Study: Mental health-related sickness absences increased especially in the social welfare and health care sector – anxiety became the most common cause

Finnish Institute of Occupational Health media release 12 September 2025

Differences in mental health-related sickness absences between various sectors and sector-specific changes have not been systematically investigated in Finland over recent years. A nationally representative register study by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health responds to this need and details the changes in absences within various employee groups and industrial sectors in 2007–2021.

"The results were startling in two ways. The growth trend in mental health-related absences was observed in all studied sectors, while differences between different employee groups became increasingly sharp," says Ari Väänänen, Research Professor at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health.

Mental health-related absences in the social welfare and health care sector more than doubled

The number of mental health-related sickness absences increased in all sectors, but the increase was particularly sharp in the social and health care sectors. In 2015, women in the social welfare and health care sector had an average of less than 1.6 days of absence per person per year, compared to more than 3.8 days in 2021. At the population level, this means more than 600,000 additional days per year.

Out of the occupational classes, female lower white-collar employees stood out in particular. Their average number of days of absence increased from 1.3 days to 3.4 days per year, which meant nearly one million additional annual days of absence per year. 

"Female lower white-collar employees accounted for about one third of the workforce, but their periods of absence accounted for almost half of the total increase in absences. This demonstrates how mental health-related absences accumulated especially in certain female-dominated groups," says Pekka Varje, Research Manager at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health.

Anxiety overtook depression as the cause of new mental health-related absences

Depression and anxiety disorders accounted for the majority of all mental health-related absences. During the follow-up period, absences related to depression increased by 1.7 times, while those related to anxiety increased by 3.4 times. 

In 2021, anxiety disorders became the most common cause of new periods of mental health-related sickness absences for the first time. However, periods of absence associated with depression were longer on average and explained the majority of the total days. 

The increase in anxiety-related absence days was particularly noticeable among young and middle-aged female white-collar employees. The number of anxiety-related absences also increased significantly among male white-collar employees, but the absolute numbers remained lower than those of women.

"Gender, age and position in work life were reflected in how sharply the days of absence grew. However, the change was not limited to specific groups, but absences due to anxiety increased in all population groups," says Varje.

Causes include shifts in work life and cultural factors

The increase in mental health-related absences may be due to changes in both work life and culture. In female-dominated sectors, the weakening of the terms of work and recovery from work becoming increasingly difficult may contribute to the worrying trends in the social welfare and health care sector and among female white-collar employees.

The threshold for seeking treatment may also have decreased, especially in life situations related to anxiety. The use of psychiatric classifications related to mental health challenges may have changed in health care, and employees may increasingly interpret emotional challenges as anxiety. 

"In addition to stressful working conditions, the change may also indicate that the cultural ways of seeking help and classifying symptoms have changed. Together, these factors can explain why growth has been so sharp, especially in female-dominated sectors and among younger age groups," says Väänänen.

Further information about the study

• A nationally representative register study in which population data from Statistics Finland was combined with Kela’s sickness allowance register. The dataset comprised four 33.3 per cent population samples of employed people aged 21–62, during the follow-up years 2007–2021. The review included sickness allowance days paid for reasons related to mental health by occupation category and industrial sector.
• Publication in the Social Policy Journal: https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2025090995094
• The study has been funded by Finland’s Sustainable Growth Programme through the European Union’s one-time recovery instrument (NextGenerationEU) via the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. The funding from the Sustainable Growth Programme is used to implement the Mental Health at Work Programme (Mental Health Toolkit project) as outlined in the Government Programme.

• The research has also been supported by the Strategic Research Council SRC, which operates in conjunction with the Academy of Finland (DEMOGRAPHY programme, LIFECON, project 364414).

Read more

• Website of the LIFECON project: https://www.ttl.fi/en/lifecon-life-course-and-economic-implications-of-demographic-change

Further information

• Ari Väänänen, Research Professor, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, ari.vaananen@ttl.fi, +358 (0)50 511 0530
• Pekka Varje, Research Manager, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, pekka.varje@ttl.fi, +358 (0)50 576 8236