Data sheet
Corporate health management in Switzerland 2026: absences, stress and costs in figures
In 2025, full-time employees in Switzerland missed an average of 8.2 working days through illness or accident (Federal Statistical Office, survey year 2025, published May 2026). In 2022, illness-related productivity losses in Switzerland came to CHF 70.5 billion (Federal Office of Public Health, reference year 2022, published November 2025). This page brings the Swiss corporate health management figures together in one place.
Every figure on this page comes with its publisher, survey year, publication year and a link to the primary document. Figures we could not check against the primary document are not listed here. They appear in the methodology section, with the reason.
As at September 2026 · 82 figures from 13 cited sources · next scheduled update: May 2027
- 8.2 daysDays of absence per full-time post, Switzerland 2025FSO, Labour Volume Statistics, published May 2026
- 70.5 billionCHF in illness-related productivity losses, Switzerland 2022FOPH and ZHAW, published November 2025
- 21.8%of businesses with 10 or more employees have systematic corporate health management, 2024Health Promotion Switzerland, Fact sheet 116, published April 2025
The key figures at a glance
Ten key figures, each linking to the full entry, with source, year and method, further down this page.
- 8.2 daysDays of absence per full-time post, SwitzerlandFSO, survey year 2025
- 58.2 hoursHours of absence per employee, SwitzerlandFSO, survey year 2025
- 28.2%People in employment in the critical stress range, SwitzerlandHealth Promotion Switzerland, survey year 2022
- 30.3%People in employment who feel emotionally exhausted, SwitzerlandHealth Promotion Switzerland, survey year 2022
- CHF 6.5 billionAnnual potential of stress reduction, SwitzerlandHealth Promotion Switzerland, survey year 2022
- CHF 33.7 billionProductivity losses from presenteeism, SwitzerlandFOPH and ZHAW, survey year 2022
- CHF 70.5 billionTotal illness-related productivity losses, SwitzerlandFOPH and ZHAW, survey year 2022
- 21.8%Businesses with 10 or more employees with systematic corporate health management, SwitzerlandHealth Promotion Switzerland, survey year 2024
- 8%People in employment who are engaged at work, SwitzerlandGallup, survey year 2025
- 280,000Occupational accidents and occupational diseases per year, SwitzerlandSSUV, AIA statistics, survey year 2024
Absences in Switzerland
The only official Swiss absence series comes from the Labour Volume Statistics of the Federal Statistical Office. It is published every May and covers the previous year.
Data for this chart as a table
| Year | Hours of absence per employee |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 44.3 |
| 2022 | 65.6 |
| 2025 | 58.2 |
How many working days are lost per full-time post per year?
8.2 days
In 2025, full-time employees in Switzerland missed an average of 8.2 working days through illness or accident.
Source: Federal Statistical Office (FSO), Labour Volume Statistics (AVOL), absences, survey year 2025, published May 2026.
Method: Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS) and Labour Volume Statistics (AVOL), recording absences due to illness and accident.
How many hours of absence does the average employee have?
58.2 hours
In 2025, each employee in Switzerland averaged 58.2 hours of absence due to illness and accident.
Source: Federal Statistical Office (FSO), Labour Volume Statistics (AVOL), absences, survey year 2025, published May 2026. The same value as a MonAM indicator.
Method: Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS) and Labour Volume Statistics (AVOL), recording absences due to illness and accident.
How many hours of absence were recorded at the start of the series?
44.3 hours
In 2010, each employee in Switzerland averaged 44.3 hours of absence due to illness and accident.
Source: Federal Statistical Office (FSO), Labour Volume Statistics (AVOL), absences, survey year 2010, published May 2026.
Method: Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS) and Labour Volume Statistics (AVOL), recording absences due to illness and accident.
When did hours of absence peak?
65.6 hours
Hours of absence reached the highest value in the Swiss series in 2022, at 65.6 hours per employee.
Source: Federal Statistical Office (FSO), Labour Volume Statistics (AVOL), absences, survey year 2022, published May 2026.
Method: Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS) and Labour Volume Statistics (AVOL), recording absences due to illness and accident.
How many days of absence were there before the pandemic?
7.2 days
In 2019, full-time employees in Switzerland missed an average of 7.2 working days through illness or accident.
Source: Federal Statistical Office (FSO), Labour Volume Statistics (AVOL), absences, survey year 2019, published May 2026.
Method: Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS) and Labour Volume Statistics (AVOL), recording absences due to illness and accident.
How many days of absence were there in the first year of the pandemic?
8.1 days
In 2020, full-time employees in Switzerland missed an average of 8.1 working days through illness or accident.
Source: Federal Statistical Office (FSO), Labour Volume Statistics (AVOL), absences, survey year 2020, published May 2026.
Method: Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS) and Labour Volume Statistics (AVOL), recording absences due to illness and accident.
How many hours of absence do women in full-time work have?
76.1 hours
In 2025, women in full-time employment in Switzerland averaged 76.1 hours of absence due to illness and accident.
Source: Federal Statistical Office (FSO), Labour Volume Statistics (AVOL), absences, survey year 2025, published May 2026.
Method: Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS) and Labour Volume Statistics (AVOL), recording absences due to illness and accident.
How many hours of absence do men in full-time work have?
64.4 hours
Full-time men in Switzerland averaged 64.4 hours of absence due to illness and accident in 2025.
Source: Federal Statistical Office (FSO), Labour Volume Statistics (AVOL), absences, survey year 2025, published May 2026.
Method: Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS) and Labour Volume Statistics (AVOL), recording absences due to illness and accident.
How many hours of absence do part-time women have?
45.7 hours
Part-time women in Switzerland averaged 45.7 hours of absence due to illness and accident in 2025.
Source: Federal Statistical Office (FSO), Labour Volume Statistics (AVOL), absences, survey year 2025, published May 2026.
Method: Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS) and Labour Volume Statistics (AVOL), recording absences due to illness and accident.
How many hours of absence do part-time men have?
41.7 hours
Part-time men in Switzerland averaged 41.7 hours of absence due to illness and accident in 2025.
Source: Federal Statistical Office (FSO), Labour Volume Statistics (AVOL), absences, survey year 2025, published May 2026.
Method: Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS) and Labour Volume Statistics (AVOL), recording absences due to illness and accident.
Which industries have the lowest absence?
6.0 days
In 2025, absence in Switzerland was lowest in information and communication and in professional, scientific and technical services, at 6.0 days per full-time post each.
Source: Federal Statistical Office (FSO), Labour Volume Statistics (AVOL), absences, survey year 2025, published May 2026.
Method: Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS) and Labour Volume Statistics (AVOL), recording absences due to illness and accident.
Which industry has the highest absence?
10.1 days
Construction recorded the highest absence figure in Switzerland in 2025, at 10.1 days of absence per full-time post.
Source: Federal Statistical Office (FSO), Labour Volume Statistics (AVOL), absences, survey year 2025, published May 2026.
Method: Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS) and Labour Volume Statistics (AVOL), recording absences due to illness and accident.
Which occupational group has the fewest absences?
5.1 days
Managers in Switzerland were absent for an average of 5.1 working days per full-time post in 2025, fewer than any other occupational group reported.
Source: Federal Statistical Office (FSO), Labour Volume Statistics (AVOL), absences, survey year 2025, published May 2026.
Method: Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS) and Labour Volume Statistics (AVOL), recording absences due to illness and accident.
Which occupational group has the most absences?
12.2 days
The first comprehensive estimate of illness-related productivity losses in Switzerland comes from the cost study commissioned by the FOPH, with 2022 as its reference year. It distinguishes between absenteeism and presenteeism.
