Absenteeism of Energy and Environment employees on the rise

The main findings of the Barometer:

• An absenteeism rate which increases by + 24% between 2016 and 2020 (with a smoothed effect of confinements)
• An absenteeism rate of around 5.04% in 2020, up 20% compared to 2019
• 34% of employees took at least 1 stoppage in the year in 2020
• 54 days: average annual length of absence of an employee in 2020
• Non-executives twice as impacted as executives by the health crisis
• Absenteeism has worsened for all employees regardless of their age and in particular by + 24% among 30-39 year olds
• The Grand Est, the region where the phenomenon is most marked
• Health, transport and logistics: the sectors most affected

Absenteeism reinforced by the consequences of the Covid-19 crisis

Steadily increasing since 2016, the absenteeism rate of French employees has increased significantly in 2020, especially during the first confinement. From 4,18 in 2019 to 5,04 in 2020, absenteeism affected 34% of employees who had at least filed a work stoppage during the year. The length of absence has remained almost stable since last year, amounting to around 54 days. How to explain this trend?

It would seem that the compensation system for derogatory stops for reasons of out-of-school children, vulnerable people or even relatives of vulnerable people, put in place during the health crisis is a major factor in the increase in sick leaves (+ 25% in 2020). Stops of more than a week and less than 3 months represent 61% of the total number of stoppages in 2020 against 52% in 2019, partly a consequence of the derogatory stops during the first confinement. The change of these derogatory stops to partial activity on May 1 brought absenteeism back to a “normal” level, up compared to that of 2019.

Disparities linked to gender, age, geographic location and professional sector

The report reveals that absenteeism unevenly affects genders, age groups and industries:

• The sectors with the highest absenteeism rates are health (9,59% in 2020, an increase of + 26%), as well as transport and logistics (7,97%, an increase of +32 %), a trend already present in 2019.

The Hotels, Cafés and Restaurants sector is the only one in decline (5,01% vs. 5,19% in 2019). This is explained by the compulsory closure of establishments linked to the health context. The Services and Communication & Information Technology sectors were the least impacted by absenteeism (increase in absenteeism of around + 12%).

• The contrast between men and women has been confirmed since the 2019 study. Indeed, the absenteeism rate stands at 4,52% for men while it is 6,08% for women. Between 2019 and 2020, absenteeism increased by 23% for men (+ 17% for women). Regardless of the gender, the absenteeism rate has increased by 40% since 2016.
  

• Although all age groups are affected by the increase in absenteeism, they are affected at different levels. Employees over the age of 50 are the most impacted with an absenteeism rate of 7,07% in 2020 (while it was 6,03%). Next come employees aged between 40 and 49 (5,10%) followed by those aged between 30 and 39 (4,11%). For the latter, absenteeism has deteriorated very significantly + 24%. Employees under 30, whose absenteeism rate is lower, were also affected, with an average absenteeism rate of 2,48%, a significant increase of + 19% in 2020.

• The absenteeism rate has increased everywhere in France due to the health crisis and the containment measures put in place. Grand Est (6,6%, up 25%) and Hauts-de-France (6,3%, up 22%) are the regions with the highest absenteeism rate. In Ile-de-France, where the rate of executives is higher, this rate is only 4% but has seen a sharp increase (+ 21%) compared to 2019.

• Non-executives were twice as affected as executives by the health crisis. Due to the arduous nature of certain professions and the impossibility of teleworking from home, we see an increase in absenteeism of + 24% among non-managers between 2019 and 2020. This rate is 12% among non-managers. executives for the same period.

• Finally, in terms of company size, the study reveals that SMEs and mid-cap companies are the most affected by this phenomenon, but with a year 2020 which also impacted large companies. Indeed, the latter are experiencing a decline in their absenteeism rate nearly twice as high as those of SMEs and mid-cap companies compared to the period 2-2016 (2019% / year for large companies compared to 3% / year). year for mid-size companies & SMEs).

“For almost a year and a half, the health crisis has upset the organization of work, with the establishment of special mechanisms, the generalization of teleworking and the introduction of partial unemployment. Absenteeism in a company generates direct and indirect costs, such as the maintenance of salary and the financing of a provident scheme, the recruitment of a replacement but also the drop in productivity and disorganization ... Fighting absenteeism is truly an important financial and social issue for companies. For example, for a company with 1 employees with an average salary of € 000 per year and an absenteeism rate of 30%, the full cost for the employer is estimated to be between € 5 and € 1,5 million per year. It's huge ! explains Noémie Marciano - Health & Benefits Consulting Services Director. "And it is very likely that absenteeism will increase further in the years to come. It will be interesting to analyze the impacts of the health crisis on absenteeism in the medium / long term. "