Study on digitalization: More technology, more sick days during physical work
A new analysis shows that greater digitalization can lead to poorer health and more absenteeism among employees without office jobs.
Quick Look
- According to a study by the Ifo Institute, the IAB and the University of Konstanz, more digitalization of physical work leads to poorer health and more sick days.
- Targeted training and support can counteract this.
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Why It Matters
An analysis by the Ifo Institute, the IAB and the University of Konstanz examined data from 2011 to 2019 on digital technology and health.
Digitalization is not just changing office jobs: According to a study, employees with physical work report poorer health and significantly more sick days when there is more digital technology in the workplace.
This is shown by an analysis by the Ifo Institute together with the Institute for Labor Market and Occupational Research (IAB) and the University of Konstanz. “Our results suggest that digital change could increase existing health inequalities,” said Oliver Schlenker, deputy head of the Ludwig Erhard Ifo Center for Social Market Economy in Fürth. "Employees without traditional office jobs report poorer health well-being and more absenteeism as digitalization increases."
Digitalization could exacerbate existing health inequalities, as employees with physical activities and low formal education are already more likely to suffer from health problems, it is said. “One possible explanation is technostress: new digital requirements can be particularly stressful if employees lack the necessary knowledge and experience,” explains Schlenker, explaining the results.
There are also solutions
But the researchers also point to solutions: According to the study, targeted digital training and support from the employer appear to mitigate the connection. Affected employees who took part in training showed hardly any worsening of their health and no additional days of absence. A supportive leadership culture also seems to relieve the burden. Employees who feel well supported by their managers take significantly fewer additional sick days as their workplace becomes more digital.
For the analysis, representative company and employee surveys on the use of digital technologies as well as social security data from 2011 to 2019 were evaluated. The study therefore measures health in two ways. On the one hand, respondents were asked to rate their own health on a scale of 0 to 10. On the other hand, the study recorded the number of sick days in the year before the survey. Other influences such as age, income, education, previous health, personality, industry, occupation and company characteristics were statistically taken into account.
Open Questions
- Which specific sectors are most affected?
- How much do companies invest in appropriate training?
