Overview

• Respiratory illnesses accounted for 22 percent of all absence days in the first half of 2025, rising to about 190 sick days per 100 insured after a sharp cold and flu wave in January and February.
• Overall sick-leave rates edged down from last year but remained high at roughly 4.6 percent in Baden-Württemberg, 4.8 percent in Bavaria, 5.7 percent in Hesse and 5.8 percent in Rheinland-Pfalz/Saarland.
• Workers in elderly care averaged about 12.7 sick days per employee and those in childcare nearly 11 days, marking the heaviest sectoral burdens.
• Fehltage for psychological disorders fell by around 7–8 percent and for musculoskeletal conditions by 9–10 percent, while the average duration per sick case declined to about nine days.
• DAK’s analysis, underpinned by IGES Institute evaluations of large regional samples, underlines the need for targeted prevention, health promotion and improved workplace health management.