According to a recent representative Forsa survey commissioned by the "Techniker" health insurance company in Germany, 25% of the workforce are undergoing medical treatment for a chronic illness, with the result that their performance is moderately to severely restricted (according to our estimates, approximately an additional 15% of employees are chronically ill and have already resigned themselves to not looking for further help) - in case of non-workers, 40% are chronically ill. In addition to the small rise in sick days, the increase in absenteeism due to time spent visiting the doctor and the "officially" ill employees, it is in particular the limited performance of "unrecognised" chronically ill employees at work (presenteeism) which represents an increasing cost factor for companies that results in a at least double-digit loss in sales.
In view of the drastic increase in chronic, mental and stress-induced illnesses among employees, company health management is becoming more and more a key factor in the success of companies.