Corporate absenteeism hit record highs in 2022. According to a barometer published this Monday, May 22 by Axa, 44% of employees were absent at least one day in the year, compared to 30% in 2019. The insurer’s study, which is in its fourth edition, shows that the increase can be explained by a sharp increase short-term shutdowns which “can potentially be linked” to the epidemic waves of Covid-19, due in particular to the Omicron variant at the start of the year.
But in the latest edition of the Datascope, revealed by The crossthe insurer also notes “an upward trend” in absenteeism, in particular due to latent disorders, such as psychological disorders, musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs)… Psychological disorders thus settle for the second year in a row as the first cause long-term sick leave (22.2%, +4 points compared to 2019), ahead of MSDs (21.2%).
These disorders, which are grouped under the name of professional exhaustion (or “burn-out”), “settle permanently as the first cause of long-term work stoppage”, notes Axa in its report.
This increase in MSDs “is most likely linked to the resumption of activity, but also to the generalization of teleworking which sometimes leads to more sedentary lifestyles or poor postures given the different work habits and equipment used by the employee at home. “, notes Axa in his study.
“Sedentary lifestyle is often compared to a true silent epidemic”, notes Axa. “It is indeed a risk factor for many diseases such as cardiovascular disease (heart attack, stroke, etc.). It promotes the development of obesity, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers such as colon cancer”, continues the insurer.
The youngest even more affected by the rise
The increase in absenteeism affected all age groups, but the youngest were even more affected, with an absenteeism rate which increased by more than 50% among those under 30 between 2019 and 2022. By way of comparison, the increase was 34.3% among 45-50 year olds. All sectors are affected, with the mainly food trade showing the highest rate (6.8%, compared to 4.5% overall).
The average duration of work stoppages increases exponentially with age, notes the insurer. In particular for seniors (over 60), for whom the average duration observed (42.6 days) is more than twice that observed for the population as a whole (18 days).
The average duration of outages is down -10% overall (all outage durations combined). However, Axa notes an increase in the duration of the longest outages: +11.2% for outages of more than 90 days. For Axa, this “shows that the overall trend of -10% is misleading”. “This vision comes from the number of short-term stops, which has increased a lot, to the point of masking the increases in duration for longer stops”, explains the insurer.
A slight drop in absenteeism in 2023?
Axa estimates the direct cost in 2022 (not counting the impacts on productivity, work disorganization, etc.) at 4.4% of payroll (compared to 3.4% in 2019). For 2023, the study predicts “a slight drop” in absenteeism, but without a return to the pre-Covid situation, with indicators “at levels well above those of 2019”. The percentage of employees absent at least one day is notably announced between 35% and 42%.
For Patrick Cohen, CEO of Axa France, “this detailed photograph is a warning signal”. To improve the situation, he suggests “increasing health checks”, “regulating teleworking to avoid a sedentary lifestyle or too much connection” or even “training employees in first aid in mental health”.
“Companies have an essential role to play in the prevention of psychological disorders”, recalls Katell Clère, Technical Director of Awareness and Innovation at Axa. “Indeed, recent studies have shown that employees indicate that they have greater well-being when they work in a company that implements a Quality of Life and Working Conditions (QVCT) policy with a particular focus on well-being. -being mental.”
The barometer is based on the anonymized processing of the Nominative Social Declarations (DSN) of the Axa portfolio in 2022 for more than 3 million employees. The insurer reports an over-representation of executives (27% against 19% for the total population of employees in France) with an average age of 40.4 years and 84% of employees on permanent contracts.