The Incidence of Illnesses Among Culinary Staff: Warning Sounded by Bertelsmann Research
Due to the high number of employees falling ill, numerous kindergartens in Germany are trapped in a "harmful loop," as per former Bertelsmann expert Anette Stein. With more staff members getting sick, the workload on the remaining team members escalates. Providing top-notch early childhood education and care is now "hardly conceivable" in many areas. It's essential to establish a law mandating the funding of qualified personnel during sick leave.
The organization relied on data from health insurance providers to arrive at this conclusion. According to this data, psychological illnesses causing absences in kindergartens have surged significantly since 2021 and now exceed the average of all professions by a significant margin. Last year, psychological absenteeism was the second most prevalent reason for sick leave among kindergarten staff, trailing only respiratory infections in terms of missed days.
The analysis also revealed a trend in the sickness rate, which is the proportion of sick leave days to all scheduled workdays. In the kindergarten sector, the sickness rate in 2023 was around eight percent, significantly higher than the industry average of six percent.
The organization, alongside the Professional Forum, a cooperation of kindergarten staff and experts, advocated for a dependable policy on substitutes. The federal and state governments need to set common standards ensuring qualified personnel are available for absences. To achieve this, additional staff is required. Based on current absenteeism figures, approximately 97,000 full-time professionals need to be hired nationwide for sick leave, they explained.
In eastern Germany, where kindergarten enrollment is declining, there's an opportunity to utilize freed-up pedagogical professionals for substitute roles, the organization and the Professional Forum suggested. In these regions, the states need to establish legal grounds for continued employment.
However, in areas struggling with personnel shortages, trends must be addressed that count "insufficiently pedagogically qualified employees" towards staffing levels, the organization and the Professional Forum cautioned. This is particularly relevant in western federal states, where this trend is on the rise.
The organization highlighted that the rise in psychological illnesses leading to absences in kindergartens in Germany is significantly higher than the average of all professions. Due to this, hiring an additional 97,000 full-time professionals nationwide to cover sick leave is necessary.
