Health insurance companies - More and more sick notes due to mental illness
People in Lower Saxony are increasingly taking sick leave due to mental illness. According to the Barmer health insurance company, the main problem here is that mental health-related incapacity to work usually lasts a long time. "We are observing these developments with concern, also with regard to all those who have to compensate for these absences from work," said Heike Sander, the regional managing director of Barmer in Lower Saxony and Bremen. According to her, young people in particular seem to be suffering from the "multiple crises of recent years".
According to an extrapolation by the health insurance company based on data from its own policyholders, more than 300,000 of around 3.1 million people in employment in Lower Saxony were on sick leave at least once last year due to mental illness. This means that the number of people in Lower Saxony who are absent from work due to mental illness has risen by around 58,000 within five years. According to Barmer, it has around 800,000 insured persons in Lower Saxony - and a market share of around 11 percent.
According to the health insurance company, the proportion of those on sick leave due to mental illness has risen, particularly in younger age groups. While this still applied to 7.8% of 20 to 24-year-olds in 2021, one year later 11.7% had been unable to work at least once due to mental health problems. Among employees aged over 60, the proportion rose slightly from 8.5% to 8.6%. According to the health insurance evaluation, sick leave due to mental illness lasts an average of over six weeks for employees in Lower Saxony.
Around 1.6 percent of employees in the state - and therefore around 50,000 people - were absent from work at least once in 2022 due to a diagnosis of depression, for example. "With over three million employees in total, that may not seem like a lot at first," said Sander. However, sick leave due to depression lasts an average of over 72 days a year. "Comparatively few sufferers therefore cause a very high number of days of absence overall," she explained.
In contrast, the national average duration of sick leave for all employees with all diagnoses is 23.8 days. "It is therefore important to minimize the risk factors, combat the causes and help those affected in the best possible way," said Sander.
According to the fund, mental illnesses have a wide variety of causes and depend on a number of factors. Traumatic experiences, social influences or environmental influences could be reasons, but also other illnesses or social circumstances as well as the job with risk factors such as high demands, little scope for action or exhaustion with little reward. Bullying, a poor working atmosphere or conflicts in the workplace can also lead to psychological stress.
According to the study, employees who work at one job for a long time and remain at one place of residence are at the lowest risk. "Regardless of age, a healthy psyche is the cornerstone of personal and professional success and, not least, quality of life," emphasized Sander.
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- Barmer, being one of the health insurance providers in Lower Saxony with around 800,000 insured individuals and a market share of 11%, has witnessed an increase in mental health-related sick leaves.
- The city of Hanover, located in Lower Saxony, and Bremen, both saw an increase in sick leave due to mental illness, with young people being particularly affected.
- In Bremen, a neighboring city to Lower Saxony, the health insurance company Barmer expressed concerns about the rise in mental health issues causing prolonged absences from work.
- Mental illnesses, such as depression, which led to around 50,000 sick leaves in Lower Saxony in 2022, are often associated with multiple risk factors, including high job demands, poor working conditions, and environmental influences.
Source: www.stern.de
