Absence from Work Report 2022

Health-related absenteeism in Austria was on the decline in 2021 despite rising employment figures: employed persons spent an average of 12.3 calendar days on sick leave in Austria in 2021. Illnesses reduced the total volume of work by 3.4 percent, after 3.5 percent in the pandemic year 2020. Relatively more employed persons were affected by sick leave, but the duration of sick leave per case of illness fell by more than one day to an average of 10.3 days. Respiratory illnesses recorded a decrease compared to the previous year, while other illnesses, injuries and poisonings, and mental illnesses increased. In the module on sick leave associated with COVID-19 diagnoses, significant socioeconomic and regional differences emerge. Improved employee health would have cost-containment effects for the health care system as well as for the economy.