Highest sick leave in Brandenburg

In Brandenburg, people are more often ill than the national average. This was the result of an internal evaluation of the health insurance DAK.

16/03/2011

In Brandenburg, people are most frequently on sick leave compared to the rest of the federal states. This was announced by the German Employees' Fund (DAK) based on an internal evaluation of the number of insured persons.

The number of sick leave is the highest in the nationwide average comparison in the state of Brandenburg. According to an analysis of patient data of the DAK, the Germany-wide average is 3.4 percent measured on sick days. In Brandenburg, however, the sick leave rate was 4.4 percent. This means that every Brandenburg native missed an average of 16.2 days at work in 2010 due to illness.

Sick leave continues to increase
A spokesman for the health insurance also pointed to a continuous increase in sick leave. In 2009, the Brandenburg were ill about 15.8 days a year. In 2008, there were only 14.5 sick days. In particular, the increase in mental work lost gives cause for concern. Especially young people always feel „burnt“ and suffer from mental disorders such as burnout syndrome or depression. Also, the number of accidents with injuries have significantly increased, according to the health insurance.

East Germans on average more often ill than in the West
Why just the sick leave in Brandenburg is the highest, about it can only speculate. Some studies repeatedly point to significant east-west divide. For example, East Germans are particularly affected by a higher risk of heart attack and hypertension. The income structures are also reflected in the sick leave. Unemployment and low incomes also lead to a higher incidence of disease, according to several evidence-based studies.

Stress in the workplace is growing
The data is based on an analysis of about 124,000 nationwide health insurance of insured persons of the DAK. Brandenburgers were most often affected by temporary incapacity to work. According to the fund, it is noticeable that accidents at work as well as mental disorders have increased in recent years. The observed increase reflects increasing demands in professional life. People today have to prove more and more flexibility than they did ten years ago. However, many people are no match for the demands and react with health restrictions. This in turn leads to economic losses for companies.

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Image: Verena N..