Rates of sick leave in Zurich soar by 31 percent since 2010, data shows
By Jan de Boer
The amount of sick leave being taken by employees in Canton Zurich has increased by over 30 percent since 2010, new data has revealed. Problems relating to mental health have been the main driver behind the new rise.
Sick leave in Zurich soars 31 percent in 14 years
According to a report from Zurich’s Office for Economic Affairs, Switzerland’s most populous canton is struggling with a rise in sickness-related time-off. Though workplace accidents are on the decline, workers in the region were absent due to sickness for an average of eight days in 2024, compared to just 6,1 days in 2010.
Cantonal authorities estimate that sick leave now costs the region 2 billion francs a year in lost production. “This leads to a loss of prosperity and, in the worst case, a permanent loss of know-how and human capital,” the office wrote.
Where are people taking more sick leave?
The report listed several reasons for the rise in sick leave. First was the fact that the number of over-65-year-olds still in the workforce has gone from 9 percent in 2010 to 12 percent in 2024. Though those past the Swiss age of retirement tend to request sick leave less often, when they do, their absences are far longer.
Second, the report noted that an increase in mental health problems, “especially among young people”, has also sent sick leave rates soaring. “Studies show that in Switzerland, the majority of all mentally-related incapacities for work are triggered by conflicts in the workplace,” the report explained, adding that over half of claims for disability insurance in Zurich are now awarded due to mental illness.
Finally, the report noted that the COVID-19 pandemic had changed how people see sick leave. Isolation protocol and lockdown measures have led to a “change in behaviour” where taking leave when ill has become more accepted. “Short absences have increased compared to before the pandemic,” experts noted.
“The Canton of Zurich has a strong interest in healthy employees, not least in light of demographic trends and the associated labour shortage, which is likely to worsen in the coming years,” the report concluded. To help ease the situation, Canton Zurich launched a pilot project in 2023 to help analyse and remedy “psychosocial risks in the workplace”. So far, 128 companies have used the service.
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Jan studied History at the University of York and Broadcast Journalism at the University of Sheffield. Though born in York, Jan has lived most of his life in Zurich and has worked as a journalist, writer and editor since 2016.
While he has plunged head-first back into life in Switzerland since returning to the country in 2020, he still enjoys a taste of home at pub quizzes and karaoke nights.Read more