Page 115 - Petelin, Ana, ur. 2021. Zdravje starostnikov / Health of the Elderly. Zbornik povzetkov z recenzijo / Book of Abstracts. Koper: Založba Univerze na Primorskem/University of Primorska Press
P. 115
enteeism of older employees in Slovenia compared to EU psihologija / sociala in zdravje starejših odraslih | psychology / social and health of the elderly
Tamara Kraljič Borovničar1, Klemen Širok2
1 University of Primorska, Faculty of Management, Koper, Slovenija
2 University of Primorska, Faculty of Health Sciences, Izola, Slovenia
Introduction. The number of lost working days due to sick leave is growing
alarmingly fast, and consequently also the expenses for the payment of ben-
efits both at the expense of the employer and the health insurance fund. Ex-
penditures of the health insurance fund for sick leave compensations amounted
to almost EUR 444.3 million in 2020 and have increased by more than 80 per-
cent since 2015 (ZZZS, 2020). In the last year alone, costs have increased by as
much as 16,4 percent. The largest increase in lost working days at the expense
of the ZZZS was recorded among insured persons aged 50+, with one of the
key reasons being the increase in the number of employees at that age. On the
other hand, research in EU shows that employed older adults do not neces-
sarily have a higher absenteeism rates and are more productive due to experi-
ence, maturity, and better work ethic. The purpose of this paper is to shed light
on the issue of absenteeism of older workers in Slovenia (55+) and, based on
a comparison with other EU countries, to investigate the absenteeism factors.
Methods. The analysis of secondary data on absenteeism obtained by the NIJZ,
Eurostat, Umar and ZZZS is supplemented by a systematic review of compa-
rable research in the field of absenteeism of older employees. We searched for
articles in the databases: JSTORE, SAGE, PubMed, Emerald and Google Schol-
ar, using the following keywords: absenteeism, older employees, factors of ab-
senteeism, and identified 7 relevant studies.
Results. In the period 2015-2019, the percentage of sick leave in Slovenia in-
creased by 22.4 %. The highest percentage (% BS) and the number of lost days
(IO) per employee are recorded in the age group from 55 to 64 years, and the
largest increase is recorded with employees aged 65 and over. In 2019, com-
pared to the previous year, the largest increase was in employees between 55
and 59 years of age (NIJZ 2020). Compared to the EU-27, absenteeism due to
illness or disability in Slovenia in 2019 was 3,5 percentage points higher, and in
2020 it was already 3,9 percentage points higher than the European average.
In all 7 foreign studies, on the other hand, they find just the opposite, that em-
ployed older adults tend to have lower rates of short-term absenteeism.
Discussion and conclusions. Obvious discrepancies between the situation in Slo-
venia and the results of research in the EU indicate the need for an in-depth
analysis of the factors of absenteeism of older employees in Slovenia. The
question arises as to whether the high rate of absenteeism is really only due to
illness, or are there other causes related to work, such as dissatisfaction, exces-
sive pressures and burdens in the workplace, discrimination,… that in turn re-
sult as escape into absenteeism. Based on the in-depth analysis, strategies and
measures should be developed at both the state and institutional level, aiming
to reduce the negative impacts of this process and encourage longer work ac-
tivity of older employees.
Keywords: absenteeism, older employees, Slovenia, EU, comparative study
113
Tamara Kraljič Borovničar1, Klemen Širok2
1 University of Primorska, Faculty of Management, Koper, Slovenija
2 University of Primorska, Faculty of Health Sciences, Izola, Slovenia
Introduction. The number of lost working days due to sick leave is growing
alarmingly fast, and consequently also the expenses for the payment of ben-
efits both at the expense of the employer and the health insurance fund. Ex-
penditures of the health insurance fund for sick leave compensations amounted
to almost EUR 444.3 million in 2020 and have increased by more than 80 per-
cent since 2015 (ZZZS, 2020). In the last year alone, costs have increased by as
much as 16,4 percent. The largest increase in lost working days at the expense
of the ZZZS was recorded among insured persons aged 50+, with one of the
key reasons being the increase in the number of employees at that age. On the
other hand, research in EU shows that employed older adults do not neces-
sarily have a higher absenteeism rates and are more productive due to experi-
ence, maturity, and better work ethic. The purpose of this paper is to shed light
on the issue of absenteeism of older workers in Slovenia (55+) and, based on
a comparison with other EU countries, to investigate the absenteeism factors.
Methods. The analysis of secondary data on absenteeism obtained by the NIJZ,
Eurostat, Umar and ZZZS is supplemented by a systematic review of compa-
rable research in the field of absenteeism of older employees. We searched for
articles in the databases: JSTORE, SAGE, PubMed, Emerald and Google Schol-
ar, using the following keywords: absenteeism, older employees, factors of ab-
senteeism, and identified 7 relevant studies.
Results. In the period 2015-2019, the percentage of sick leave in Slovenia in-
creased by 22.4 %. The highest percentage (% BS) and the number of lost days
(IO) per employee are recorded in the age group from 55 to 64 years, and the
largest increase is recorded with employees aged 65 and over. In 2019, com-
pared to the previous year, the largest increase was in employees between 55
and 59 years of age (NIJZ 2020). Compared to the EU-27, absenteeism due to
illness or disability in Slovenia in 2019 was 3,5 percentage points higher, and in
2020 it was already 3,9 percentage points higher than the European average.
In all 7 foreign studies, on the other hand, they find just the opposite, that em-
ployed older adults tend to have lower rates of short-term absenteeism.
Discussion and conclusions. Obvious discrepancies between the situation in Slo-
venia and the results of research in the EU indicate the need for an in-depth
analysis of the factors of absenteeism of older employees in Slovenia. The
question arises as to whether the high rate of absenteeism is really only due to
illness, or are there other causes related to work, such as dissatisfaction, exces-
sive pressures and burdens in the workplace, discrimination,… that in turn re-
sult as escape into absenteeism. Based on the in-depth analysis, strategies and
measures should be developed at both the state and institutional level, aiming
to reduce the negative impacts of this process and encourage longer work ac-
tivity of older employees.
Keywords: absenteeism, older employees, Slovenia, EU, comparative study
113