Source: Federal Statistical Office (FSO), Labour Volume Statistics (AVOL), absences, survey year 2025, published May 2026.
Method: Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS) and Labour Volume Statistics (AVOL), recording absences due to illness and accident.
How has absence changed in a single canton?
8.0 days
In the canton of Zurich, days of absence per full-time post rose from 6.1 days in 2010 to 8.0 days in 2024.
Source: Office for Economic Affairs, Canton of Zurich, Zürcher Wirtschaftsmonitoring, June 2025, survey year 2024, published June 2025.
Method: Zürcher Wirtschaftsmonitoring of the Office for Economic Affairs, analysis of absences per full-time post for the canton of Zurich.
Data for this chart as a table
| Industry | Days of absence per full-time post |
|---|---|
| Information and communication | 6.0 |
| Prof./scientific/tech. services | 6.0 |
| Financial and insurance activities | 6.2 |
| Transport and storage | 9.8 |
| Construction | 10.1 |
| Occupational group | Days of absence per full-time post |
|---|---|
| In the canton of Zurich, absences due to illness and accidents cause productivity losses of over CHF 2 billion a year, based on survey year 2024. | 5.1 |
| Professionals | 5.9 |
| Elementary occupations | 11.8 |
| This page deliberately gives no franc amount per day of absence. The figure of CHF 1,100 per day of absence that circulates in the market is credited to different sources in different places: in one to SWICA, based on FSO data, in another to SECO. Until it can be checked against the primary document, we do not publish it. | 12.2 |
Source: Federal Statistical Office (FSO), Labour Volume Statistics (AVOL), absences, survey year 2025, published May 2026.
What absences cost
The first comprehensive estimate of illness-related productivity losses in Switzerland comes from the cost study commissioned by the FOPH, with 2022 as its reference year. It separates absenteeism and presenteeism.
Data for this chart as a table
| Component | Productivity losses in CHF billion |
|---|---|
| Presenteeism | 33.7 |
| Absenteeism | 18.0 |
How high are illness-related productivity losses in Switzerland?
CHF 70.5 billion
Illness-related productivity losses in Switzerland came to CHF 70.5 billion in 2022, around 9% of gross domestic product.
Source: Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), Kosten der übertragbaren und nichtübertragbaren Krankheiten in der Schweiz (ZHAW, University of Lucerne, Bern University of Applied Sciences), survey year 2022, published November 2025.
Method: bottom-up cost-of-illness calculation for Switzerland, reference years 2012, 2017 and 2022, prepared by the ZHAW School of Management and Law, the University of Lucerne and Bern University of Applied Sciences on behalf of the FOPH.
How much of this is due to absence?
CHF 18.0 billion
Absenteeism, that is, illness-related absence from the workplace, accounted for productivity losses of CHF 18.0 billion in Switzerland in 2022.
Source: Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), Kosten der übertragbaren und nichtübertragbaren Krankheiten in der Schweiz (ZHAW, University of Lucerne, Bern University of Applied Sciences), survey year 2022, published November 2025, breakdown February 2026.
Method: bottom-up cost-of-illness calculation for Switzerland, reference years 2012, 2017 and 2022, prepared by the ZHAW School of Management and Law, the University of Lucerne and Bern University of Applied Sciences on behalf of the FOPH.
How much have the costs of absenteeism risen?
+73.1%
Productivity losses from absenteeism in Switzerland rose by CHF 7.6 billion, or 73.1%, between 2012 and 2022.
Source: Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), Kosten der übertragbaren und nichtübertragbaren Krankheiten in der Schweiz (ZHAW, University of Lucerne, Bern University of Applied Sciences), survey years 2012 to 2022, published November 2025, breakdown February 2026.
Method: bottom-up cost-of-illness calculation for Switzerland, reference years 2012, 2017 and 2022, prepared by the ZHAW School of Management and Law, the University of Lucerne and Bern University of Applied Sciences on behalf of the FOPH.
How much are the productivity losses per head?
In 2020, 28.7% of people in employment in Switzerland felt emotionally exhausted.
Spread across the resident population, illness-related productivity losses in Switzerland in 2022 came to around CHF 8,000 per head.
Source: Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), Kosten der übertragbaren und nichtübertragbaren Krankheiten in der Schweiz (ZHAW, University of Lucerne, Bern University of Applied Sciences), survey year 2022, published November 2025, breakdown February 2026.
Method: bottom-up cost-of-illness calculation for Switzerland, reference years 2012, 2017 and 2022, prepared by the ZHAW School of Management and Law, the University of Lucerne and Bern University of Applied Sciences on behalf of the FOPH.
What do noncommunicable diseases cost Switzerland in total?
CHF 109 billion
Noncommunicable diseases cost Switzerland a total of CHF 109 billion in 2022, around 14% of gross domestic product, of which CHF 66 billion was health care costs and CHF 43 billion productivity losses.
Source: Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), Kosten der übertragbaren und nichtübertragbaren Krankheiten in der Schweiz (ZHAW, University of Lucerne, Bern University of Applied Sciences), survey year 2022, published November 2025.
Method: bottom-up cost-of-illness calculation for Switzerland, reference years 2012, 2017 and 2022, prepared by the ZHAW School of Management and Law, the University of Lucerne and Bern University of Applied Sciences on behalf of the FOPH.
Which disease groups cause the greatest productivity losses?
17% each
Mental illness and musculoskeletal disorders caused the greatest productivity losses in Switzerland in 2022, accounting for 17% each.
Source: Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), Kosten der übertragbaren und nichtübertragbaren Krankheiten in der Schweiz (ZHAW, University of Lucerne, Bern University of Applied Sciences), survey year 2022, published November 2025.
Method: bottom-up cost-of-illness calculation for Switzerland, reference years 2012, 2017 and 2022, prepared by the ZHAW School of Management and Law, the University of Lucerne and Bern University of Applied Sciences on behalf of the FOPH.
What does overweight cost in productivity losses?
CHF 2.9 billion
Overweight and obesity caused productivity losses of CHF 2.9 billion in Switzerland in 2022, in addition to CHF 3.7 billion in health care costs.
Source: Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), Kosten der übertragbaren und nichtübertragbaren Krankheiten in der Schweiz (ZHAW, University of Lucerne, Bern University of Applied Sciences), survey year 2022, published November 2025.
Method: bottom-up cost-of-illness calculation for Switzerland, reference years 2012, 2017 and 2022, prepared by the ZHAW School of Management and Law, the University of Lucerne and Bern University of Applied Sciences on behalf of the FOPH.
What does physical inactivity cost in productivity losses?
CHF 849 million
Physical inactivity caused productivity losses of CHF 849 million in Switzerland in 2022, in addition to CHF 1.7 billion in health care costs.
Source: Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), Kosten der übertragbaren und nichtübertragbaren Krankheiten in der Schweiz (ZHAW, University of Lucerne, Bern University of Applied Sciences), survey year 2022, published November 2025.
Method: bottom-up cost-of-illness calculation for Switzerland, reference years 2012, 2017 and 2022, prepared by the ZHAW School of Management and Law, the University of Lucerne and Bern University of Applied Sciences on behalf of the FOPH.
What do absences cost a single canton?
over CHF 2 billion
In the canton of Zurich, absences due to illness and accidents cause productivity losses of over CHF 2 billion a year, as at survey year 2024.
Source: Office for Economic Affairs, Canton of Zurich, Zürcher Wirtschaftsmonitoring, June 2025, survey year 2024, published June 2025.
