According to a study by HR services company Acerta, employees in Belgium had lower rates of absenteeism in 2023 compared to previous years. This is the highest attendance rate in the last five years, with employees working an average of 83.3 percent of the time, equivalent to 208 days per year for full-time employees. The problem of absenteeism due to illness was found to be more prevalent in larger companies compared to smaller ones. Companies with over 500 employees had an absenteeism rate of 9.9 percent, which is twice as high as that of the smallest employers at 5 percent. Dirk Vanderhoydonck from Acerta Consult emphasized the positive impact of employees being more available in 2023, especially during times of labor shortages. However, he noted that the significant number of absences due to illness, which cannot be planned by the employer, remains a concern on average, 20 days of labor are lost each year due to illness.
The study by Acerta was based on approximately 390,000 employees from 30,000 private sector companies and took into account various reasons for absences such as sick leave, temporary unemployment, career breaks, and holidays. Sickness absence was identified as the main reason for employees being absent from work, with an average of 7.9 percent of working hours lost due to illness in 2023.
The researchers found that companies with over 500 employees had an absenteeism rate of 9.9 percent, which is twice as high as that of the smallest employers at 5 percent.
Dirk Vanderhoydonck emphasized that it’s important for companies to address this issue in order to increase productivity and said “Having fewer sick days means less labor lost and higher productivity.”
Overall, while there has been a decrease in absenteeism rates compared to previous years
