Age Divide in German Sick Leave: Older Workers Drive Rise as Mental Health Claims Hit Record
Published on 07/20/2026 at 14:04 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
The occupational health system in Germany is feeling the strain of an aging workforce, with some practitioners postponing retirement just to keep clinics open. In Bielefeld, company doctor Hans-Georg Englitz still sees patients at over 80 years old, a stark illustration of the gap between demand and available specialists. That pressure is now visible in the latest sick-leave data from DAK-Gesundheit, which reveals a clear generational split: while employees under 55 have been taking fewer sick days, the over-60 age group has seen its absence rate climb.
The DAK analysis for the first half of 2026 shows overall sick leave falling slightly, from 5.4 percent to 5.3 percent. The average number of days lost per insured person dropped from 9.9 to 9.6. Yet among those aged 60 and older, the sickness rate rose by 0.3 percentage points. The main driver behind that increase is a surge in mental-health diagnoses. Psychological illnesses now account for 184 sick days per 100 insured members, a nine percent jump year-on-year — and a new peak.
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By comparison, respiratory infections, which had dominated absence statistics in earlier waves, fell 21 percent to 175 days per 100 insured. Musculoskeletal disorders came in at 174 days. Mental health has overtaken both categories to become the top cause of workplace incapacity in Germany.
The demographic shift is putting the broader labor market under pressure. The Institute of the German Economy (IW) recently held a conference on workplace resilience, where experts discussed how structural change, an aging workforce, and artificial intelligence are straining the social partnership model. Strategies to preserve long-term employability were high on the agenda. Meanwhile, the German Association of the Hard of Hearing (DSB) marked its 125th anniversary in July with an information day in Wuppertal, underlining the need for technical and organizational accommodations that allow employees with impairments to remain productive.
Policymakers are moving to adapt the rules around sick leave. The federal government plans to reintroduce a requirement to submit a medical certificate from the first day of absence, and to abolish phone-based sick notes. In parallel, a new partial sick-note model is being developed: it would allow workers with a medical condition to return for reduced hours before fully recovering, provided their doctor agrees. Health insurers support the idea, arguing that prolonged loss of workplace contact — especially common in mental-health cases — can hinder recovery. However, many doctors oppose the scrapping of telephone sick notes, warning that it will overload already busy practices.
Some companies are already demonstrating the value of long-term health investment. In the town of Weeze, one firm honored 154 employees in mid-July for their combined service of more than 4,000 years. Company officials pointed to consistent health-promotion programs as a foundation for such loyalty, reinforcing the idea that stable employment depends on functional occupational health support.
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