinance.

Only 40 percent of affected employees have the opportunity to participate in a return-to-work program after their illness. It is incomprehensible how lackluster the traffic-light coalition has been in pushing forward a promised law on this issue. We finally need a comprehensive, effective workplace reintegration program that grants employees an individual legal right to such support following long-term or recurrent illness. Otherwise, we risk falling into a vicious cycle of illness.”