Mental Health Impacts on Sickness Absence
Summary
Sickness absence attributable to mental health conditions has risen markedly in many countries, accounting for a substantial share of compensated leave and posing a growing challenge to employers and healthcare systems worldwide. Depression and anxiety disorders often lead to longer periods away from work than musculoskeletal or other common conditions, with implications for individual well-being, organisational productivity and public expenditure. Persistent gender disparities are evident: women generally experience longer absence durations and lower early recovery rates, though convergence with men occurs over extended follow-up. Occupational class and socioeconomic status further influence absence patterns, as lower-status workers tend to have higher rates of medium-length absence and face greater barriers to timely return. Recent evidence also points to a disproportionate increase in mental health–related absence among younger age cohorts, reflecting broader societal stressors. Early identification, supportive workplace adjustments and graded return-to-work programmes have emerged as critical strategies to mitigate long-term absence, promote sustained recovery and contain the economic burden.
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Mental Health Impacts on Sickness Absence publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in mental health impacts on sickness absence across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Sickness absence: Period of work absence certified by a health professional due to illness or injury.
Mental disorders: Clinical conditions characterised by alterations in mood, cognition or behaviour, such as depression and anxiety.
Cumulative incidence: Proportion of a population that develops a condition over a specified period.
Recovery rate: Proportion of individuals returning to work within a given timeframe after the onset of sickness absence.
Occupational class: Hierarchical grouping of jobs based on skill level, status and educational requirements.
Gender stratification: Analytical separation of data by gender to compare patterns and outcomes across male and female groups.
References
- Gender differences in long term sickness absence. BMC Public Health (2024).
- Occupational class differences in diagnostic-specific sickness absence: a register-based study in the Finnish population, 2005–2014. BMC Public Health (2017).
- Socioeconomic status and duration and pattern of sickness absence. A 1-year follow-up study of 2331 hospital employees. BMC Public Health (2010).
- Increase in sickness absence due to mental disorders in Finland: trends by gender, age and diagnostic group in 2005–2019. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health (2021).
- Incidence rates of sickness absence related to mental disorders: a systematic literature review. BMC Public Health (2014).
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