Study: Sickness absences cost Finland €5bn a year

Study: Sickness absences cost Finland €5bn a year

Study

Sickness-related absences from work cost Finland about €5 billion each year in lost productivity, according to a new study that highlights the wider economic impact of illness on businesses and public finances.

The report estimates that workers were absent for around 25 million working days in 2023, equivalent to roughly 110,000 full-time working years.

The study was prepared by Antti Tanskanen, director at the Finnish Pension Alliance TELA, economics professor Antti Ripatti, and Auli Rytivaara, medical adviser at the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK). Its findings were first published in the medical journal Duodecim (in Finnish).