Overview
- An age- and gender-standardized analysis of five million BKK-insured confirms a sustained rise in absences since 2021, with mandatory electronic sick notes improving data capture.
- Respiratory diseases became a key driver, accounting for about 20% of all sick days in 2024 after a marked 2022 jump tied to COVID-19 and influenza.
- Musculoskeletal conditions continue to make up a large, steady share of absence days, while psychological disorders are increasing and often lead to long individual outages.
- Regional gaps are stark: Baden-Württemberg averaged 18.5 sick days in 2024 versus around 28 in Saarland and Saxony-Anhalt, with Mansfeld-Südharz at about 31 and Starnberg at 14.5.
- Absences concentrate in lower-paid, physically demanding jobs such as cleaning, transport/logistics and manufacturing, while leadership and IT show the lowest rates, and experts call for stronger prevention and broader vaccination as cardiology societies now endorse flu and pneumococcal shots to reduce heart risk.