Maintworld 2/2017

HSE
Proportion of employed people reporting
a long-standing illness or health problem
(55-64 years)
percentage has maintained rather
stable for many years. However, the
report showed significant differences
according to the type of complaints
involved. The proportion of people who
were limited in their ability to perform
work is high especially among those with
psychological issues (74 percent), arm/
hand complaints (71 percent), and back/
neck complaints (67 percent).
Between 2007 and 2009, the percentage
of employees experiencing workrelated
stress symptoms increased from
11 percent to 13 percent. In 2015, 14
percent of employees reported burn-out
symptoms.
Sickness absence is stable and
depends strongly on personal
characteristics and types of
employment contract
Since 2007, the level of sickness absences
in the Netherlands has fluctuated
by around 4 percent. This means that
every year, on average, employees were
absent 4 out of every 100 working days.
On average, employees had one period
of sickness absence every year. The average
duration of sickness absence for
all employees - including those who are
not absent at all – is 7.0 working days. In
2011, this was 7.7 working days. Those
who do go absent are away from work for
an average of 15.7 working days. Around
half of all the days lost to sickness in the
Netherlands (work-related or not) are
related to musculoskeletal symptoms
(27 percent) and psychological problems,
stress, or burn-out symptoms (22
percent).
50 maintworld 2/2017
Proportion of pensionners (50-69 years)
who indicated own health or disability as
the main reason to quit working
Sectors and industries in which employees
carry out physically or mentally
demanding work stood out in the report
in terms of experiencing high levels of
sickness absence. Healthcare, public
administration, construction, transport,
industry and education are sectors with
an above average level of sickness absences.
Sickness absence among people on
permanent contracts was according to
the report almost twice as high as among
those on temporary contracts. Employment
agency employees and on-call
employees also had a relatively low rate
of sickness absence. Rates of sickness absence
are relatively high among women,
older employees, employees with poor
educational qualifications, employees
with a chronic or long-term condition,
divorced and widowed employees, and
those who act as informal caregivers for
family or friends. In the case of older
employees, the higher levels of sickness
absence can be explained largely by the
fact that they are more likely to have
chronic diseases. Employees with poor
educational qualifications are also more
likely to have health problems and work
in relatively more demanding conditions.
The higher levels of sickness absence
among informal caregivers may be
explained mostly from the fact that they
are older on average, and therefore have
more chronic health problems.
Working Conditions
In many areas, the Netherlands compares
favourably with the rest of Europe.
Compared with the rest of Europe,
working conditions (both psychological
and physical) are favourable for Dutch
employees, according to a 2015 survey
among employees in every European
country. More often than their counterparts
in the rest of Europe, Dutch
employees said that their work has a
positive influence on their health, that
they are less emotionally exhausted due
to work, and that they are more engaged
in their work. Dutch employees also
stated that they see themselves being
able to continue working up to a higher
age, on average, than employees living
in other European countries. However,
Dutch employees also reported more
frequently than employees elsewhere
in Europe that they have faced verbal
threats, humiliation, physical violence,
and discrimination in the work place.
This can be explained in part by the
number of service-provision functions
in the Netherlands being slightly higher
on average than in the rest of Europe.
Another possible explanation to this is
that workers in the Netherlands have
fewer barriers to reporting aggression
experienced in the work place.
With a sickness absence rate of 4 percent,
the Netherlands is above average of
all EU nations (3 percent). The proportion
of employees who have reported
sick at least once in the past 12 months is
greater than average in the Netherlands
(53 percent compared to 48 percent for
Europe). However, the proportion of
work-related sickness absence in the
Netherlands is relatively low: 14 percent
of employees who had been on sickness
absence stated that one or more of their
days’ absence had been work-related.
Of the total for the 28 EU countries, this
is 19 percent. Differences between the
member states could be the result of differences
in financial compensation for
those who report sick, of the socio-demographic
features of the working population,
and of the structure of the various
sectors in the employment market, and
the related working conditions.
For work-related accidents that result
in at least four days of sickness absence,
the Netherlands, with almost 1,400 accidents
per 100 thousand employees,
is slightly below the average of the 28
EU countries. The number of fatal
work-related accidents is lower in the
Netherlands than in any other European
country.
Read further: http://www.oshnetherlands.nl