Sick leave jumped from a good 68 hours per employee in 2021 to a good 91 hours.
(Photo: imago images/photothek)
Berlin Flu, corona, bronchitis: According to a study, the highest sick leave since reunification due to respiratory and cold diseases is costing the German economy dearly. It is likely to have cost around 27 to 42 billion euros last year, according to a study by the Kiel Institute for Economic Affairs (IfW) published on Tuesday.
Gross domestic product (GDP) could have increased by between 2.5 and 2.9 percent instead of 1.8 percent. According to this, the sick leave jumped from a good 68 hours per employee in 2021 to a good 91 hours.
“Since reunification, this is by far the strongest increase in sick leave within a year and also the highest level of illness,” it said. The main causes were respiratory infections and colds.
“The extraordinarily high level of sick leave in the past year is likely to have weighed heavily on the German economy in addition to the energy crisis,” said IfW labor market expert Dominik Groll. “However, the economic performance in 2023 is supposedly in a better light because the increase is now somewhat higher, provided the sick leave decreases again in the current year.”
According to the IfW forecast, GDP this year will be slightly above that of 2022. “The consequences of the energy crisis are becoming less visible due to the sharp increase in sick leave in the meantime,” said Groll. “Instead of stagnating, the economy is likely to grow slightly in 2023 because it has to exceed a lower level than would have been the case without the high level of sick leave.”
According to the institute, increased sick leave does not have a one-to-one impact on value creation. Part of the consequences are compensated by overtime by healthy employees, part of the loss of work is made up for by the sick themselves after recovery.
In addition, in both cases, increased labor productivity is likely due to increased work intensification, so that more work is produced and earned per hour.
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