2024-08-01 09:38:41
Number of days absent increases
More and more Germans are sick because of stress: surprising trigger
Updated on 01.08.2024 – 10:16Reading time: 3 min.
The number of days employees are absent due to stress-related psychological problems is increasing. A so-called trap is often the trigger.
There are people who are proud of pushing themselves to their limits or even beyond in order to do everything as perfectly as possible. They are under enormous pressure. But they suffer less from the working conditions at work, the sheer amount of work or arguments with the boss, but from the high demands they place on themselves – the commercial health insurance company KKH calls this the “perfectionism trap”.
According to a new Forsa survey commissioned by the health insurance company, 43 percent of working people often feel under massive pressure – one in seven even very often, according to the KKH in Hanover. A further 43 percent occasionally feel stressed at work. The reasons for this are clear: around two thirds (65 percent) of those surveyed feel pressured by their own expectations to do their job as well as possible. At the same time, according to data from KKH policyholders, the number of days off work due to stress-related mental illnesses is increasing nationwide.
For the representative study, the opinion research institute Forsa surveyed 1,001 working people aged 18 to 70 across Germany from July 1 to 8 on behalf of the KKH. With around 1.6 million insured people, the health insurance company is one of the largest nationwide funds.
According to the survey, time pressure in everyday work (62 percent) is almost as big a stress driver as one’s own perfectionism – which is significantly higher than the expectations of others (40 percent). Around a third of working people feel stressed by too many overtime hours (36 percent) or too high performance requirements (32 percent). Difficulties in balancing work and private life (27) or a salary that is too low (23) affect around one in four. Bad mood in the team and bullying (21) or control by superiors also cause stress.
“Our survey shows that stress is perceived very individually and is strongly influenced by one’s own attitude,” said KKH occupational psychologist Antje Judick. First of all, this is good news because it can be worked on. But she stressed that in a performance-oriented society, stress is often seen as a status symbol and perfectionism as a sign of performance. Constant accessibility, for example via smartphone, and blurred boundaries between work and private life have “now become established as a matter of course”: being constantly available and delivering perfection is seen as the epitome of success.
According to the survey, a good one in four working people (28 percent) have already missed work due to the pressure and stress of their working life. Nationwide data on the incapacity to work of KKH insured persons also show that the number of days off due to stress-related psychological problems is increasing – including acute stress reactions and adjustment disorders: In the first half of 2024, there were 109 days off for every 100 KKH customers insured all year round – compared to 105 in the same period last year. In 2019, there were only 75 days off per 100 employed persons.
In the five-year comparison, the health insurance company registered an increase in depressive episodes from 89 to 102 days per 100 insured persons. Burnout – usually diagnosed as a syndrome at the onset of a stress-related illness or in the course of other mental illnesses – was 11 days per 100 employed persons last year, and 10 days in the first half of 2024. In 2019, it was 8 days. The so-called burnout is a gradual process. At first, those affected feel strong. But if moments of stress are no longer followed by phases of relaxation, the first signs of overexertion and exhaustion appear. If you do not counteract this, you set off a downward spiral.
Another stress factor for the majority of the population in Germany: fear of war and crises. As Swiss Life Insurance announced in March following a Yougov survey, these fears come before personal issues such as financial worries or illness. The increase in natural disasters in recent years is also causing concern among a considerable portion of the population – and the fear of disasters causes stress.
According to the Forsa survey commissioned by KKH, working women struggle more with stress than men – 20 percent of the women surveyed said they felt stressed very often, compared to 11 percent of men. Work psychologist Judick explained that the expectation of excelling in both the role of mother and in their career puts many women under immense pressure.
According to the health insurance company, the number of days off work due to mental illness has increased significantly since 2017 – and reached its highest level to date last year: While at the beginning of the corresponding evaluation in 2017 there were 298 sick days per 100 employees insured all year round, this figure has now risen to 388 days.