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Spain leads Europe in absences from work due to temporary disability, with a cost of 1.4% of its GDP
Umivale Activa and the Ivie have launched a project to analyze the determinants of work-related and non-work-related absenteeism due to temporary disability in Spain and its regions
In Spain, the percentage of people who do not go to work due to temporary incapacity has increased from 2% in 2013 to 4.1% in 2023. With this rate, Spain, together with France and Portugal, leads the European Union ranking of absenteeism due to temporary disability.
These figures are taken from the Labour Force Survey from the Spanish National Statistics Institute (INE), which divides the 2007 to 2023 period in two different phases, with 2012 serving as a turning point. In the first phase (2007-2012), the absenteeism rate dropped from an initial 2.8% to a minimum of 2% in 2012. However, from that year onwards, a period of uninterrupted growth begins, accelerated by COVID-19, until 2023, when it reaches 4.1%.
Absenteeism in the Spanish regions
Faced with these concerning and accentuated levels in recent years, Umivale Activa and the Ivie have launched a project to study the determinants of absenteeism, both in Spain as a whole and in its regions. The aim is to look into the factors that influence this phenomenon in order to address it and devise effective preventative measures. The study on accidents and temporary incapacity will be carried out throughout 2024 and its results will be published on a regular basis in a series of brief documents.
The first of these reports, which is already available, quantifies the issue and its evolution in recent years. The study allows a comparison of data with the EU and shows that there are notable regional variations.
Although the percentage of employed individuals who miss work due to accidents, illness or temporary incapacity has increased in all the Spanish regions, there are differences worth highlighting. For example, the Basque Country, Galicia, Asturias and Cantabria have the highest rates, exceeding 5%, compared to the Spanish average of 4.1%. Moreover, in the period analyzed, this percentage has increased by more than two percentage points.
Members of both groups make up the team responsible for doing the analysis: Juan Miguel Mesa and Marija Davcheva from Umivale Activa and Fernando Pascual, Lorenzo Serrano, Francisco J. Goerlich, José María Peiró, and Consuelo Mínguez from the Ivie.
Temporary incapacity is influenced by a variety of factors, including working conditions, company culture and human resources, policies and practices. But there are other variables that are not related to work, such as family situation or social and cultural environment. Thirdly, factors related to the healthcare system, legislation or even legal proceedings are also important. Mesa states, “Temporary incapacity responds to a complexity of factors that require a rigorous diagnosis of the problem. With this study we seek to both understand the reasons behind its worrying escalation and lay the groundwork for structural changes in its management.”
