Absenteeism due to flu-like symptoms continues to rise in October

20 November 2024

In October 2024, the average absenteeism rate rose to 4.9% (September 2024: 4.6%). This is based on figures from the occupational health and safety service providers ArboNed and HumanCapitalCare, both part of HumanTotalCare and jointly serving around 1 million employees in the Netherlands. This continues the rise in absenteeism that began this autumn.

Number of sick reports rises

After the sharp increase in September, absenteeism continued to rise in October. The average absenteeism rate rose from 4.6% to 4.9%. This puts average absenteeism slightly higher than in September last year (4.8%). The number of notifications received by ArboNed and HumanCapitalCare also went up: for every 1,000 employees, there were 70 sick reports. A month earlier, that number stood at 60 sick reports.

Lower absenteeism rate among small businesses

The rise in absences is visible in every industry and with every size company. Yet the gap between small and large companies remains clearly visible. The average absenteeism rate in SMEs (companies with up to 200 employees) was 4.5% last month, while in large companies it was 5.7%.

The colder months

The main cause of this increase is flu-like symptoms, such as colds, muscle aches and fever. “The colder months usher in the flu season. That's why we are seeing more people have flu-like symptoms, which in turn leads to more absenteeism,” explains Jurriaan Penders, Occupational Physician and Director of Medical Affairs at HumanCapitalCare. “This kind of an increase is typical for this time of year. When a large group of employees are out sick at the same time, it can create a number of challenges in the workplace. Fortunately, we are seeing that in three quarters of the notifications, employees are 100% back to work after seven days.”