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The illness rate is calculated by comparing employee illness-related absences against planned working time, within a specific period. Illness-related absence times and planned working times are calculated in days.

Interpretation

A high illness rate may be interpreted as an indicator of a heavy workload, bad working conditions, dangerous working environment, low employee satisfaction, and so on. As a simple key figure it can be used for planning purposes, for example, to shift resources from one area into an area with a high Illness Rate. An analysis of the illness reasons or causes must include other factors as well. For example, a high overtime rate combined with a high number of accidents may indicate the reasons for an increase of the illness rate.

Calculation Formula

$\text{Illness rate }=\frac{\sum \text{Illness-related Absence Times in Days}}{\sum \text{Planned Working Times in Days}}$

• Unit of Measure: %

Direction of Improvement

One will usually try to minimize the illness rate.

Industry and Country Relevance

The illness rate is generic for all industries and countries.