Workplace absenteeism is increasing in frequency and duration in Malaga province

Workplace absenteeism is of concern to employers throughout Spain. This growing trend also affects Malaga province. President of the provincial chamber of commerce José Carlos Escribano says that they do not aim to "demonise workers", but instead draw attention to the issue. He points out that, according to consulting firm Randstad, "there are one and a half million people in Spain who do not go to work every day". "We have to address the issue, because it has economic consequences," Escribano says.

When people miss work, that implies extra costs, delayed activity, scheduling difficulties and extra stress on the workforce. According to executive deputy president of the confederation of employers of Malaga Natalia Sánchez, finding a replacement in a highly specialised profile can be challenging, if not impossible at times, especially in smaller companies that are not prepared for such situations.

The available data, mostly from temporary employment consultancies, shows that absenteeism is on the rise. The latest Randstad study, covering the second quarter of this year, found that 7% of contracted working hours were lost across Spain, equivalent to the daily absence of those 1.5 million workers Escribano referred to. The figure is similar in Andalucía (6.9%), though higher in other regions such as Cantabria (9.2%), the Canary Islands (8.8%) and the Basque Country (8.6%). Back in 2008, hours lost to absenteeism in Spain stood at under 5%.

According to director of Randstad Research Valentín Bote, three quarters of absenteeism is due to medical leave, specifically temporary incapacity from common illness. The remaining quarter can be attributed to a variety of causes: paid leave (including maternity and paternity leave), strikes or simple unjustified absence. "All of these fall under the umbrella of 'absenteeism', which I define as: the working hours agreed upon that are not actually worked due to reasons attributable to the employee," Bote states.

Professor of Labour and Social Security Law at the Carlos III University Daniel Pérez del Prado considers this to be an imperfect way of measuring the phenomenon. According to him, workers' right to sick or other types of leave should not fall under the umbrella of 'absenteeism'. He also highlights the negative connotation of the term, without denying the economic seriousness that stems from it. "In any case, absenteeism, understood as an economic, business and social problem, should not include unwanted and justified absences such as those due to temporary incapacity, especially in a social state that protects health."

Sánchez acknowledges that most absences are due to illness but highlights those that aren't (around 335,000 out of the total 1.5 million). "We would like to have official data; the mutual insurance companies say that the incidence of absences without medical justification is higher on Mondays."

Regardless of cause, absenteeism, as measured by Randstad, is on the rise. Bote points to several reasons. On the one hand, there are more medical leaves and they are longer than before. However, the length is often not because of the worker's choice but because of ever-growing healthcare waiting lists. This issue cannot be solved by private healthcare, because only a public doctor can authorise a worker's return to work. For this reason, employers are calling for mutual insurance companies to be allowed to perform that duty as well.

He also observes that younger workers are taking more sick leave than their share of the labour force: under-36s accounted for 32.5% of all sick leaves in 2024, even though they make up only 25% of workers. Meanwhile, mental health-related absences are also increasing and tend to last longer than other illnesses.

Natalia Sánchez suggests extending the social dialogue to improving fluid communication with pirvate healthcare and assigning a bigger role to mutual insurance companies.

Speaking strictly of Malaga province, according to data from the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, the prevalence of temporary incapacity due to common illnesses has risen from 21.8 cases per thousand inhabitants in 2010 to over 48 in 2025. This indicator, which is the most appropriate for measuring sick leave, because it puts it in the context of the total number of employees and makes it independent of the increase in the workforce, has more than doubled over the past five years. The most recent figures are similar to those of 2005 or 2006. According to Pérez del Prado, this can be explained by the observation that, in times of economic growth, absenteeism goes up, while in crises it goes down due to fear of dismissal and a greater propensity to go to work sick. Bote suggests that there is a correlation between greater job stability and a rise in absenteeism.

Trade unions also reject the notion that sick leave should be labelled as absenteeism. General secretary of the UGT in Malaga Antonio González says that common illness is the main cause of sick leave in the province, while also noting an increase in sick leave due to mental health. Employment secretary of the CC OO María José Prados also criticises that companies consider all reasons for a worker's absence as one, which could constitute a "serious or very serious offence". She says that the concern of trade unions is that mutural insurance companies might authorise a worker's return to work when it is still too early, which puts a lot of pressure on said worker. "The vast majority of employees are responsible and ask to return as soon as they feel able," she stated.

Randstad points out that increase in paid leave is another reason for the loss of working hours. One example is the right to take five days off when a relative up to the second degree of consanguinity is hospitalised. Bote denounces the lack of control over who can take these days off and believes that the proposal to increase leave in the event of death to ten days, as suggested by minister Yolanda Díaz, could contribute to a further increase in lost working hours.

Maternity and paternity leave are also among the rights that are counted as absenteeism. Their increase also pushes up absenteeism indicators.

Bote says that absences due to labour unrest (strikes) weigh very little. At the same time, he believes that data should also include the loss of hours when a worker has to leave a little earlier because of a medical appointment or because they have to urgently go to their child's school.

Bote argues that regional differences in absenteeism are due less to local attitudes than to economic structure. Some sectors are more prone to absence than others. The automotive industry, for example, has traditionally shown high rates, while hospitality, once below average, is now above it. "The problem is the shortage of workers in the sector, which has worsened since the pandemic. Employees know they can find another job easily, so they're less afraid to take time off," he says.

President of Mahos Javier Frutos says that, although the hospitality industry is not among the sectors with the highest absenteeism rates, given the structure of the companies in the sector, mainly SMEs with fewer than ten workers, these absences "cause serious scheduling problems". "For example, in a small establishment with three or four workers, the absence of one worker means a 25% reduction in the workforce, which is difficult to replace," he states.

He stresses that, while absenteeism is not an issue unique to hospitality, in his industry "it has a particular impact because most companies are micro or small businesses with very limited staff, which makes it hard to cover absences temporarily and keep up the pace of work". Frutos believes that the solution involves tackling "structural causes".

Natalia Sánchez agrees, acknowledging that putting the blame on anyone would not lead to a positive change and that the issue should be approached with "pragmatism". "Businesses are the first to care about their workers' health, so we must work on occupational health policies with the same importance we give to active employment policies," she says.

Antonio González offers further insights into tackling absenteeism. He notes that job dissatisfaction and lack of motivation have become contributing factors and that the sectors most prone to absenteeism are those with longer working hours or non-standard schedules, which makes it harder for workers to balance their personal lives. "Even if there are rest days, in the end it all takes its toll," he says.

According to Bote "discontent does not justify absenteeism". María José Prados says that companies must exercise their responsibility and analyse why there are more absences and whether they are applying prevention measures correctly, including those aimed at tackling psychosocial risks.

"Sometimes flexibility is the best thing," Daniel Pérez del Prado says, highlighting that some companies offer 'personal leave days' that help prevent people from faking an illness. Other solutions involve remote working. Meanwhile, Bote proposes removing the temporary incapacity benefit so that employees on sick leave do not receive 100% of their salary while off work and are, therefore, not incentivised to prolong their leave