Nursery staff in eastern Germany are sick more often than other occupational groups

A recent analysis shows that nursery staff in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia are absent due to illness significantly more often than employees in other occupational groups. In 2023, nursery staff in Saxony were unable to work for an average of 33 days, in Saxony-Anhalt for 34 days and in Thuringia for just under 32 days - in each case around ten days more than employees in other occupational groups. This is according to data from the Bertelsmann Foundation and the Skilled Workers Forum.

All in all, the sickness-related absences of nursery staff in eastern Germany were higher at an average of 34 days than in western Germany at 29 days. The average nationwide was 30 days lost due to illness among nursery staff. For all occupational groups, the average number of days lost was 20.

More mental illnesses

According to the study, the number of sick days lost by nursery school teachers rose sharply by 26 percent between 2021 and 2023 - mainly due to mental illnesses, but also due to respiratory diseases.

The foundation, which advises the Fachkräfte-Forum, based its findings primarily on data from the DAK health insurance fund, which insures 12.2 percent of childcare workers. Figures from other health insurance companies available to the foundation confirmed the trend, it said.

"Many daycare centers are caught in a vicious circle: due to the increasing number of sick days, more and more specialists are absent, which further increases the workload for the remaining employees," explained Anette Stein, daycare expert at the Bertelsmann Foundation. According to the foundation, almost 97,000 additional full-time specialist staff would be needed across Germany to cover the time lost due to illness, vacation and training. The cost of this would be 5.8 billion euros per year.