In 2023, the absenteeism rate in companies reached 4.8%, compared to 5.4% the previous year. A figure below the 2020 level, but still above the rate of 2019, the last year before the start of the pandemic, reveals a study published Thursday, September 5 by the consulting firm WTW.
For Noémie Marciano, Director of Personal Insurance and Benefits at WTW (Willis Towers Watson), this decline is indeed “to be taken with caution”, particularly in light of a high absenteeism rate the previous year. The overall trend for several years has remained upward, due to the effect of an “aging of the working population” and “lifestyle habits […] modified with Covid,” she explains. The study was carried out using data collected from 2,196 private sector companies representing 420,280 employees.
Fewer work stoppages but they are longer
This general decline was also accompanied by a decrease in the proportion of employees who had recourse to sick leave, as well as in the average number of sick leave periods per employee.
Only one indicator, the average duration of work stoppages, is on the rise, rising to 23 days compared to 20 days last year. This increases regardless of the age of employees, underlines Noémie Marciano, who points out in particular the effect of risks in terms of mental health.
On the rise among workers and employees
The study also shows more absences among workers and employees than among intermediate professions and executives. A phenomenon explained “possibly by the arduousness of their job”, estimates WTW.
Similarly, women have on average more days of absence than men, a finding which can be explained, according to the firm, “in particular by their over-representation in certain sectors or positions where improvement is among the weakest”.