Mental illnesses lead to the most frequent absences from work in Germany

More and more often, people in Germany are unable to work because of mental illness. And sometimes her job has something to do with it. Educators, for example, are absent more than average because of a lack of staff. Then a specialist takes care of eleven small children. Once again. Until she can no longer stand the constant stress. Social workers also become mentally ill more often than other professional groups. Too many problems, too little time, colleagues and money.

According to an analysis of DAK insurance data, mental illnesses were the most common cause of incapacity to work in the first half of 2026. The third largest insurance company in Germany counted 184 days of absence per 100 insured people due to adjustment disorders or depression - nine percent more than in the same period last year. This was followed by respiratory and musculoskeletal disorders as well as back pain.

Sick leave for at least five weeks

People rarely take sick leave immediately because of psychological stress. Instead, many continue to work for weeks even though they have trouble sleeping, are constantly tense or can barely concentrate. Until nothing works anymore and they then often have to recover for a long time. On average, a sick note due to mental illness lasts longer than five weeks, and the trend is rising. What happened before and what happens afterwards remains invisible in the insurance data.

We would therefore like to get in touch with readers who continue to work with a mental illness or who have already been absent because of it: How did you know that something was wrong? And what was the cause? How long did it take to get well again? Can you go back to work today like you did before you got sick?

Write to us using the form or by email to [email protected]. We want to publish selected articles on zeit.de, anonymously if requested.