Strained Care Workers Suffer High Sickness Rates Compared to Other Professionals
Healthcare workers tend to experience more illnesses compared to workers in other professional domains. - Healthcare professionals, particularly nurses, experience higher incidences of illness compared to workers in other industries.
The physically and psychologically demanding role of care workers in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern contributes to their relatively high sickness rates. According to data from the Techniker Krankenkasse (TK), care workers in the region missed an average of 32.6 workdays due to illness last year, a rate significantly higher than the national average of 28.5 days. This high sickness rate can be attributed to:
- Heavy physical demands: Care work involves heavy physical tasks like lifting and moving patients, leading to musculoskeletal disorders and chronic pain that increase time off work.
- Emotional strain: Caregiving often requires significant emotional labor, managing patients' suffering and navigating the stresses of the profession, raising the risk of mental health issues like burnout and depression.
- Health risks: Working closely with vulnerable populations increases care workers' exposure to infectious diseases and respiratory infections, leading to higher sickness rates.
- Regional health concerns: The overall prevalence of chronic conditions in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, such as hypertension and ischemic heart disease, can indirectly impact workplace attendance.
To alleviate the challenges faced by care workers in the region and create a more supportive work environment, the following measures are being considered:
- Improving working conditions: Initiatives focus on reducing physical strain via technical aids, ergonomic training, and a more accommodating work environment.
- Mental health support: Programs that provide psychological support and stress management to help care workers cope with job-related emotional demands are being implemented.
- Health promotion and prevention: Expanded access to preventive healthcare services, regular health check-ups, and vaccination campaigns aim to minimize work-related illnesses.
- Staffing and organizational changes: Measures include increasing staffing levels, improving work schedules, and streamlining shift management to foster a better work-life balance.
- Policy and financial support: Regional and federal funding is allocated to improve care workers’ training, resources, and infrastructure, targeting a reduced sickness rate and an overall safer work environment.
These efforts seek to create a healthier, more supportive workplace for care workers in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, addressing both occupational hazards and broader health challenges to minimize absenteeism and improve job satisfaction [1][3].
- To combat the high sickness rates among care workers in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, a community policy has been proposed to provide policy and financial support, focusing on improving training resources and infrastructure.
- With the aim of promoting health-and-wellness and addressing mental-health concerns among care workers, a number of vocational training programs are also being implemented to offer psychological support and stress management.
- In order to boost the overall fitness-and-exercise and nutrition of care workers, health promotion and prevention measures are being considered, which include expanded access to preventive healthcare services and regular health check-ups.
