Pressure at work increases disease rates

Long absences in the workplace due to mental illness. Stress and stress let the days of sickness still fast.

(10.07.2010) According to a recent AOK study, mental illness in Germany is steadily increasing. Through mental suffering workers cause the longest absences. Mental illnesses are now ranked number 4 among the most common illness-related downtime in the workplace.

Pressure to perform, increased competition in the labor market and permanent stress are likely to be the reasons for an increase in absenteeism due to mental illness. According to the current 491-page "Absentee Report 2010" of the Scientific Institute of the AOK (Wido), more and more employees in Germany are lacking in the workplace because they suffer from mental illnesses. For the study, the data from 2009 of a total of 9.7 million AOK insured were evaluated. The University of Bielefeld helped to provide scientific support for the evaluation. The Techniker Krankenkasse recently published a report on absences. It even showed that the number of disability certificates increased by nearly 40 percent due to mental illness.

The most common cause of sickness absenteeism at work is still skeletal and spinal disorders (such as back pain), which is why about 23 percent of workers were sick. Fourth place is followed by Psychiatric Diseases with a share of 8.6%. So emotional disorders such as depression or burn-out are still ahead of cardiovascular diseases or indigestion such as diarrhea and nausea and vomiting.

Although psychological distress ranks fourth on the AOK scale, the scale is far greater than expected. For patients with a mental illness are far longer ill written than other diseases. One of the co-editors of the report explains: "In a respiratory illness, an employee lacks an average of 6.5 days, in a mental illness it is almost 23 days". In addition, mental illness is already the most common cause of early retirement. Three years ago, it was the third leading cause of premature retirement.

Experts are now looking for explanatory patterns for the speeding up of mental illnesses. Wolfgang Panter, President of the Association of German Plant and Factory Physicians, told the Südwest-Presse that today, many more people are more open-minded about mental suffering. The assumption is not entirely wrong, because, for example, men are increasingly open to confess to diseases such as depression. However, there are always two aspects of illness: "On the one hand, the work situation and, on the other, how the individual deals with it", Wolfgang Panter Author of the report.

Absenteeism has risen despite or because of the economic and financial crisis. In 2008, the rate was still at 4.6 percent, in 2009, the proportion of sickness-related defaults was 4.8 percent. According to the report, employees were on average 17.3 days ill or ill during the last year. So far, the state of health has fallen in times of crisis because many are afraid of losing their jobs. But for 2009 this should not apply.

But stress in the workplace can not only affect the mind. For example, a long-term study has shown that stress on the job can lead to cardiovascular disease. However, these relationships are not listed in the AOK report. To avoid excessive stress, several smaller breaks help to counteract fatigue. Healthy sleep can also help to reduce stress and thus prevent illness-related failures. (Sb)