Method: Zürcher Wirtschaftsmonitoring of the Office for Economic Affairs, extrapolation of cantonal productivity losses from the absence data.
How many working hours are worked in Switzerland each year?
8.114 billion hours
A total of 8.114 billion working hours were worked in Switzerland in 2025.
Source: Federal Statistical Office (FSO), Labour Volume Statistics (AVOL), absences, survey year 2025, published May 2026.
Method: Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS) and Labour Volume Statistics (AVOL), recording absences due to illness and accident.
How long is the actual working week of full-time employees?
40 hrs 3 min
Full-time employees in Switzerland worked an average of 40 hours and 3 minutes a week in 2025, compared with 40 hours and 54 minutes in 2019.
Source: Federal Statistical Office (FSO), Labour Volume Statistics (AVOL), absences, survey year 2025, published May 2026.
Method: Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS) and Labour Volume Statistics (AVOL), recording absences due to illness and accident.
How many weeks of holiday do full-time employees in Switzerland get?
5.2 weeks
Full-time employees in Switzerland had an average of 5.2 weeks of holiday in 2025.
Source: Federal Statistical Office (FSO), Labour Volume Statistics (AVOL), absences, survey year 2025, published May 2026.
Method: Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS) and Labour Volume Statistics (AVOL), recording absences due to illness and accident.
What do absences cost in your business?
This page deliberately gives no franc amount per day of absence. The figure of CHF 1,100 per day of absence that circulates in the market is attributed to different sources in different places, once to SWICA on the basis of FSO data, once to SECO. Until this can be settled against the primary document, we do not publish the figure.
The calculator takes the other route: it works with your own figures, discloses the formula and returns a range instead of a single amount. It does not ask for an email address, and no input leaves your browser.
Note on the default values: The calculator is pre-filled with values from the Labour Volume Statistics for survey year 2024, because the comparison industries also come from that survey and reference years must not be mixed within one calculation. The most recent overall figure is 8.2 days of absence per full-time post for 2025; you can enter it in the Days of absence field.
The formula
Direct absence costs = full-time posts × days of absence per full-time post × (gross annual salary × (1 + employer on-costs)) ÷ working days
250 × 8.5 × (CHF 84,288 × 1.18) ÷ 220 = CHF 960,692
This is the fully loaded cost of sick pay for absences due to illness and accident. No model, no multiplier, no assumption beyond the five figures you can see and change above.
Result: your cost volume
Comparison: the average for the economy as a whole is 8.5 days of absence per full-time post. Your figure of 8.5 days matches it. We deliberately do not calculate any savings potential from this. An industry average is a distribution, not an achievable target.
Scenario 1: who bears which share? Sick pay and daily sickness allowance
Within the waiting period, the employer bears the full cost of sick pay; after that, the daily sickness allowance insurance pays the agreed level of benefit. Only your own case database can tell you how your days of absence divide between the two: many short cases fall entirely within the waiting period, while a few long cases dominate the days. That is why the share is an input, not a default. The premium itself is not included here.
Scenario: of which borne by the employer CHF 192,138 per year. Formula: waiting-period days × daily cost + remaining days × daily cost × (1 − benefit level).
Scenario 2: indirect costs, if you set a multiplier
Replacement staff, overtime premiums, management time, error and quality costs, follow-on absences caused by overload. In the Swiss market, mark-ups of 100, 150 and 250% of direct costs are in circulation, always described as a 'rule of thumb' and never derived. We therefore set no default value. What you enter here is your assumption, not ours, and we always call the result a scenario, not a cost.
Scenario: indirect costs CHF 0, scenario total CHF 960,692 per year.
Why your daily value does not look like the figures in the market
Your calculation above comes to CHF 452 per day of absence. For the same quantity, values of roughly CHF 300 to over CHF 1,000 circulate in the Swiss market. The difference is a matter of calculation convention, not insight: the low value is pure salary, and the high value is the same salary multiplied by a mark-up for indirect costs that is never disclosed. Anyone who places the two figures side by side without naming the multiplier is comparing nothing.
What this calculator does not do
This calculator shows the scale of your costs, not your potential savings. How much of this workplace health measures can influence cannot be predicted across the board for any single company. To understand your cost situation in more depth, commission an analysis.
Stress and mental health at work
The Job Stress Index of Health Promotion Switzerland has measured the ratio of demands to resources among people in employment in Switzerland since 2014.
Data for this chart as a table
| Year | In the critical range (%) | Emotionally exhausted (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 27.1 | not stated |
| 2020 | 29.6 | 28.7 |
| 2022 | 28.2 | 30.3 |
What is the Job Stress Index and how high is it?
50.66
The Job Stress Index of people in employment in Switzerland, a ratio of demands to resources on a scale from 0 to 100, stood at 50.66 in 2022.
Source: Health Promotion Switzerland, Job Stress Index 2022, Fact sheet 72, survey year 2022, published August 2022. The same value as a MonAM indicator (rounded 50.7).
Method: Job Stress Index 2022, survey of 3,022 people in employment aged 16 to 65, fieldwork February 2022, University of Bern and ZHAW on behalf of Health Promotion Switzerland.
How many people in employment are in the critical range at work?
28.2%
In 2022, demands at work outweighed available resources for 28.2% of people in employment in Switzerland; the Job Stress Index calls this state the critical range.
Source: Health Promotion Switzerland, Job Stress Index 2022, Fact sheet 72, survey year 2022, published August 2022.
Method: Job Stress Index 2022, survey of 3,022 people in employment aged 16 to 65, fieldwork February 2022, University of Bern and ZHAW on behalf of Health Promotion Switzerland.
How many people in employment feel emotionally exhausted?
30.3%
30.3% of people in employment in Switzerland felt emotionally exhausted in 2022, more than 30% for the first time since measurement began in 2014.
Source: Health Promotion Switzerland, Job Stress Index 2022, Fact sheet 72, survey year 2022, published August 2022. The same value as a MonAM indicator.
Method: Job Stress Index 2022, survey of 3,022 people in employment aged 16 to 65, fieldwork February 2022, University of Bern and ZHAW on behalf of Health Promotion Switzerland.
How much does work-related stress cost the Swiss economy?
CHF 6.5 billion
The annual economic potential of reducing work-related stress in Switzerland was around CHF 6.5 billion in 2022.
The economic potential is not a realised cost figure but the calculated amount that could be unlocked by reducing demands.
Source: Health Promotion Switzerland, Job Stress Index 2022, Fact sheet 72, survey year 2022, published August 2022. The same value as a MonAM indicator.
Method: Job Stress Index 2022, survey of 3,022 people in employment aged 16 to 65, fieldwork February 2022, University of Bern and ZHAW on behalf of Health Promotion Switzerland.
What share of the potential relates to absenteeism?
CHF 1.5 billion
Of the CHF 6.5 billion of economic potential in 2022, CHF 1.5 billion came from reducing absenteeism among people in employment in Switzerland.
Source: Health Promotion Switzerland, Job Stress Index 2022, Fact sheet 72, survey year 2022, published August 2022.
Method: Job Stress Index 2022, survey of 3,022 people in employment aged 16 to 65, fieldwork February 2022, University of Bern and ZHAW on behalf of Health Promotion Switzerland.
How much working time is lost to stress?
14.9%
The average stress-related productivity loss among people in employment in Switzerland was 14.9% of working time in 2022.
Source: Health Promotion Switzerland, Job Stress Index 2022, Fact sheet 72, survey year 2022, published August 2022.
