2023-07-25 17:48:14
Posted Jul 25, 2023 at 4:11 p.m.Updated Jul 25, 2023 at 5:48 p.m.
Offices are not only emptying because of teleworking. In 2022, absenteeism reached a new record, according to a survey by the consulting firm Mercer carried out with a panel of more than 3,000 companies established in France and published on Tuesday. Already high in 2020 at the start of the Covid pandemic, a year during which the absenteeism rate for all workers was then 5%, this figure rose to 5.2% in 2022.
“Ten years ago, we were more on rates of 2.5 to 3%,” recalls Camille Mosse, from Mercer. More concretely, nearly one in two employees (48%) was absent at least once from their workstation in 2022, compared to 36% in 2021.
The nature of absences is changing
The average duration of these absences, “the vast majority in the form of work stoppages”, is also changing significantly: 46% of these absences last between six and fifteen days in 2022, compared to 36.5% in 2021. These absences, which therefore more frequently have an “average” duration, are at the expense of absences of a few days or several weeks. “The share of stoppages for a mild illness lasting a few days or for a serious illness requiring several weeks of stoppage is declining”, explains Camille Mosse.
To understand the evolution of their duration, it is necessary to look at that of their nature. Long the leading cause of stoppages, musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are falling to second position and giving way to stoppages for anxiety and depression. “In a very tense economic and social context, employees are more prey to psychosocial risks, which often result in ten-day stops,” explains Camille Mosse.
The relationship to work changes
Absenteeism in 2022 also affects executives more, a category hitherto less inclined to stop their activity. The rate of executives who were absent during the year rose from 25% in 2021 to 34% in 2022, an increase of 34%. “All social categories are today affected by absenteeism”, indicates Camille Mosse, who underlines “a profound evolution, all ages combined, in the relationship to work”, with a greater search “for a balance between professional life and private life”.
The proportion of executives who were absent at least once during the year increased by 34% between 2021 and 2022.
While it is still the over 55s who are absent the most in 2022 (absenteeism rate of 5.6%, a stable figure) – they are the ones who have more health problems – it is the under 30s who are experiencing the greatest increase, with a 32% increase in their absenteeism rate between 2019 and 2022.
In an attempt to contain this phenomenon, Health Insurance will carry out more checks on doctors who would prescribe work stoppages too easily, by withdrawing, if necessary, the agreement that binds doctors to Health Insurance. The consulting firm recommends multiplying the recommendations for screenings within companies and training, so that employees systematically adopt behaviors that preserve their health capital.
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