Increase especially among men
Mental illnesses cost Germany 17.2 billion euros
December 25, 2023, 8:37 p.m
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More and more often, employees in Germany are unable to work due to mental illnesses. In the past 20 years, the number of resulting sick days has more than doubled. The economic costs are enormous.
Mental illnesses in the world of work have continued to increase in importance in the past year: The number of sick or incapacity days (AU) by employees due to mental illnesses and behavioral disorders rose to a high of 132 million days in 2022, as the “Rheinische Post” reports. She is referring to a response from the Federal Ministry of Labor to a small request from the Left Party.
In 2021 there were still 126 million such days of absence. According to the newspaper, the number of sick or incapacity days due to mental illnesses was more than twice as high in 2022 as it was 20 years earlier. In 2002, health insurance companies had only registered 61 million such sick days.
“Inability to work due to mental and behavioral disorders remains at a high level,” the ministry said. In addition to the consequences of current crises such as the corona pandemic, the causes are also suspected to be the increasing openness in dealing with mental illnesses. The ministry also referred to “new stress requirements” due to changes in the world of work, such as digitalization, demographic change and a shortage of skilled workers.
Left pushes for “anti-stress regulation”
While the number of AU days due to mental illnesses among women increased by 2.7 percent to 77 million compared to the previous year, it increased by 7.8 percent to 55 million among men, the newspaper also reported. The average downtime due to mental and behavioral disorders was 32 days, at a similarly high level as in the previous year. It is therefore almost three times as long as the downtime of all diagnostic groups (eleven days).
According to the ministry’s response, the number of sick days due to mental illnesses is above average in the health sector, in public administration and in schools and daycare centers. At 42 percent, a large proportion of early retirement due to reduced earning capacity can be attributed to psychological stress.
According to the report, the economic costs of mental and behavioral disorders also reached a peak in 2022. At 17.2 billion euros, production downtime costs exceeded the previous year’s value by 8.9 percent.
“The federal government must finally act, invest money and take concrete measures to break the vicious cycle of overwork and staff shortages,” said left-wing politician Susanne Ferschl to the “Rheinische Post”. The Left is therefore calling for “an anti-stress regulation, comprehensive occupational health and safety controls and staffing limits.”