Record-High Sick Leave in Germany

Read on to find out how legacy media spins the numbers to gaslight the public

Another day, more evidence about the ongoing ‘top-down’ revolution we’re living through for some time now. Whatever ‘Covid™’ is (was), it turbo-charged these developments, and if the below information is any guide, what we’re witnessing is but the tail-end of the large-scale weaponisation of ‘the law™’ versus any dissenter.

As always, translation and emphases, as well as [snark] mine.

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Sick Leave Rises to Record Levels Since the Beginning of the Year

By Jan Klauth and Andreas Macho, Die Welt, 26 Oct. 2024 [source]

Techniker Krankenkasse (TK [or Technicians’ Health Insurance]) is reporting a new record number of sick notes for its 5.7m policyholders for the first nine months of 2024. Every working person was on sick leave for an average of 14.13 days during this period, TK told Die Welt.

In the same period of the previous year, the average was 13.82 days. Before the coronavirus pandemic, absences were significantly lower, at 11.40 days in 2019, for example.

According to TK, the main reason for the high increase is cold diagnoses such as flu and bronchitis, as well as coronavirus infections. In the first nine months of this year, every TK-insured employee was on sick leave for 3.24 days with a cold diagnosis [for a cold]. This is almost twice as many days compared to the same period in 2019. At that time, the figure was 1.71 days of absence per employed person.

According to TK, mental illnesses, such as depression or anxiety disorders, account for the second largest volume of days of incapacity for work. ‘We have been observing a continuous increase here for years’, it is said. Absences from work with a mental health diagnosis in the first nine months of 2024 averaged 2.80 days of absence (comparative period 2019: 2.13).

In third place are diseases of the musculoskeletal system such as back pain. These have remained at a consistently high level for years. In 2024, every TK-insured employee was on sick leave with this diagnosis for an average of 2.05 days from January to September inclusive, compared to 2.00 days of absence in 2019.

According to a study by ZEW Mannheim [I would love to check this claim, but no link is provided in the original], the fact that sickness-related absences in Germany have risen significantly since 2022 is largely due to improved statistical recording of sick days. In particular, the introduction of electronic certificates of incapacity for work is a decisive factor in the increase [if true, sick leave statistics were way off before Covid; I doubt this is true, for experiences in, e.g., Norway show otherwise].

Half-Day Sick Leave as a Solution

At the same time, strong waves of colds and a more conscious [sic] approach to respiratory illnesses after the pandemic played a role in the high sickness rates [remember that in the preceding paragraph, they told you it’s a reporting artefact]. The study is available exclusively to Die Welt am Sonntag [so, no study for the hoi polloi: believe ‘the Experts™’].

‘Since the coronavirus pandemic, employees have been going to work with colds less frequently’, said Nicolas Ziebarth, head of the ZEW Research Department ‘Labour Market and Social Insurance’. However, this is not the main reason for the increase. ‘The majority of the increase is due to the electronic recording of sick notes.’ [so, here we’re back to the pre-preceding paragraph]

The economist is in favour of expanding occupational health management and more targeted preventative measures. According to Ziebarth, half-time sick leave and a reduction in sick pay could also lead to a reduction in absenteeism.

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Bottom Lines

‘Journalism™’ is getting worse every day: are these sky-high sick leave numbers due to more illnesses, employees staying home more often, or electronic reporting monkeying?

It’s not as if these things aren’t speculated about, but there’s no evidence for any allegation.

I personally doubt it; given what I’m seeing here in Norway, I do think the increase is real, but since we can’t talk about the elephant in the room—the modRNA poison/death juice impairing the vaccinees’ immune system, nothing will happen.

Also, lest we not say it out loud: half-day sick leave is BS.