Sickness-related absenteeism in the private sector
Published: 23 April 2012
In 2009, in the context of the introduction of a single status for blue-collar and white-collar workers (LU0809019I [1]), the Government of Luxembourg declared the management of absenteeism a priority and invited social partners to investigate ways to reduce absenteeism. A high-level group of ministers and social partners set up by the government commissioned the Centre for Population, Poverty and Socio-Economic Policy Studies (CEPS/INSTEAD [2]) in collaboration with the General Social Security Inspectorate (IGSS [3]) to undertake research to obtain a better understanding of the causes of absenteeism. The research used data from IGSS and was carried out in 2009 and 2010.[1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/new-employee-chamber-brings-workers-together-in-single-status[2] http://www.ceps.lu[3] http://www.mss.public.lu/acteurs/igss/index.html
The first of four studies about absenteeism by the Centre for Population, Poverty and Socio-Economic Policy Studies based on research in 2009 and 2010 examines absenteeism due to illness in Luxembourg’s private companies. The rate of absenteeism increased slightly between 2009 and 2010 but remains lower than in Belgium, France and Germany. The rate for blue-collar workers is twice as high as that for white-collar workers. Age, sector and company size also have an impact.
About the study
In 2009, in the context of the introduction of a single status for blue-collar and white-collar workers (LU0809019I), the Government of Luxembourg declared the management of absenteeism a priority and invited social partners to investigate ways to reduce absenteeism. A high-level group of ministers and social partners set up by the government commissioned the Centre for Population, Poverty and Socio-Economic Policy Studies (CEPS/INSTEAD) in collaboration with the General Social Security Inspectorate (IGSS) to undertake research to obtain a better understanding of the causes of absenteeism. The research used data from IGSS and was carried out in 2009 and 2010.
The first of four reports about absenteeism based on the results was published by CEPS/INSTEAD in April 2011. The first report (in French, 3.13Mb PDF) is about absenteeism due to illness in private companies. The second report (in French, 2.89Mb PDF) examines the various dimensions of absenteeism at work. The other two planned reports will consider the types of enterprises affected by absenteeism and the causes of absenteeism in Luxembourg. The overall aim of the reports is to evaluate possible causes and propose potential approaches for action.
The key findings of the report on sickness-related absenteeism in private companies are outlined below.
Key findings
Slight increase in absenteeism in 2010
The absenteeism rate due to illness in Luxembourg in 2010 was 3.6%, a slight increase since 2009 and very similar to that in the three years before that. However, the rate in Luxembourg in the period 2006–2009 is still lower than that in the neighbouring countries of Belgium, France and Germany (see figure below). Increases recorded in the last few years are likely to be due to the economic crisis.
Differences in absenteeism rates
However, the overall rate of absenteeism in Luxembourg hides large discrepancies.
For example, the absenteeism rate for blue-collar workers (4.4%) is almost twice as high as that for white-collar workers (2.5%) (see table below). One explanation for the difference may be different working conditions and the physical demands of manual work affecting blue-collar workers.
The difference in the absenteeism rate between workers who live in Luxembourg and ‘transborder’ workers (that is, those who live in France, Belgium or Germany and cross the border to work) is very small (3.1% compared with 3.3%) (see table below).
| Occupation category | Transborder | Resident | Women | Men | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women | Men | Total | Women | Men | Total | ||||
| Blue-collar | 5.8 | 4.3 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 5.0 | 4.2 | 4.4 |
| White-collar | 3.3 | 2.0 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 1.9 | 2.5 |
| Total | 3.9 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 2.9 | 3.1 | 3.6 | 3.0 | 3.3 |
Notes: Occupation in the private sector in 2009, excluding temporary workers.
‘Transborder’ covers workers who work in Luxembourg but return home to Belgium, France or Germany every day.
Source: IGSS 2009/calculations, CEPS/INSTEAD
Other discrepancies in the rate of sickness-related absenteeism relate to:
age;
sector;
size of company.
These discrepancies reflect differences in employee behaviour according to their characteristics or their company’s characteristics.
For example, the average absenteeism rate is relatively stable up to the age of 40 years (about 3%), increases up to the age of 55 years (4.8%), levels off up to the age of 60 years and then declines – presumably because those still in work past 60 are in better health (Zanardelli et al, 2011a, p. 8).
Absenteeism is higher in the manual sectors than in sectors involving intellectual work such as education or information and communication technologies (ICT) (Zanardelli et al, 2011a, p. 9).
Finally, the rate of absenteeism increases with company size with one exception; companies with 250–499 employees have a lower rate than companies with 100–249 employees (Zanardelli et al, 2011a, p. 12).
Commentary
These findings are not sufficient to identify the causes of absenteeism and to propose recommendations in terms of government or company policies. Further analytical work is therefore necessary. The second report by CEPS/INSTEAD, published in May 2011, examines absenteeism as a multidimensional phenomenon (Zanardelli et al, 2011b) and concludes that there is a need to distinguish between long-term and short-term absenteeism. Although long-term absenteeism is rare and represents only 6.8% of all cases, it accounts for more than half (52.3%) of the days lost. There is therefore a need for government and company policies to pay particular attention to measures to combat long-term absenteeism.
References
Zanardelli, M. (2011), L’absentéisme au travail: une approche théorique qui intègre la survenance de la maladie comme un choc exogène (864Kb PDF) [Absenteeism at work: A theoretical approach that incorporates the occurrence of the disease as an exogenous shock], Working Paper No. 2011-27, CEPS/INSTEAD, Luxembourg.
Zanardelli, M., Genevois, A.-S. and Mazoyer, T. (2011a), L’absentéisme pour maladie dans les entreprises privées implantées au Luxembourg (3.13Mb PDF) [Sickness absence in private companies in Luxembourg], Cahier No. 2011-09, CEPS/INSTEAD, Luxembourg.
Zanardelli, M., Genevois, A.-S. and Mazoyer, T. (2011b), L’absentéisme au travail : un phénomène multidimensionnel (2.89Mb PDF) [Absenteeism at work: A multidimensional phenomenon], Cahier No. 2011-10, CEPS/INSTEAD, Luxembourg.
Vassil Kirov, HERA
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2012), Sickness-related absenteeism in the private sector, article.
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