Usual drop in absenteeism in the summer month of July fails to materialise due to flu symptoms

22 August 2024

Utrecht– The July 2024 absenteeism rate is higher at 4.5% than in July 2023: 4.2%. The usual drop in absenteeism in the summer months is less evident this year. As with the increase in the number of COVID particles in the wastewater, the proportion of sick calls due to flu-related symptoms also increased in July 2024. This is based on figures from the occupational health and safety service providers ArboNed and HumanCapitalCare, both part of HumanTotalCare and jointly serving over 1 million employees.

Absenteeism in July 2024: flu symptoms biggest culprit

At 4.5%, the average absenteeism rate in July 2024 was slightly lower than the previous month: 4.6%. However, absenteeism is higher this year in July than it was in 2023: 4.2%. In 2023, occupational health and safety services received an average of 39 absence notifications per 1,000 employees compared to 48 reports in July 2024. “The drop that is normally usually rather after the start of the summer holidays is less pronounced this year,” explained Redmer van Wijngaarden, Company Doctor and Director of Medical Affairs at ArboNed. “This is mainly because employees reported sick with flu symptoms. The relatively high number of absence notifications for this period of the year also runs parallel to the increase in COVID particle counts in the wastewater measurements from RIVM, among others.”

Frequent and long-term absenteeism

Employees who report sick with flu-like symptoms can usually return to work within a few days. “The figures from ArboNed and HumanCapitalCare show that only a small proportion of employees have more frequent or long-term absences,” Van Wijngaarden continued. In the annual absenteeism figures, occupational health and safety services see that 5% of employees report sick four times or more a year. This is called frequent absenteeism. Due to frequent absences lasting a few days, the impact of this small group can be significant. For instance, it is more difficult for employers to arrange a replacement for a few days than for a longer period of time. This means that work is either left on hold or additional work is taken on by colleagues. Moreover, employees who are frequently absent account for 45% of absence notifications. About 8% of employees are absent for long periods: six weeks or more. This group accounts for 75% of the number of sick days. Van Wijngaarden: “So although it sometimes seems that many people are sick every other day or for a long time, the majority of employees are simply at work.”

Post-holiday blues

With the holiday season almost over, many people are back at work again. Van Wijngaarden: “During the holiday season, there is time to recharge your battery so you keep your sense of balance in check. After the holidays, you go back to work feeling recharged and rested.” Regardless, that first day back at work can still take some getting used to: the ‘post-holiday blues’. “It’s not a medical phenomenon, but despite your renewed energy, you may still feel a sense of dread or experience physical symptoms such as headaches or poor sleep. People often soon get back into their routines and the blues disappears in a few days,” Van Wijngaarden continued. “In day-to-day life, and also on working days, it helps to strike a balance between exercise and relaxation, keeping moving and going outside. And most importantly, plan your next days off in advance, because the bottom line is that holidays positively contribute to your health.”