Sick Leave Statistics Reveal Berliners Miss an Average of 21 Workdays

Recent data from AOK Nordost indicates that employees in Berlin missed an average of 21 workdays due to illness last year. This marks a significant increase in sick leave compared to the pre-pandemic period, where the average was around 5 percent of working days lost. The analysis highlights that approximately one-third of these absences were attributed to long-term illnesses.

The report identifies two primary conditions contributing to the rise in sick days: mental health issues and musculoskeletal disorders, including ailments affecting the back, neck, and shoulders. Anke Jurchen, head of Occupational Health Management at AOK Nordost, emphasized the role employers can play in mitigating these health issues through effective workplace health management strategies.

Comparative statistics show that the sickness rate in Berlin was 5.7 percent in 2024, slightly lower than the previous year's figure of 5.9 percent. However, this rate is higher than the 2014-2019 average, which consistently hovered around 5 percent. The AOK Nordost specifically pointed out that respiratory illnesses and mental health conditions have seen substantial increases since 2022, with cases rising by approximately one-third and one-fifth, respectively, since 2019.

Part of the uptick in recorded sick days can be attributed to improved tracking methods established with the introduction of the electronic sick leave certificate (eAU) which began its rollout in 2021. This system automatically transmits sick leave notifications to health insurers, eliminating the necessity for employees to manually submit their sick notes, a process that often led to underreporting of absences.

The AOK analyzed all sick leave notifications from employees insured through their services in Berlin and Brandenburg, covering about a quarter of all workers in these regions. With 383,169 employees registered in Berlin and an additional 235,741 in Brandenburg, the data provides a comprehensive overview of workplace health trends in these areas.