Sickness absence in MBO and HBO is increasing
Absenteeism due to illness among teaching staff in both MBO and HBO increased in 2018 compared to the previous year. In both educational sectors, absenteeism is highest among older workers. In 2018, absenteeism due to illness reached the highest level in the past ten years.
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This is evident from figures from the Mbo Education Labor Market Fund (SOM) and Zestor in higher professional education. Recently published SOM the absenteeism figures for 2018. Zestor brought last July released a report based on data provided by all 36 colleges in the country.
Increase
In senior secondary vocational education, the percentage that indicates how much working time is lost due to illness - absenteeism - rose slightly from 5,6 percent in 2017 to 5,7 percent in 2018. In 2016, the percentage was still 5,3 percent.
No sickness notification
On average, MBO teachers and support staff (education management staff) were ill for 21,8 days last year. A year before it was 20,1 days. In addition, at rocs, aocs and vocational schools, the percentage of employees who did not report sick once throughout the year fell to an average of 51 percent. In addition, absenteeism was higher among MBO teachers than among support staff.
In higher professional education, the absenteeism percentage rose for the third year in a row and was 2018 percent in 4,8. A year earlier it was 4,4 percent. In the report, the researchers state that in 2018 absenteeism in higher professional education was 'at the highest level in ten years'.
In higher professional education, the absenteeism rate rose for the third year in a row
The number of days that HBO employees stay home sick also increased from 24,4 days in 2017 to almost 26 days in 2018. According to the researchers, the duration of illness of employees in this education sector has increased over the past ten years. "This increase is the main cause of the increase in the absenteeism rate," the report says. In higher vocational education – unlike in secondary vocational education – the sickness percentage is higher among support staff than among colleagues who teach.
The absenteeism rate is higher among support staff in higher professional education than among colleagues who teach
Other professions
In the entire education sector, the average absenteeism due to illness was 5,1 percent in 2018. This is higher than the average for all work sectors, which was 4,3 percent. MBO was above these averages. HBO was only above it in comparison to other professions.
In both education sectors, older workers aged 55 and over are more often ill than their younger colleagues. For example, in higher professional education the percentage of absenteeism was 5,6 percent in this age category. Absenteeism due to illness was 25 percent among HBO employees between the ages of 34 and 3,35.
Sustainable employability
The researchers who examined higher professional education advise universities of applied sciences to take a good look at the importance of sustainable employability. 'An analysis of the current causes of a larger outage is an important basis for this.'
