TNO News, theme: Work and health June 3, 2025. The general health of workers is slightly declining and (work-related) absenteeism is rising. Psychosocial working conditions, such as work pressure and undesirable behavior, appear to play a major role and are causing costs to increase. The costs for employers for continued wage payments during sick days rose from 5.1 billion euros in 2015 to 8.3 billion euros in 2023, of which 4.9 billion euros was due to psychosocial workload. This is shown in the new Arbobalans from TNO. The Arbobalans is published once every four years and provides insight into the quality of work and work-related health in the Netherlands. This edition examines the period from 2015 to 2023.
Quality of labor remains stable. Many aspects of the quality of labor remained largely stable in the period 2015-2023. For example, compared to 2015, the share of physically demanding work decreased in 2023 for both employees (43% vs. 37%) and self-employed professionals (41% vs. 38%). Additionally, there is a slight downward trend in stressful work among employees—the combination of high job demands and low autonomy—from 18% in 2015 to 15% in 2023. At the same time, the share of workers with prolonged screen work (6 hours or more per day) is rising slightly. For employees, this grew from 37% in 2015 to 44% in 2023, and for self-employed professionals from 23% in 2015 to 28% in 2023.
Absenteeism is rising. More and more employees are reporting sick. In 2023, 51% of employees were absent, compared to 45% in 2015. The number of absent days among employees also rose from an average of 7 days in 2015 to 8.2 in 2023. Sickness absence is particularly common in the healthcare, ICT, and education sectors. In each of these sectors, nearly 60% of employees were absent in 2023. Around a third of them indicate that their absence was (partly) caused by work (ICT 19%, education 28%, and healthcare 27%).
Costs of continued wage payments are increasing. The costs for employers for continued wage payments due to (partly) work-related sickness absence rose from 5.1 billion euros in 2015 to 8.3 billion euros in 2023. The cause of this increase is largely due to higher wages, a larger number of employees, and longer periods of illness. More than half (€4.9 billion) of the costs in 2023 can be attributed to absenteeism due to psychosocial workload, such as work pressure and undesirable behavior. When people report sick due to psychological complaints, stress, or burnout, they generally stay home the longest: approximately 63 working days. In 75% of cases, employees indicate that this is (partly) due to work.
Perceived health has declined, burnout-related complaints have increased. In 2023, 21% of employees and 17% of self-employed professionals experienced less than good health, compared to 17% and 16% respectively in 2015. Additionally, we see that the share of employees with burnout complaints increased from 13% in 2015 to 19% in 2023. Self-employed professionals generally report better health and fewer burnout complaints than employees. However, burnout complaints among the self-employed have risen in recent years from 7% in 2015 to 11% in 2023. The healthcare (22%), manufacturing (23%), and education (21%) sectors in particular have a relatively high percentage of employees who report experiencing diminished health. ICT (17%), professional services (19%), and public administration (20%) are also included here. The percentage of employees with chronic conditions has remained approximately the same for years at about 36%. The percentage indicating that this condition is (partly) a result of work has decreased slightly compared to 2022. In 2023, 6% stated that the condition is primarily and 16% partly a result of work.
Arbobalans 2024. Download (pdf opens in a new window) The Arbobalans is compiled by TNO every four years at the request of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (SZW), in collaboration with CBS, RIVM, and the Netherlands Center for Occupational Diseases. The Arbobalans provides an overview of the quality of work and work-related health in the Netherlands and the developments therein. In addition to key figures on working conditions, the Arbobalans reports information on sickness absence, industrial accidents, and occupational diseases of self-employed professionals and employees with a permanent or flexible employment relationship. The Arbobalans 2024 focuses on 2023 (NEA and ZEA) and 2024 (WEA) with trends from 2015.
