Rising Sick Days Are Costing Europe Billions Every Year
Governments and companies are desperate to reverse the trend of absences
Benefits, ageing workforces and more awareness of stress and mental health have been blamed for rising sick days across Europe.
Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/BloombergFor businesses in Norway, illness is becoming an increasingly trying problem. Workers take more sick days than anywhere else in Europe and absences are at the highest level in 15 years.
As companies struggle with chronic shortages, critics blame an overly generous welfare system, where spending on health-related benefits outranks other developed nations. The IMF calls it “costly and distortionary” and says that reform should be a priority. Workers get their full salary for a year, with a cap at somewhat higher than the average wage, and then two thirds of former income after that.