Four out of ten employees are sick. “Workers’ health is getting worse in Spain, which is one of the countries where this trend is most noticeable, and mental health in particular,” says Gema Jiménez, business development director for the health and wellbeing area at WTW, who has seen how since the pandemic the incidence of anxiety and depression is at very high levels: one in four workers suffer from them and nearly half suffer from stress. “These are figures similar to those at the end of Covid, when circumstances were exceptional,” she stresses.
The company has measured the impact that illness has on staff productivity in its 2024 Global Benefits Attitudes Survey report. And its findings are devastating. Sick employees (21%) and those with chronic illnesses (17%) are between two and three times less committed to the company than healthy employees, are absent from work or fall into presenteeism between 2.5 and 5 times more and are twice as likely to suffer from burnout or burnout syndrome than others. And not only that, they also tend to have greater financial difficulties and be more socially disconnected than others.
It is therefore not surprising that the rate of absenteeism has gone through the roof in Spain. If in 2023 it stood at 6.8%, the second highest figure in the historical series after 2020, according to The Adecco Group Institute, in the first quarter of this year it has climbed to 7.3% after increasing 0.7 points compared to the same period of the previous year. “A worrying increase”, in the words of the director of the organization, Javier Blasco, who assures that “the figures and what is coming invite us to act quickly. 32% of our workers, well above the average of the rest of the countries, say that their mental health has worsened in the last year. And one in four companies says that a quarter of their workers have been affected in the last year by psychological disorders.”
For those suffering from anxiety and depression, pathologies that are increasing among those over 50 years of age and among younger and lower-paid groups, according to WTW, the chances of suffering burnout are 2.4 times higher, the chances of absenteeism or presenteeism are multiplied by 2.2 and the chances of job disconnection almost double.
Hence, addressing wellbeing, mental health, employee burnout and productivity is a priority for employers. It was in 2021, in 2023 and now it is essential that it is on the decision-making table of senior management, warns Gema Jiménez. Because, despite the expansion of health programmes in companies (Forética says that 82% of Ibex 35 companies have specific health plans or strategies and more than half address psychosocial risks, after an 85% growth in the last four years), employees are less satisfied with them than two years ago, when WTW conducted its previous survey. Something that Jiménez attributes to the fact that many organisations implement measures for the entire workforce, instead of segmenting them by groups to respond to the demands of each of the four generations that coexist in the workplace. Also because there are organisations that do not provide benefits to employees with low salaries.
Burnout syndrome
In the last year, concern about the burnout has skyrocketed, as reflected by the 124% increase in internet searches recorded by the platform marketing Semrush content. Or that the company Cigna assures that we are living in the transition from the era of the “great resignation” to that of the “great burnout”. It is a consequence of high levels of stress. WTW data indicates that 28% of Spanish workers are burned out. They feel pressured to work long hours and to do so often during their personal time. This doubles the chances of stress, anxiety or depression, according to the multinational insurance company, as well as those of practicing presenteeism and disengaging from work.
The report says that greater work flexibility can help manage burnout; in fact, according to a study by the International Workplace Group, 80% of employees who practice hybrid work experience an overall improvement in their well-being (they exercise more and eat better). WTW also highlights that burnout is lower among those who feel valued and recognized.
Until now, companies have not focused on employee burnout, Gema Jiménez maintains; nor on the fact that a high proportion of staff feel stuck in their jobs. “Companies have to stop and listen to their workers.” Although this expert assures that by 2024, most organizations will have reinforced their efforts in the emotional health of their staff, especially by implementing training and awareness programs (especially for middle management).
The most common interventions incorporated by Ibex 35 companies to promote the well-being of their teams, according to Forética, are: conciliation measures (100% of companies have implemented them), training and awareness (81%) and technological solutions (58%), generally mental health platforms (64% have mental health programs). The great challenge is measurement, which only one in four companies carries out.
At Roche Farma Spain, with nearly 1,100 employees, they do address this measurement. They do so through medical check-ups that are carried out every year and which, in addition to physical health, assess the mental health of their workers and pathologies derived from stress. “We have a traffic light indicator, in which the orange increased considerably last year, so this year we have again carried out an assessment of psychosocial risks,” explains Javier Puerta, head of the prevention service, who considers measuring stress to be just as important as cholesterol. Before this traffic light turns red, the company activates all the psychological resources it has: free psychological care line, training workshops (they call it emotional gym), working on the psychological safety of the teams and with the commitment of its managers when it comes to organizing tasks to care for people.
“Mental health leave cases are increasing,” says Puerta. The company is concerned about them because “they are long-term processes and greatly increase the absenteeism rate. In 2023, it rose by 35% compared to the previous year,” acknowledges the manager, who highlights that employees greatly appreciate the company’s support when they have problems. Something that is also highlighted in the WTW report. In the case of Cementos Molins, in fact, the adherence of workers to its initiatives is what will mark the evolution of its benefits program, according to José Antonio Ayuso, head of compensation for the company, which has 2,500 employees in Spain. Ayuso gives as an example the workshops where the company has dealt with issues such as skin cancer and has offered tests and a personalized study to its staff, which will be repeated because there is a waiting list; the same as with those related to the retina or the heart.
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