Sick leave garbage workers are often ill

Current study shows slight increase in sick leave

04/02/2015

Who in physically demanding occupations such. Disposal or metalworking works, is significantly more sick than other workers. This shows a current ranking of the scientific institute of the AOK. Thus, e.g. Mine workers averaged 30.8 days in 2014 due to a sick leave, while doctors averaged just seven days.

Mine-makers are missing an average of 30.8 days in 2014
People who work in supply and sanitation sectors have more sick leave than other workers. This is the result of a recent analysis by the Scientific Institute of the AOK (WidO). For example, waste-to-shore workers missed an average of 30.8 days in 2014. In second and third place are occupations of the industrial foundry with 29.5 and road and tunnel guards with 27.3 sick days. Among other things, bus and tram drivers (26.9 days) as well as workers in the fields of non-cutting metalworking (26.9), geriatric care (26.7) and metal forming (26.6) were more often ill than other occupational groups Press release of the AOK.

High physical workloads lead to musculoskeletal disorders
The reasons for the comparatively high downtime would be the AOK primarily in the „job-specific requirement profiles“. Correspondingly, workers such as those in the areas of supply and disposal or the industrial foundry would be confronted with high physical workloads, as a result of which musculoskeletal disorders are particularly common. On the other hand, in the service-oriented occupations, mental illness was more likely to be a frequent reason for sick leave. Here were according to the AOK in particular occupations in the so-called „dialogue marketing“ (Call Centers, for example), where workers have been absent 19 percent of the time because of psychological reasons.

Employees in the elderly care experience high mental stress
A relatively high proportion of sick days were also attributable to mental illness (16%) in geriatric nursing, with both occupational groups, with 26.4 and 26.7 days lost per employee, respectively, being among the areas of high sickness anyway. „These results make it clear to which specific health risks the employees are exposed to their respective occupational situations. Prevention offers should therefore always be related to the respective occupational group in order to be successful“, said Deputy Managing Director of WidO, Helmut Schröder.

Doctors, software developers and scientists, however, are rarely ill
By contrast, employees in university teaching and research (3.9 days), software developers (7.1) and physicians (7) reported significantly fewer illness-related absences. „Education seems to be a major driver of health. Better educated employees usually behave healthier. In addition, they are given greater room for maneuver and creative opportunities in their professional activity“, Schroeder continues. Overall, the sick leave rate for the 11 million AOK insured employees was 5.2 percent in 2014, which represents a minimal increase of 0.1 percentage points compared to the previous year. Accordingly, every employee had an average of 18.9 days absent due to a medical certificate. (Ag)