Method: Job Stress Index 2022, survey of 3,022 people in employment aged 16 to 65, fieldwork February 2022, University of Bern and ZHAW on behalf of Health Promotion Switzerland.
How high was the Job Stress Index in the previous survey?
50.83
The Job Stress Index of people in employment in Switzerland stood at 50.83 in 2020.
Source: Health Promotion Switzerland, Job Stress Index 2022, Fact sheet 72, survey year 2020, published August 2022.
Method: time series of the Job Stress Index in Fact sheet 72 of Health Promotion Switzerland; 2020 survey wave.
How large was the critical range in 2020?
29.6%
In 2020, demands at work outweighed available resources for 29.6% of people in employment in Switzerland.
Source: Health Promotion Switzerland, Job Stress Index 2022, Fact sheet 72, survey year 2020, published August 2022.
Method: time series of the Job Stress Index in Fact sheet 72 of Health Promotion Switzerland; 2020 survey wave.
How high was emotional exhaustion in 2020?
28.7%
28.7% of people in employment in Switzerland felt emotionally exhausted in 2020.
Source: Health Promotion Switzerland, Job Stress Index 2022, Fact sheet 72, survey year 2020, published August 2022.
Method: time series of the Job Stress Index in Fact sheet 72 of Health Promotion Switzerland; 2020 survey wave.
How large was the critical range in 2018?
27.1%
In 2018, demands at work outweighed available resources for 27.1% of people in employment in Switzerland.
Source: Health Promotion Switzerland, Job Stress Index 2022, Fact sheet 72, survey year 2018, published August 2022.
Method: time series of the Job Stress Index in Fact sheet 72 of Health Promotion Switzerland; 2018 survey wave.
Where did the Job Stress Index series begin?
50.0
The Job Stress Index of people in employment in Switzerland stood at 50.0 in the base year 2014.
Source: Health Promotion Switzerland, Job Stress Index 2022, Fact sheet 72, survey year 2014, published August 2022.
Method: time series of the Job Stress Index in Fact sheet 72 of Health Promotion Switzerland; 2014 baseline survey.
Which group is most emotionally exhausted?
41.0%
Of working women aged 16 to 24 in Switzerland, 41.0% felt emotionally exhausted in 2022.
Source: Health Promotion Switzerland, Job Stress Index 2022, Fact sheet 72, survey year 2022, published August 2022.
Method: Job Stress Index 2022, survey of 3,022 people in employment aged 16 to 65, fieldwork February 2022, University of Bern and ZHAW on behalf of Health Promotion Switzerland.
What is the comparable figure for young men?
14.4%
Of working men aged 16 to 24 in Switzerland, 14.4% felt emotionally exhausted in 2022.
Source: Health Promotion Switzerland, Job Stress Index 2022, Fact sheet 72, survey year 2022, published August 2022.
Method: Job Stress Index 2022, survey of 3,022 people in employment aged 16 to 65, fieldwork February 2022, University of Bern and ZHAW on behalf of Health Promotion Switzerland.
How are invalidity insurance (IV) pensions for mental health reasons developing among young adults?
almost doubled
In the canton of Zurich, the number of invalidity insurance (IV) pensions granted for mental health reasons to 18 to 24-year-olds has almost doubled since 2010, while among 25 to 29-year-olds it rose by around 75%.
Source: Office for Economic Affairs, Canton of Zurich, Zürcher Wirtschaftsmonitoring, June 2025, survey years 2010 to 2024, published June 2025.
Method: Zürcher Wirtschaftsmonitoring of the Office for Economic Affairs, analysis of IV pensions by cause and age group.
Break in method from the 2026 survey
The Job Stress Index was methodologically revised to mark its tenth anniversary. The values from the 2026 survey, announced for the first quarter of 2027, may not be directly comparable with the 2014 to 2022 series. This page will show the break rather than smooth it over.
Presenteeism: the invisible costs
Presenteeism means working while ill. In Switzerland it weighs more heavily than absenteeism in economic terms, yet it is far less well documented.
How costly is presenteeism in Switzerland?
CHF 33.7 billion
Presenteeism, that is, reduced performance at work despite illness, accounted for productivity losses of CHF 33.7 billion in Switzerland in 2022.
The figure is the presenteeism component of total illness-related productivity losses of CHF 70.5 billion and is well above the absenteeism component of CHF 18.0 billion.
Source: Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), Kosten der übertragbaren und nichtübertragbaren Krankheiten in der Schweiz (ZHAW, University of Lucerne, Bern University of Applied Sciences), survey year 2022, published November 2025, breakdown February 2026.
Method: bottom-up cost-of-illness calculation for Switzerland, reference years 2012, 2017 and 2022, prepared by the ZHAW School of Management and Law, the University of Lucerne and Bern University of Applied Sciences on behalf of the FOPH.
What share of the stress potential relates to presenteeism?
CHF 5 billion
Of the CHF 6.5 billion of economic potential from stress reduction in Switzerland in 2022, CHF 5 billion came from reducing presenteeism.
This is a sub-component of the economic potential, not a standalone estimate of the cost of presenteeism in Switzerland. The two figures are often confused in practice.
Source: Health Promotion Switzerland, Job Stress Index 2022, Fact sheet 72, survey year 2022, published August 2022.
Method: Job Stress Index 2022, survey of 3,022 people in employment aged 16 to 65, fieldwork February 2022, University of Bern and ZHAW on behalf of Health Promotion Switzerland.
How widespread is presenteeism in Swiss businesses?
around 52%
In the 2022 and 2023 survey waves, around 52% of the employees surveyed at 17 Swiss businesses said they had worked while ill in the previous year.
Source: Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH), Presenteeism at Work, survey years 2022 and 2023, published 2024.
Method: Presenteeism at Work study by Bern University of Applied Sciences in cooperation with SWICA, 2,785 employees from 17 businesses in both measurement waves, of whom 1,456 people had worked while ill in the previous year.
How effective is an e-learning intervention against presenteeism?
Cohen's d = 0.22
The e-learning intervention tested in the BFH study showed only a small effect in Swiss businesses, Cohen’s d = 0.22, and only with full participation.
Source: Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH), Presenteeism at Work, survey years 2022 and 2023, published 2024.
Method: intervention study by Bern University of Applied Sciences with two measurement waves; effect size after Cohen, values around 0.2 count as a small effect.
Three common presenteeism claims this page leaves out
'Presenteeism costs Switzerland CHF 5 billion' does not appear on this page. The CHF 5 billion examined is the presenteeism component of the economic potential in the Job Stress Index, not a standalone cost estimate. Nor does the page use 'three times as many unproductive hours as absenteeism' or 'two thirds of illness-related business costs': no primary source exists for either multiplier.
Accidents and occupational diseases
The Accident Insurance Statistics Office (SSUV) compiles the AIA statistics, a register of all cases insured under the Federal Act on Accident Insurance (AIA) in Switzerland.
Terms of use of the AIA statistics
The AIA statistics may be reproduced with attribution, but not for commercial use. health-prime.ch is a commercial website. This page therefore quotes only individual figures, with attribution and a link, and does not reproduce tables or charts from the AIA statistics.
How many accidents are registered in Switzerland each year?
around 915,000
Under the Federal Act on Accident Insurance, around 915,000 claims were registered in Switzerland in 2024, up 0.7% on the previous year.
Source: Accident Insurance Statistics Office (SSUV), UVG-Statistik 2025, survey year 2024, published 2025.
Method: full survey of all cases insured under the AIA by the Accident Insurance Statistics Office (SSUV).
How many occupational accidents and occupational diseases are there each year?
