Christian Wenande
March 14th, 2022

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Don’t worry, you put your feet up, we’ll all do a double shift (photo: Pixabay)

According to a new report, people in Denmark take fewer days off from work due to illness than most other countries. 

Assessing the data of 15 European countries, smallbusinessprices.co.uk discovered that Denmark had the third lowest number of sick days: an average of 8.7 days due to illness every year.

Fewer sick days during pandemic
“There are many factors that affect absence rates from work due to sickness; however, there has been an overall decrease in sickness leave since the pandemic started in 2020 when working from home became the norm,” the report found.

“As the world continues to fluctuate between working environments we expect these statistics to continue to change. Over the past few years the primary explanation for the reduction in sickness-related leave from work can be explained by the COVID-19 outbreak, but many other factors can affect why people take time off work, including age and job.”

Israel is number one
Israel topped the list with just 3.9 days per year, followed by the UK (4.40), Denmark (8.70), Hungary (8.80), Estonia (9.00), Lithuania (10.90), Spain (12.30), Belgium (12.30), Austria (13.10) and Slovenia (13.50).

In last place was Germany with 18.30, while Norway was third last with 15.8.

Effect of the unions
The findings suggested that the differences in time taken off can be impacted by a number of factors such as work ethic, cultural expectations, and how the cost of living varies across countries. 

For instance, countries with a strong union scene, like Germany, could encourage more employees to call in sick, compared to a country where the unions are weaker, like the UK.