Fewer absenteeism healthcare workers by 2023, decline levelling off

In 2022, it was 8.36, down 7.3 per cent. Unlike short-term absenteeism, absenteeism longer than 365 days is rising. This rises above 2 per cent for the first time. The notification frequency decreased to 1.30. This is according to annual figures for 2023 from research firm Vernet.

Decline flattens out
Comparing the figures for 2022 and 2023, we can see that the decline is easing slightly each quarter. The first quarter saw a drop of as much as 11 per cent, followed by a drop of 7, 6 and 3 per cent in the second, third and fourth quarters, respectively. See annex 1

Extra long absenteeism above two per cent for the first time
Looking at absence duration, we see a decrease in absence across the board. We see the biggest decrease in short-term absenteeism. Only absenteeism longer than 365 days and more continues to increase. In 2023, this will exceed two per cent for the first time (2.03%). See appendix 2

Old pattern
Further analysis of absenteeism trends by month, a pattern similar to that before the COVID period (2019) emerges in 2023. What stands out is that absenteeism is on average 1.6 percentage points higher than in 2019. In addition, we also see in the last two months of 2023 that the lines diverge slightly and the difference with 2019 widens again. See annex 4

Reporting frequency down
The reporting frequency, the average number of times an employee reports sick in a year, has declined: in 2022, it was remarkably high at 1.54, but declined to 1.30 in 2023. Short-term absenteeism has the biggest impact on the reporting frequency; in line with the decline in short-term absenteeism, the reporting frequency has also decreased. As a result, the healthcare sector seems to be heading towards the old average, which fluctuated between 1.0 and 1.1. See annex 3

"We are pleased that we are now not seeing the extreme outliers in absenteeism by COVID and can publish a lower figure than a year ago," said Danijela Budimir, director of operations at Vernet. That the level is higher than in 2019 may be explained by the fact that we now have lower immunity to regular viruses due to all the lockdowns. "That cause is also mentioned in the conversations we have with healthcare organisations. We also conduct interviews every year with the best-performing organisations in terms of absence prevention. Year after year, these show that paying attention to employees is the magic word. Both in the phase when nothing is wrong and in the phase when absenteeism occurs. This allows you to jointly look for tailor-made solutions to prevent absenteeism. And in case of absenteeism, it also allows you to focus on what you can do, so that someone can return to work (partially) faster".

Cooperation Vernet PFZW
Vernet's service is a collaboration with Pensioenfonds Zorg en Welzijn (PFZW) to support employers in the care and welfare sector with labour market data to complement existing pension services. Employers use this data when addressing staff shortages in the care and welfare sector. Since the outbreak of the Covid pandemic, Vernet and PFZW have also been collecting figures on a monthly basis that provide insight into trends in absenteeism and current staff turnover in the sector on a regional and national level. This data is available via the website https://inzetzorg.arbeidsmarktinbeeld.nl/inzetzorg-landelijk-dashboard?sectionId=5486.

About Vernet
Research agency and knowledge network Vernet has been the market leader in collecting, benchmarking and interpreting HR and absence data in the Dutch healthcare sector since 1996. With insightful data, Vernet aims to help employers in individual healthcare sectors to achieve increased employability of their staff. Vernet serves some four hundred healthcare organisations with 623 thousand employees. Vernet is a 100% subsidiary of pension administration organisation PGGM. Vernet's services fit in with the ambition of PGGM and Pensioenfonds Zorg en Welzijn to support employers and employees in the care and welfare sector. In the first place with adequate pension provision, but also by deploying expertise in the field of labour market data.
www.vernet.nl