Department of Public and Occupational Health, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Faculty of Science, Health Economics and Health Technology Assessment, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
J Occup Rehabil. 2022 Dec;32(4):764-772. doi: 10.1007/s10926-022-10042-x. Epub 2022 May 16.
Purpose Stress-related illnesses are prevalent in Western society, causing sick leave and putting a heavy economic burden on employers and society. For Dutch employers it is particularly relevant to have insight into the costs of absenteeism due to stress-related illness, as they are legally obligated to continue payment of wages. Therefore, this study assessed the duration and costs of an episode of sick leave due to stress-related illness for Dutch employers. Methods Data on sick leave due to various stress-related illnesses were obtained from a nationwide occupational health service database. Stress-related illnesses included tension complaints, burn-out, overexertion, and other reactions to stress. The duration per sick leave episode was estimated in working days, after which the average cost per sick leave period was estimated using age- and gender-specific price weights. Results During the study period, 16,676 employees took 17,338 episodes of sick leave due to stress-related illness. On average, one episode of sick leave lasted 101 working days, for which the costs for the employer were on average €19,151 per worker. Women were responsible for most episodes of sick leave and were on average 37 days more absent per episode compared to men. Moreover, of all kinds of stress-related illnesses, burn-out had the longest duration of sick leave with 313 calendar days and 163 working days, resulting in an average cost of €30,770. Conclusions Sick leave due to stress-related illness places a heavy burden on employers and thus society. Further research should be conducted on how to reduce this burden.
目的
在西方社会，与压力相关的疾病普遍存在，导致员工请病假，给雇主和社会带来沉重的经济负担。对于荷兰雇主来说，了解因与压力相关的疾病而导致的旷工成本尤为重要，因为他们有法律义务继续支付工资。因此，本研究评估了荷兰雇主因与压力相关的疾病而请病假的持续时间和成本。
方法
从全国性的职业健康服务数据库中获取了各种与压力相关的疾病导致的病假数据。与压力相关的疾病包括紧张抱怨、倦怠、过度劳累和其他压力反应。病假持续时间以工作日计算，然后使用年龄和性别特定的价格权重估算每个病假期间的平均成本。
结果
在研究期间，16676 名员工因与压力相关的疾病请了 17338 个病假。平均而言，每个病假持续 101 个工作日，雇主为此平均每个员工支付 19151 欧元。女性请病假的比例最高，每个病假比男性平均多缺勤 37 天。此外，在所有与压力相关的疾病中，倦怠的病假持续时间最长，为 313 个日历日和 163 个工作日，导致平均成本为 30770 欧元。
结论
与压力相关的疾病导致的病假给雇主，进而给整个社会带来了沉重的负担。应进一步研究如何减轻这种负担。
