LETTER FROM BERLIN
Germany is literally the sick man of Europe. According to official statistics, Germans are sick more and more often and, when they are, they take longer and longer sick leave: in 2023, on average, four more days of sick leave than in 2021, or 15.1 days compared to to 11.1 two years earlier, according to the Federal Bank. Statistics Office (which only counts stops of more than three days). And the trend is accelerating, as a record is expected in 2024. The federation of health insurance funds, Allgemeine Ortskrankenkasse (AOK), warned that a new peak had already been reached in August, even before the arrival of winter .
In a country in recession, the issue is not anecdotal. The publication of these figures had a strong impact in Germany, generating an unusual wave of introspection. “Have we all become lazy? »titled the Tagesspiegel a few days ago. “Are we lazy or have we just broken up? »the tabloid even wondered imagewhile the Handelsblatt talks about “the Republic is sick.”
The comments easily suggest that the country has become the European champion of sick leave. However, international comparisons, complex or even impossible due to regulatory differences, often lead to divergent conclusions.
Employee surveys by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are not as positive, although its experts admit to seeing a recent increase. As an indication (the data are not directly comparable), a report from the financial inspectorate, published in July, states that private sector employees in France were absent an average of 11.7 days for health reasons in 2022, and public officials, 14.5 days. days.
A pillar of the social state
Across the Rhine, the reactions to these statistics say almost more than the numbers themselves: is Germany, a country of Protestant work ethic, experiencing a cultural change?
Economists see this as a brake on the resumption of growth, some even maintain that the deficit linked to these absences would be enough to cover half a point of the gross domestic product (GDP) that would allow us to escape the recession. “The high absenteeism rate constitutes an additional risk to companies’ chances of success in overcoming weak growth”says the director of one of the main health insurance funds (DAK), Andreas Storm, in the image since October 28. The right and liberals interpret it, for their part, as a symptom of the excessive generosity of the social state, the cost of which would hinder Germany’s recovery.
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