Almost 4 in 10 Belgians never absent at work due to illness

External Prevention Service Mensura did a great survey of nearly 60,000 employees and mapped the profile of the so -called zero defumers between 2022 and 2024. The most important conclusion: almost 4 out of 10 Belgians do not report sick for a single day.

The study of Mensura did bring clear differences to between groups of employees. For example, people over the age of 45 are strikingly less often to report sick than their younger colleagues: 40.8% of them reported a completely disease-free year, compared to 33.5% in the younger age group. There is also a striking difference between men and women: where 41.1% of men did not take any disease day, that figure in women is 32.1%.

Managers

The type of job also plays a role: executives score highest at zero defeat (51.2%), followed by employees (37.2%) and workers (30.3%). Finally, managers (46%) seem to be noticeably less often reported sick than non-managers (34.3%).

“Managers are often focused on who is absent, but also attention to the employees who are always there is important. Motivation plays a crucial role in those zero -vomors. The greater a person’s motivation is, the greater the chance that that person does not report sick. Only 1 in 5 employees who do not feel motivated, was not a single day before the venue. 44%, « says Bart Teuwen of Mensura.

Also autonomy and space to organize your work yourself, visibly contribute to more zero defeat.

Read too. « Belgians and younger and more and more absent at work »: alarming figures about sick leave

Physical

The fact that zero absenteeism is less common among workers and women has various causes. Physical stress can give rise to complaints faster, but also the extent to which care tasks are admitted to the private sphere may play a part. This is a clear task for managers and organizations.  »

In addition to age and motivation, the sector in which someone works also plays a role. Employees in the financial, energy and IT sector most often report one absenteeism. On the other hand, zero defeat is the lowest with people who are active in health care and social services, the art and culture sector and education.

Also how people feel at work has a significant impact. Employees who are planning to leave their job often report sick. The stronger that intention, the lower the zero -defeat. Mental resilience also plays a role: those who are resilient will also remain disease -free for a whole year (39.8%) than who is not (28.3%).