As every year, Malakoff Humanis publishes its barometer of absenteeism in France and the sick leaves caused by the Covid-19 occupy an important part in the 2021 report published on Monday. The proportion of stoppages linked to Sars-Cov-2 doubled between 2020 and 2021. Last year, they represented 6% of absences and 12% this year.
Stops for psychological disorders or professional exhaustion also increased over one year, from 15 to 17% of the total. Conversely, absences for ordinary illnesses (flu, colds, etc.) fell to 25% of the total, against 30% in 2020.
For all reasons, 38% of employees were prescribed a work stoppage during the twelve months preceding the study. This is more than the proportion observed in 2020 (36%) but below the 40% systematically crossed between 2016 and 2019, before the outbreak of the Covid.
51% of managers affected by sick leave
Although more numerous than in 2020, the sick leave prescriptions are not necessarily respected by the employees. A quarter of the stops are thus taken partially or not at all.
The health crisis seems to have particularly weighed on managers: 51% of them have been affected by sick leave over the past two years. However, illness did not necessarily rhyme with rest: more than half of managers say they have worked during an illness (70% in 2020 and 58% in 2021).
The annual Sickness Absenteeism barometer was carried out online with a sample of 2,009 employees and by telephone with 401 managers or HRDs of private sector companies, from August 23 to September 24, 2021.