Mental health-related sickness absence up 51 per cent since 2018
Occupational physicians record mental health complaints in almost half of all sickness absence reports.
The number of mental health-related sickness absence reports per employee rose by 51 per cent between 2018 and 2025. Over the same period, reports for musculoskeletal complaints fell by 30 per cent per employee. The total number of absence reports per employee barely moved, from an average of 1.7 a year to 1.8. These are the findings of an analysis of 3.63 million sickness absence reports* from employers affiliated with Colbe.
In 2018, almost a third of all absence reports involved mental health complaints (31.6 per cent). By 2025 that had risen to almost half (45.4 per cent). Per employee, more than one and a half times as many mental health-related reports came in last year as in 2018, while the share of absence due to musculoskeletal complaints fell from almost a third to a fifth. Mental health is the only major cause of sickness absence that is still growing. Absence officially recorded as work-related also rose, from 15.5 to 18.7 per cent.
Arosha Brouwer, Chief Impact Officer at Colbe, is clear about what the data shows. “The combination of more mental health complaints and more work-related absence is an important warning sign. The reasons people are off sick today are clearly different from 2018. Back then, physical and mental health complaints were roughly equally common. Now it is far more often about mental health.”
Work context makes the difference
“We certainly see those figures reflected in the consulting room,” says Boyd Thijssens, occupational physician and medical director of De Nieuwe Arts. In his view, three domains come together in mental health-related absence: society, private life and work.
“As an employer, there is little you can change about developments in society. You can change the work context, but that is often taken as a given. Yet sometimes it is as simple as a good manager, pleasant colleagues and the feeling that someone is paying attention to you. The same problems at home hit very differently when your boss and colleagues aren’t there for you.”
The issue is on the agenda in Europe too. The European Parliament recently called on the European Commission to give workers better protection against psychosocial risks and work-related stress, with new obligations for employers.
From the individual to work wellbeing
Too often, according to Thijssens, the answer is sought in the individual alone. “Then you refer someone to a psychologist, but you miss all the explanations that lie in the work itself. That is exactly the lever you can pull. Otherwise, it always comes down to the individual.”
That is the essence of work wellbeing: wellbeing that comes from the work itself, from leadership, culture and workload. Which is why employers should take a critical look at their own culture and at how people treat each other, Thijssens believes. “That is harder to pin down than how much lifting is done, and more sensitive. It may not feel like your responsibility, but it is worth the investment, and the effect is measurable.”
His advice is to start small. “Make it something people can talk about in your own workplace. The topic is still often avoided. Remove the stigma and start the conversation.”
* Analysis of 3.63 million sickness absence reports from employers in 22 sectors affiliated with Colbe, covering the period 2018 to 2025 inclusive. The reports were registered by occupational physicians in line with the standard Dutch occupational health classification.