Bayern lost work due to mental suffering

Bavaria: Increase in mental work lost

10.05.2011

In Bavaria, more and more people can not go to work due to a mental disorder. According to the health insurance AOK, the mental work losses increased compared to the same period last year by 54 percent. The main reasons are increasing stress and work pressure.

54 percent more sick days due to mental illness
In Bavaria, too, there has been a sudden increase in lost work due to mental illness such as depression or burnout. According to a study of the general local health insurance AOK Bavaria, the number of mental work lost by 54 percent. Overall, such illnesses caused around 9 percent of all work incapacities. The main reason for the jump is the enormous demands in the working life and the increasing stress in the workplace. The most common causes of work-related injuries are still disorders of the musculoskeletal system with symptoms such as back pain or hip pain (24 percent). Of the most common reasons for a sick leave in 2010 were flu and respiratory diseases with 11 percent.

Total sick leave below the national average
In Bavaria, however, the total sick leave remained at the previous year's level despite increased mental suffering. Due to sick leave, the employer lost about 4.2 working days. A good ten years ago it was still 4.9 days. In Bavaria, workers are the least ill compared to all other federal states. The nationwide average is 4.8 calendar days. For the evaluation, the health insurance company used the anonymized data of approximately 2.1 million Bavarian health insured persons of the AOK Bavaria. Sick days and illness were investigated. (Sb)