280,000
In Switzerland, around 280,000 occupational accidents and occupational diseases were registered in 2024, down 2.0% on the previous year.
Source: Accident Insurance Statistics Office (SSUV), UVG-Statistik 2025, survey year 2024, published 2025.
Method: full survey of all cases insured under the AIA by the Accident Insurance Statistics Office (SSUV).
How many leisure accidents are there by comparison?
618,000
In Switzerland, around 618,000 leisure accidents were registered in 2024, up 1.7% on the previous year.
Leisure accidents matter to employers because they also lead to absence from work.
Source: Accident Insurance Statistics Office (SSUV), UVG-Statistik 2025, survey year 2024, published 2025.
Method: full survey of all cases insured under the AIA by the Accident Insurance Statistics Office (SSUV).
How many businesses are insured under the AIA?
654,825
In 2023, 654,825 businesses in Switzerland were insured under the Federal Act on Accident Insurance.
Source: Accident Insurance Statistics Office (SSUV), UVG-Statistik 2025, survey year 2023, published 2025.
Method: key figures table of the AIA statistics; stock figures are reported with a one-year lag relative to case numbers.
What is the insured payroll in occupational accident insurance?
CHF 359.7 billion
The payroll insured under occupational accident insurance in Switzerland was CHF 359.7 billion in 2023.
Source: Accident Insurance Statistics Office (SSUV), UVG-Statistik 2025, survey year 2023, published 2025.
Method: key figures table of the AIA statistics.
How are the costs of accident insurance distributed?
around 50%
In Swiss accident insurance in 2024, the most expensive 1% of cases accounted for almost half of all costs.
Source: Accident Insurance Statistics Office (SSUV), UVG-Statistik 2025, survey year 2024, published 2025.
Method: cost analysis of the AIA statistics across all registered cases.
What share of occupational diseases are musculoskeletal disorders?
just under 10%
Musculoskeletal disorders made up just under 10% of manifest occupational diseases in Switzerland in 2024.
Source: Accident Insurance Statistics Office (SSUV), UVG-Statistik 2025, survey year 2024, published 2025.
Method: analysis of recognised occupational diseases in the AIA statistics.
How widespread is corporate health management in Switzerland?
The corporate health management monitoring by Health Promotion Switzerland and FHNW is the only official Swiss benchmark of how widely it is practised. It is published every four years.
Data for this chart as a table
| Degree of implementation | Share of businesses |
|---|---|
| systematic | 21.8 |
| mostly/repeatedly | 49.1 |
| in part/occasionally | 25.9 |
| not at all | 3.2 |
How many Swiss businesses practise systematic corporate health management?
21.8%
21.8% of Swiss businesses with 10 or more employees implemented corporate health management systematically in 2024.
Source: Health Promotion Switzerland, Monitoring Verbreitung BGM, Fact sheet 116, survey year 2024, published April 2025.
Method: business survey, May to July 2024; 1,159 of 4,446 businesses contacted responded (response rate 26%); sample drawn from the FSO Business and Enterprise Register; representative by economic sector and language region; conducted by YouGov Schweiz.
How many businesses implement corporate health management for the most part?
49.1%
49.1% of Swiss businesses with 10 or more employees implemented corporate health management mostly or repeatedly in 2024.
Source: Health Promotion Switzerland, Monitoring Verbreitung BGM, Fact sheet 116, survey year 2024, published April 2025.
Method: business survey, May to July 2024; 1,159 of 4,446 businesses contacted responded (response rate 26%); sample drawn from the FSO Business and Enterprise Register; representative by economic sector and language region; conducted by YouGov Schweiz.
How many businesses implement corporate health management only in part?
25.9%
25.9% of Swiss businesses with 10 or more employees implemented corporate health management only in part or occasionally in 2024.
Source: Health Promotion Switzerland, Monitoring Verbreitung BGM, Fact sheet 116, survey year 2024, published April 2025.
Method: business survey, May to July 2024; 1,159 of 4,446 businesses contacted responded (response rate 26%); sample drawn from the FSO Business and Enterprise Register; representative by economic sector and language region; conducted by YouGov Schweiz.
How many businesses practise no corporate health management at all?
3.2%
3.2% of Swiss businesses with 10 or more employees practised no corporate health management at all in 2024.
Source: Health Promotion Switzerland, Monitoring Verbreitung BGM, Fact sheet 116, survey year 2024, published April 2025.
Method: business survey, May to July 2024; 1,159 of 4,446 businesses contacted responded (response rate 26%); sample drawn from the FSO Business and Enterprise Register; representative by economic sector and language region; conducted by YouGov Schweiz.
How many businesses are actively engaged overall?
around 71%
Around 71% of Swiss businesses with 10 or more employees were actively engaged in corporate health management in 2024, that is, implementing it systematically or mostly.
Source: Health Promotion Switzerland, Monitoring Verbreitung BGM, Fact sheet 116, survey year 2024, published April 2025.
Method: business survey, May to July 2024; 1,159 of 4,446 businesses contacted responded (response rate 26%); sample drawn from the FSO Business and Enterprise Register; representative by economic sector and language region; conducted by YouGov Schweiz.
How does corporate health management fare in small businesses?
16.5%
Of Swiss small businesses with 10 to 49 employees, 16.5% implemented corporate health management systematically in 2024, and 6.8% practised none.
Source: Health Promotion Switzerland, Monitoring Verbreitung BGM, Fact sheet 116, survey year 2024, published April 2025.
Method: business survey, May to July 2024; 1,159 of 4,446 businesses contacted responded (response rate 26%); sample drawn from the FSO Business and Enterprise Register; representative by economic sector and language region; conducted by YouGov Schweiz.
How does corporate health management fare in large companies?
27.4%
Of Swiss large companies with 250 or more employees, 27.4% implemented corporate health management systematically in 2024, and only 0.3% practised none.
Source: Health Promotion Switzerland, Monitoring Verbreitung BGM, Fact sheet 116, survey year 2024, published April 2025.
Method: business survey, May to July 2024; 1,159 of 4,446 businesses contacted responded (response rate 26%); sample drawn from the FSO Business and Enterprise Register; representative by economic sector and language region; conducted by YouGov Schweiz.
Does corporate health management differ by language region?
23.0% vs 16.5%
Systematic corporate health management was markedly more widespread in German-speaking Switzerland, at 23.0% of businesses, than in French-speaking Switzerland, at 16.5%, in 2024; Italian-speaking Switzerland stood at 22.8%.
Source: Health Promotion Switzerland, Monitoring Verbreitung BGM, Fact sheet 116, survey year 2024, published April 2025.
Method: business survey, May to July 2024; 1,159 of 4,446 businesses contacted responded (response rate 26%); sample drawn from the FSO Business and Enterprise Register; representative by economic sector and language region; conducted by YouGov Schweiz.
Which corporate health management measures are most widespread?
88%
In 2024, 88% of Swiss businesses with 10 or more employees mostly or systematically implemented measures in work design, personnel development and organisational development.
Source: Health Promotion Switzerland, Monitoring Verbreitung BGM, Fact sheet 116, survey year 2024, published April 2025.
Method: business survey, May to July 2024; 1,159 of 4,446 businesses contacted responded (response rate 26%); sample drawn from the FSO Business and Enterprise Register; representative by economic sector and language region; conducted by YouGov Schweiz.
How widespread are absence and case management?
70%
70% of Swiss businesses with 10 or more employees ran absence and case management mostly or systematically in 2024.
Source: Health Promotion Switzerland, Monitoring Verbreitung BGM, Fact sheet 116, survey year 2024, published April 2025.
