Hospital staff are under more psychological stress than ever before
06.06.2023 10:59
Hospital employees are increasingly suffering from psychological stress. This is confirmed by analyses by AOK Rheinland/Hamburg. In 2022, the number of days lost due to such diagnoses reached a record high: On average, each hospital employee was absent for 6.7 days due to mental health issues. Over the past 20 years, the number of days lost for these reasons has increased continuously – by 150 percent.
The Institute for Corporate Health Promotion (BGF-Institut) of the AOK Rheinland/Hamburg has evaluated the insured data of tens of thousands of hospital employees in North Rhine-Westphalia and Hamburg.
The study also revealed that from 2021 to 2022 alone, the number of days absent due to mental illness increased by almost nine percent. "The special burdens caused by the coronavirus pandemic have further exacerbated this trend," says Andreas Schmidt, Managing Director of the BGF Institute. However, the burden curve has been pointing upwards since 2003: An increase in days absent has been observed almost year after year, a total of more than 150 percent over the past 20 years.
Overall, among the top 10 causes of work absence, along with respiratory infections and back pain, five diagnoses are related to mental health. Within the group of mental illnesses, depression, stress disorders, and anxiety disorders caused the most days of absence among hospital employees in 2022, according to analyses by AOK Rheinland/Hamburg. Andreas Schmidt understands the reasons: "In hospitals, employees are confronted with many issues that promote mental illness. The workload is often very high, and there is a lack of staff and time. In addition, employees receive little support in coping with these events in a daily work environment in which they are frequently exposed to emotionally stressful situations."
Industry comparison: Nursing particularly affected by mental health problems
AOK Rheinland/Hamburg has also conducted a sector comparison focusing on mental illnesses: In 2022, the most cases of incapacity for work due to these diagnoses occurred in the nursing sector (22.2 cases per 100 insured persons), followed by hospitals (19.0 cases per 100 insured persons) and public administration (18.6 cases per 100 insured persons) and education (16.4 cases per 100 insured persons).
The BGF Institute and AOK Rheinland/Hamburg support hospitals, as well as other sectors, in maintaining the health of their employees even in particularly stressful situations and strengthening the resilience of companies and institutions. Further information is available online: www.bgf-institut.de