Share of employees who keep working through every illness jumps from 4 to 27 percent in two years

More than a quarter of employees in Belgium, 27 percent, say they always go to work when they are ill, because otherwise their work piles up. In 2024 the figure was 4 percent. That is the finding of the biennial absence survey by well-being and prevention service Mensura, VRT NWS reports. According to trade publication ZigZagHR, Mensura had research agency Indiville survey 1,023 employees, weighted so that the results are representative by region, sector and company size. 81 percent say they have gone to work ill at some point, and 82 percent are open to adapted work during an illness.

About a third, 34 percent, are willing to work during an illness as long as it does not hinder their recovery, mainly to feel useful. Only 18 percent still believe an employer cannot expect any work during illness, compared with 26 percent two years ago. Mensura absence expert Bart Teuwen tells ZigZagHR he distinguishes between working under pressure when someone needs rest, which in his view makes people sicker, and looking together at what is feasible without endangering recovery. Mensura warns of presenteeism, working while ill under internal or external pressure, and advises employers to make partial work possible through adjusted hours, working from home or a different set of tasks.

The drop on mental health is striking. 67 percent feel fairly comfortable discussing health and well-being with their manager, but only 12 percent can or want to talk about mental health problems, against 24 percent in 2024. According to Teuwen, one in three long-term sick employees was absent because of mental health problems, so organisations should have at least one easy-to-find point of contact. An earlier study by Tempo-Team with KU Leuven, reported by Business AM last year, found that almost 70 percent of employees had kept working while ill at least once in the past year.