Stress-related sick leave is reaching new heights from an already alarming level. December 2023 marks a shocking milestone, where over 44,000 individuals in Sweden struggle with sick leave of at least two weeks as a result of stress.
It is a worrying comparison with the beginning of the 2010s, when the corresponding figure barely exceeded 6,000 people. Kristina Ström Olsson, health strategist at Ifsays in one press release on the insurance company’s website that the increase is that the social consequences could be great.
– Mainly it affects the individual and their relatives, but it also means a great strain on employers and not least society, says If’s health strategist Kristina Ström Olsson in the press release.
Differences in the statistics
Stress-related sick leave is more common among women than men and constitutes a significant part of the total sick leave. According to If’s analysis of Försäkringskassan’s latest figures, eight out of ten affected women are women.
The survey also shows that 27 percent of all ongoing, longer illness cases among women are linked to stress, compared to only 13 percent among men. This points to a clear gender difference when it comes to handling stress and its impact on health.
Here you can read about the proposal: Tougher rules for those on sick leave.
Kristina Ström Olsson believes that one of the reasons is that many women often take on more responsibility in addition to their job, for example for household chores.
– Going from the working day to home work can lead to a greater stress charge, when the body and mind are actually crying out for recovery, says Kristina Ström Olsson.
Most affected region
There are large regional differences between those who take sick leave the most and those who do it the least. But it is Jämtland that has the highest percentage of sick leave, where the number of sick leave due to stress in the county has doubled in the last five years, an increase of over 100 percent.
Stressed at work? Then you may need to change jobs.
Kristina Ström Olsson believes that there are several factors that can contribute, such as demographics, business climate, organizational work environment or efforts at the workplace that promote health and work ability.
– To some extent, assessment and classification during work capacity assessments in the sick leave process can also explain differences, says Kristina Ström Olsson.
Here is the list
Share of all sick leave that is stress-related in each county, compiled by If.
Source: Försäkringskassan.
A: Sickness should again be compared to pretend work
5 simple tricks – how to deal with stress in everyday life