Method: business survey, May to July 2024; 1,159 of 4,446 businesses contacted responded (response rate 26%); sample drawn from the FSO Business and Enterprise Register; representative by economic sector and language region; conducted by YouGov Schweiz.
Where do businesses see the greatest need for investment?
half
Half of the Swiss businesses surveyed named raising awareness of stress and mental health as the greatest need for investment in corporate health management in 2024.
Source: Health Promotion Switzerland, Monitoring Verbreitung BGM, Fact sheet 116, survey year 2024, published April 2025.
Method: business survey, May to July 2024; 1,159 of 4,446 businesses contacted responded (response rate 26%); sample drawn from the FSO Business and Enterprise Register; representative by economic sector and language region; conducted by YouGov Schweiz.
How good are the preconditions for corporate health management in businesses?
around 77%
Around 77% of Swiss businesses with 10 or more employees had good to very good preconditions for corporate health management in 2024.
Source: Health Promotion Switzerland, Monitoring Verbreitung BGM, Fact sheet 116, survey year 2024, published April 2025.
Method: business survey, May to July 2024; 1,159 of 4,446 businesses contacted responded (response rate 26%); sample drawn from the FSO Business and Enterprise Register; representative by economic sector and language region; conducted by YouGov Schweiz.
| Group | systematic | not at all |
|---|---|---|
| All businesses with 10 or more employees | 21.8 | 3.2 |
| 10 to 49 employees | 16.5 | 6.8 |
| 50 or more employees | 25.0 | not stated |
| 250 or more employees | 27.4 | 0.3 |
| German-speaking Switzerland | 23.0 | not stated |
| French-speaking Switzerland | 16.5 | not stated |
| Italian-speaking Switzerland | 22.8 | not stated |
Source: Health Promotion Switzerland, Monitoring Verbreitung BGM, Fact sheet 116, survey year 2024, published April 2025. 'Not stated' means that the value is not reported in the publication reviewed.
Is corporate health management worthwhile? What the evidence says about ROI
The return on workplace health promotion is disputed in the specialist literature. This page therefore never publishes the mean without its range and never without the origin of the studies.
What we do not promise you
HEALTH PRIME does not quote a return for your company. The available evidence comes mainly from the USA, its individual values range from negative to fifteenfold, and none of these studies examined your business. Anyone who quotes the mean without the range misrepresents the evidence. The outdated rule of thumb 'one franc returns CHF 2.50 to CHF 4.80' comes from iga.Report 13 of 2008 and is therefore not on this page.
What is the average ROI of workplace health promotion?
2.7
According to the evidence compiled in iga.Report 40, the mean return on investment of workplace health promotion is 2.7, based on a meta-analysis of 39 international studies.
This figure must never be quoted without its range. The study base is predominantly American, and the five European studies give a mixed picture.
Source: Initiative Gesundheit und Arbeit (iga), iga.Report 40: Wirksamkeit und Nutzen arbeitsweltbezogener Gesundheitsförderung und Prävention, evidence 2012 to 2018, published 2019.
Method: compilation of the scientific evidence in iga.Report 40, chapter 11.2, based on the meta-analysis by Baxter, Sanderson, Venn, Blizzard and Palmer (2014); ROI defined as a simple benefit-cost ratio.
How wide is the spread of ROI values?
-3.3 to 15.6
The individual ROI values of the studies evaluated in iga.Report 40 range from -3.3 to 15.6.
Source: Initiative Gesundheit und Arbeit (iga), iga.Report 40: Wirksamkeit und Nutzen arbeitsweltbezogener Gesundheitsförderung und Prävention, evidence 2012 to 2018, published 2019.
Method: iga.Report 40, chapter 11.2; 47 individual ROI values from 39 studies; the highest value, 15.6, comes from a US school district.
How many of the programmes evaluated were economically positive?
85%
85% of the ROI values evaluated in iga.Report 40 are above 1; one value is negative.
Source: Initiative Gesundheit und Arbeit (iga), iga.Report 40: Wirksamkeit und Nutzen arbeitsweltbezogener Gesundheitsförderung und Prävention, evidence 2012 to 2018, published 2019.
Method: iga.Report 40, chapter 11.2; 47 ROI values from 39 studies.
How many studies is the ROI evidence based on?
39 studies
The ROI evaluation in iga.Report 40 is based on 39 studies with 47 individual ROI values, overwhelmingly from the USA.
Source: Initiative Gesundheit und Arbeit (iga), iga.Report 40: Wirksamkeit und Nutzen arbeitsweltbezogener Gesundheitsförderung und Prävention, evidence 2012 to 2018, published 2019.
Method: iga.Report 40, chapter 11.2, based on the meta-analysis by Baxter et al. (2014); the economic benefit was studied predominantly in the USA.
What does mental health cost employers in the United Kingdom?
£51 billion
According to Deloitte UK's estimate, mental illness costs employers in the United Kingdom £51 billion a year.
UK figure. It is not a Swiss value and must not be quoted as one.
Source: Deloitte UK, Mental health and employers: the case for investment, 4th edition, survey year 2024, published May 2024.
Method: literature review of 26 sources since 2011 by Deloitte UK, fourth edition of the Mental health and employers series.
What share of these UK costs is due to presenteeism?
around £24 billion
Of the £51 billion in annual costs to UK employers, around £24 billion is attributable to presenteeism according to Deloitte UK.
UK figure. It supports the presenteeism perspective but does not replace a Swiss value.
Source: Deloitte UK, Mental health and employers: the case for investment, 4th edition, survey year 2024, published May 2024.
Method: literature review of 26 sources since 2011 by Deloitte UK.
What return does Deloitte UK quote for workplace measures?
4.70 to 1
Deloitte UK puts the return on workplace mental health measures in the United Kingdom at £4.70 per £1 invested, and at £6.30 for universal interventions.
UK figure from a company publication. HEALTH PRIME does not use it to promise any return to Swiss clients.
Source: Deloitte UK, Mental health and employers: the case for investment, 4th edition, survey year 2024, published May 2024.
Method: literature review of 26 sources since 2011 by Deloitte UK.
Switzerland in international comparison
International benchmarks are usable only when the survey instrument and the country are named in the same statement. Every figure in this section carries its country in the sentence.
Data for this chart as a table
| Region | Share of engaged people in employment |
|---|---|
| Switzerland | 8 |
| Germany | 11 |
| Europe | 12 |
| Worldwide | 20 |
How engaged are people in employment in Switzerland?
8%
8% of people in employment in Switzerland were engaged at work in 2025.
Source: Gallup, State of the Global Workplace 2026, survey year 2025, published April 2026.
Method: Gallup World Poll, survey from January to December 2025, reported as a three-year average.
What is the European benchmark?
12%
12% of people in employment in Europe were engaged at work in 2025; Europe is thus the least engaged region in the world.
Source: Gallup, State of the Global Workplace 2026, survey year 2025, published April 2026.
Method: Gallup World Poll, survey from January to December 2025, reported as a three-year average.
What is the worldwide benchmark?
20%
20% of people in employment worldwide were engaged at work in 2025.
Source: Gallup, State of the Global Workplace 2026, survey year 2025, published April 2026.
Method: Gallup World Poll, survey from January to December 2025, reported as a three-year average.
How many people in employment in Switzerland experience stress every day?
34%
In 2025, 34% of people in employment in Switzerland reported having felt stress the previous day, compared with 39% in Europe and 40% worldwide.
Source: Gallup, State of the Global Workplace 2026, survey year 2025, published April 2026.
