Effect of lockdown and holiday noticeable in absenteeism decrease
Absenteeism rate remains exceptionally high due to Covid-19
In December 2021, the average absenteeism rate in the Netherlands decreased to 4.9% (compared to 5.1% in November 2021). Nevertheless, despite the lockdown and the holiday, the absenteeism rates remained exceptionally high for the second month in a row. This is mostly due to the high and still rising number of sick reports related to Covid-19, according to figures of occupational health & safety services HumanCapitalCare and ArboNed, which are both part of the HumanTotalCare group and jointly work for approximately 1 million employed persons. According to the occupational health & safety services, the exceptionally high absenteeism rates of the last quarter are also reflected in the average absenteeism rates of 2021: a year in which the average absenteeism rate increased and employees were sick for longer periods.
In the media
RTL Z: high absenteeism due to omicron—have we reached a record?
The omicron variant drastically increased absenteeism. Companies are in trouble because there are not enough employees at work. But how high is the absenteeism compared to the past 25 years? RTL Z had a look with the help of figures from HumanCapitalCare.
Decrease in absenteeism thanks to lockdown and holiday
The average absenteeism rate decreased slightly to 4.9%, but remains exceptionally high. In SMEs (less than 200 employees), the average rate of 4.4% is, as always, lower than in large companies. In small SMEs (less than 50 employees) this is even 4.1%. “Despite the increase in the number of Covid-19 infections, the effect of the lockdown and the holiday is noticeable, as expected, in the decrease in absenteeism,” says Jurriaan Penders, medical officer and director of medical affairs at HumanCapitalCare.
A third of all sick reports due to Covid-19
The number of sick reports, also known as the calling-in-sick frequency, decreased in December by 39% and as a result, it is back to the normal pre-pandemic rate. Penders: “Covid-19 and influenza were the main causes of absenteeism in the month of December. The number of sick reports due to Covid-19 increased from 5% to 35% in December, while the calling-in-sick frequency due to influenza decreased to 25% from 30% in November.”
Highest absenteeism in sectors with duty rosters
The sectors with the highest absenteeism in December were the healthcare sector (6.7%), the industrial sector (5.6%), the education sector (5.5%) and the construction industry (5.1%). “These are sectors in which employees work according to duty rosters and almost always work on location,” says Penders. “Employees sick with Covid-19 and the limited possibilities of working from home have a higher impact in these sectors. In comparison, absenteeism rates were the lowest in financial institutions and business service providers with 4.4% and 3.8%, respectively.”
2021: average absenteeism rate increased
With the latest figures of December 2021, ArboNed and HumanCapitalCare can take stock of last year’s absenteeism trends. Penders: “An initial rough analysis shows that the average absenteeism rate of 2021 continued to increase in comparison to 2019 and 2020. In the past year, employees were notably sick for longer periods. After a lower than usual absenteeism rate in the first quarter of 2021, the absenteeism rate increased in the second quarter. From April to December, the absenteeism rate remained higher than in previous years. In particular, we witnessed outliers in the last quarter due to influenza and Covid-19.”
Attention for employees who have to carry out extra work
Now that the holidays and the lockdown are over, the occupational health & safety services expect absenteeism rates to increase again. “The number of Covid-19 infections remains high. Although employees experience a milder form of Covid thanks to the omicron variant, they are nevertheless absent for several days,” says Penders. “It remains important to prevent as much as possible the spread of Covid-19, as well as influenza. That way, we will spread absenteeism over a longer period and safeguard the continuity of many smaller companies. The government has already eased the quarantine measures so that companies will have sufficient employees. We recommend employers to pay attention to employees who have to carry out extra work due to absenteeism of colleagues. Start to think ahead of what work you might be able to postpone to prevent unnecessary stress among employees and continue having a dialogue.”