What Can Be Done to Tackle High Levels of Absenteeism?

Employees in Germany have some of the highest rates of sickness-related absenteeism in the world. According to current estimates, this costs the economy around 77 billion euros annually. Against this backdrop, some figures from the worlds of politics and business are calling for the introduction of unpaid waiting days or a reduction in continued pay to 80 per cent. Prof. Dr Nicolas Ziebarth, Head of the ZEW Research Department “Labour Markets and Social Insurance”, explains whether these would really be appropriate measures in the latest episode of the ZEW podcast “Wirklich Wirtschaft”.

The interview was conducted by podcast host Bastian Thüne. The podcast is available on all major podcast platforms, such as Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Deezer, as well as on the ZEW website.