Method: Gallup World Poll, survey from January to December 2025, reported as a three-year average.
How do people in employment in Switzerland rate their lives?
46%
In 2025, 46% of people in employment in Switzerland rated their lives as thriving, 50% as struggling and 4% as suffering.
Source: Gallup, State of the Global Workplace 2026, survey year 2025, published April 2026.
Method: Gallup World Poll, survey from January to December 2025, reported as a three-year average.
How high is emotional engagement with the employer in Germany?
10%
In 2025, 10% of employees in Germany had a high level of emotional engagement with their employer, and 77% a low level.
The Engagement Index Deutschland and the Gallup World Poll are two different surveys. Their values must not be combined or shown in the same series.
Source: Gallup, Engagement Index Deutschland 2025, survey year 2025, published March 2026.
Method: Gallup Engagement Index Deutschland, 1,700 telephone interviews from 17 November to 20 December 2025 using the Q12 instrument.
How many days of absence do highly committed employees have?
5.7 days
Employees in Germany with high emotional engagement with their employer had an average of 5.7 days of absence in 2025.
Source: Gallup, Engagement Index Deutschland 2025, survey year 2025, published March 2026.
Method: Gallup Engagement Index Deutschland, 1,700 telephone interviews; people on long-term sick leave of over 90 days are excluded.
How many days of absence do employees with no engagement have?
9.7 days
Employees in Germany with no emotional engagement with their employer averaged 9.7 days of absence in 2025; among highly engaged employees, at 5.7 days, it was 41% lower.
The relationship is a correlation from a cross-sectional survey, not a demonstrated causal effect.
Source: Gallup, Engagement Index Deutschland 2025, survey year 2025, published March 2026.
Method: Gallup Engagement Index Deutschland, 1,700 telephone interviews; people on long-term sick leave of over 90 days are excluded.
How many days of incapacity for work does Germany have?
20.8 days
In 2024, Germany recorded an average of 20.8 days of incapacity for work per employee, 881.5 million days in total.
German days of incapacity for work and Swiss days of absence are recorded differently and are not directly comparable.
Source: BMAS / Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA), Sicherheit und Gesundheit bei der Arbeit, reporting year 2024, cost of incapacity for work, survey year 2024, published December 2025.
Method: analysis of 32.6 million statutory health insurance (GKV) membership years by the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
What does incapacity for work cost the German economy?
EUR 134 billion
Incapacity for work cost Germany around €134 billion in production downtime in 2024, equal to 3.0% of gross national income.
Source: BMAS / Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA), Sicherheit und Gesundheit bei der Arbeit, reporting year 2024, cost of incapacity for work, survey year 2024, published December 2025.
Method: calculated using the wage cost approach by the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; the loss of gross value added is reported separately at €227 billion.
How many days of sick leave does Austria have?
14.7 days
In 2025, Austria averaged 14.7 days of sick leave per employee, a sick leave rate of 4.0% of working volume.
The Austrian sick leave rate is a share of working volume. It differs from the German sickness absence rate and is not comparable with it.
Source: Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO), Fehlzeitenreport 2026, survey year 2025, published June 2026.
Method: analysis of 54,034,325 days of sick leave among 3,672,495 insured persons by WIFO on behalf of the Federal Chamber of Labour, WKÖ and the umbrella organisation of the social insurance institutions.
Two surveys that must not be mixed
The Gallup World Poll and the Gallup Engagement Index Deutschland use different instruments and different samples. Their values appear side by side on this page, never in the same series and never in the same calculation. The same applies to German days of incapacity for work, Austrian days of sick leave and Swiss days of absence: three countries, three survey methods, no direct comparability.
Legal framework: employers' duties
This section contains no statistics, only the four provisions that underpin employers' health protection duties in Switzerland, each with a link to the legal text on Fedlex.
EmpA Art. 6 Health protection under the Employment Act
The Employment Act (EmpA) requires employers to take all measures to protect the health of employees that experience has shown to be necessary, that are applicable in view of the state of the art and that are appropriate to the conditions of the business. The duty covers protection against work-related health damage, not general preventive check-ups.
Legal text: EmpA Art. 6 on fedlex.admin.ch
EmpO 3 Art. 2 Specification in Ordinance 3 to the Employment Act
Ordinance 3 to the Employment Act (EmpO 3) specifies health protection and expressly mentions mental health in Article 2. There is no standalone provision on psychosocial risks; the points of reference are Art. 2 and Art. 5 on hazard identification.
Legal text: EmpO 3 Art. 2 on fedlex.admin.ch
AIA Art. 82 Prevention of occupational accidents and occupational diseases
Under Article 82 paragraph 1 of the Federal Act on Accident Insurance (AIA), the employer must take all measures to prevent occupational accidents and occupational diseases that experience has shown to be necessary, that are applicable in view of the state of the art and that are appropriate to the circumstances. Employees must be involved.
Legal text: AIA Art. 82 on fedlex.admin.ch
CO Art. 328 Duty of care in the individual employment contract
Article 328 of the Swiss Code of Obligations (CO) requires employers to respect and protect the personality of employees and to show due regard for their health. The wording of paragraph 2 largely matches EmpA Art. 6 and AIA Art. 82. No duty to carry out screenings follows from it.
Legal text: CO Art. 328 on fedlex.admin.ch
CO Art. 328b in conjunction with Art. 362 The limit on data processing by employers
Employers may process data about employees only to the extent that it concerns their suitability for the employment relationship or is necessary for performing the employment contract. Article 362 of the Code of Obligations declares agreements that deviate from this provision to the detriment of employees void. A health finding from a voluntary screening is not covered by this and may not be made individually accessible to employers, even with consent.
Legal text: CO Art. 328b in conjunction with Art. 362 on fedlex.admin.ch
The dossier Data protection in corporate health management sets out in detail what employers may and may not learn from their employees' health data.
Frequently asked questions
The fifteen questions that Swiss HR managers ask most often about these figures. Each answer names the source and the year.
Full-time employees in Switzerland were absent for an average of 8.2 working days in 2025 because of illness or accident, measured as 58.2 hours of absence per employee (Federal Statistical Office, Labour Volume Statistics, survey year 2025, published May 2026).
Hours of absence per employee in Switzerland rose from 44.3 hours in 2010 to 58.2 hours in 2025, with a peak of 65.6 hours in 2022 (Federal Statistical Office, Labour Volume Statistics, published May 2026).
Absence was highest in 2025 in construction, at 10.1 days per full-time post, and lowest in information and communication and in professional, scientific and technical services, at 6.0 days each (Federal Statistical Office, Labour Volume Statistics, survey year 2025, published May 2026).
This page deliberately publishes no franc value per day of absence, because the widely circulated figure of CHF 1,100 per day of absence is credited to different sources in different places and we could not check it against a primary document. Instead, the absence cost calculator on this page works out the value from your own inputs, with the method disclosed.
The annual economic potential of reducing work-related stress in Switzerland was around CHF 6.5 billion in 2022, of which CHF 5 billion from presenteeism and CHF 1.5 billion from absenteeism (Health Promotion Switzerland, Job Stress Index 2022, published August 2022).
In 2022, demands at work outweighed available resources for 28.2% of people in employment in Switzerland (Health Promotion Switzerland, Job Stress Index 2022, published August 2022); 34% reported stress the previous day in 2025 (Gallup, State of the Global Workplace 2026, published April 2026).
30.3% of people in employment in Switzerland felt emotionally exhausted in 2022, more than 30% for the first time since measurement began in 2014 (Health Promotion Switzerland, Job Stress Index 2022, published August 2022).
The Job Stress Index measures the ratio of demands to resources at work on a scale from 0 to 100 and stood at 50.66 in 2022 (Health Promotion Switzerland, published August 2022); the results of the 2026 survey are announced for the first quarter of 2027.
Presenteeism means working despite illness with reduced performance, and it caused productivity losses of CHF 33.7 billion in Switzerland in 2022, compared with CHF 18.0 billion from absenteeism (Federal Office of Public Health / ZHAW, reference year 2022, published November 2025).
21.8% of Swiss businesses with 10 or more employees implemented corporate health management systematically in 2024, and a further 49.1% mostly or repeatedly (Health Promotion Switzerland, Fact sheet 116, survey year 2024, published April 2025).
The mean return on investment is 2.7 according to iga.Report 40, with individual values ranging from -3.3 to 15.6 and a study base that is predominantly American (iga, published 2019). Anyone who quotes the mean without the range misrepresents the evidence.
8% of people in employment in Switzerland were engaged at work in 2025, compared with 12% in Europe and 20% worldwide (Gallup, State of the Global Workplace 2026, published April 2026).
In Switzerland, around 280,000 occupational accidents and occupational diseases were registered in 2024, out of around 915,000 claims registered under the AIA in total (UVG-Statistik 2025 of the Accident Insurance Statistics Office, published 2025).
Under EmpA Art. 6, AIA Art. 82 and CO Art. 328, employers must take all measures that experience has shown to be necessary, that are applicable in view of the state of the art and that are appropriate to the conditions of the business. There is no legal duty to offer voluntary health screenings.
The four core Swiss sources are the Labour Volume Statistics of the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), the Job Stress Index of Health Promotion Switzerland, the corporate health management monitoring in Fact sheet 116, and the study of the costs of illness and productivity losses commissioned by the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH). The source directory on this page lists each of them with its key figure, year, frequency and suggested citation.
Source directory: Swiss and German-language data sources on corporate health management
All 21 data sources on this page, with key figure, date of data, publication frequency, suggested citation and terms of use. Eight are only listed here: this page cites none of their figures, but they are the next place to look.
| Source | What it provides | Latest data | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal Statistical Office (FSO)Labour Volume Statistics (AVOL), absences | Hours and days of absence due to illness and accident, by gender, employment level, industry, occupation and age | Survey year 2025, published May 2026 | annual, each May |
| Health Promotion SwitzerlandJob Stress Index 2022, Fact sheet 72 | Balance of demands and resources at work, share in the critical range, emotional exhaustion, productivity loss, economic potential | Survey year 2022, published August 2022 | periodic since 2014; results of the 2026 survey are announced for the first quarter of 2027 |
| Health Promotion SwitzerlandMonitoring of corporate health management prevalence, Fact sheet 116 | Prevalence and degree of implementation of corporate health management in Swiss businesses, by company size, language region and field of action | Survey year 2024, published April 2025 | every four years (2016, 2020, 2024) |
| Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH)Costs of communicable and non-communicable diseases in Switzerland (ZHAW, University of Lucerne, Bern University of Applied Sciences) | Health costs and productivity losses due to illness, split into absenteeism and presenteeism, plus the costs of the risk factors overweight and lack of exercise | Reference year 2022, published November 2025 | irregular; reference years 2012, 2017 and 2022 |
| Office for Economic Affairs, Canton of ZurichZurich Economic Monitor, June 2025 | Days of absence per full-time post in the canton of Zurich, cantonal productivity losses, new invalidity insurance (IV) pensions for mental health reasons | Survey year 2024, published June 2025 | twice a year |
| Statistics Collection Point for Accident Insurance under the Federal Act on Accident Insurance (SSUV)AIA statistics 2025 | Registered accidents and occupational diseases under the AIA, insured businesses, full-time workers, total payroll, cost distribution | Survey year 2024, published 2025 | annual |
| Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH)Presenteeism at Work | Prevalence of presenteeism in Swiss businesses, link with management culture and burnout symptoms, effect of an e-learning intervention | Survey waves 2022 and 2023, published 2024 | Project study, not an ongoing series |
| GallupState of the Global Workplace 2026 | Share of engaged people in employment, daily stress and life evaluation, compared by country | Survey year 2025, published April 2026 | annual, each April |
| GallupEngagement Index Germany 2025 | Emotional engagement with the employer in Germany, days of absence by level of engagement, chronic stress at work | Survey year 2025, published March 2026 | annual, each March |
| Initiative Gesundheit und Arbeit (iga)iga.Report 40: Wirksamkeit und Nutzen arbeitsweltbezogener Gesundheitsförderung und Prävention | Compilation of the scientific evidence from 2012 to 2018 on the effectiveness and economic benefit of workplace health promotion, including ROI figures | Evidence base 2012 to 2018, published 2019 | irregular |
| Deloitte UKMental health and employers: the case for investment, 4th edition | Cost of mental health to employers in the United Kingdom and return estimates for workplace interventions | Reporting year 2024, published May 2024 | irregular, fourth edition since 2017 |
| BMAS / Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA)Sicherheit und Gesundheit bei der Arbeit, reporting year 2024, costs of incapacity for work | Days of incapacity for work, production loss costs and loss of gross value added in Germany, by diagnosis group and industry | Reporting year 2024, published December 2025 | annual, usually towards the end of the year |
| Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO)Fehlzeitenreport 2026 | Sick days per employee in Austria, sickness absence rate, share of mental illness, cost of sickness absence | Survey year 2025, published June 2026 | annual, at the end of June |
| Federal Office of Public Health and Swiss Health Observatory (Obsan)MonAM, monitoring system for addiction and non-communicable diseases | Individual indicators with definition, time series, source and their own citation: work-related stress, emotional exhaustion, economic potential, absences from work due to illness and accident | Survey years 2022 and 2025, updated continuously | continuous, per indicator |
| Swiss Health Observatory (Obsan)Nationaler Gesundheitsbericht 2025: Psychische Gesundheit in der Schweiz | Reference work on mental health in Switzerland, 12 chapters | published September 2025 | irregular |
| State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO)Arbeitsbedingungen und Gesundheit, analysis of the Swiss Health Survey 2012, 2017 and 2022 | Psychosocial risks in the workplace: experience of stress, time pressure, decision latitude, emotional exhaustion | Survey year 2022, published March 2025 | every five years, with the Swiss Health Survey |
| Techniker Krankenkasse (Germany)Gesundheitsreport 2026, sub-volume on incapacity for work | Sickness absence rate and days of absence per member of the labour force in Germany, by diagnosis group | Survey year 2025, published 2026 | annual |
| DAK-Gesundheit (Germany)Gesundheitsreport 2026 | Sickness absence rate, days of absence and share of people affected in Germany, by diagnosis group | Survey year 2025, published July 2026 | annual, with a mid-year interim report |
| Scientific Institute of the AOK (WIdO, Germany)Fehlzeiten-Bilanz 2025 and Fehlzeiten-Report | Sickness absence rate and days of incapacity for work per employee in Germany, long-term illness, types of illness | Survey year 2025, published March 2026 | annual in March, book edition in November |
| BARMER Institute for Health System Research (bifg, Germany)Gesundheitsreport 2026, standard analyses | Sickness absence rate and days of absence per insurance year in Germany, share of mental disorders | Survey year 2025, published April 2026 | annual |
| BKK Dachverband (Germany)BKK Gesundheitsreport 2025 | Sickness absence rate and days of incapacity for work in Germany, case duration by diagnosis group | Survey year 2024, published December 2025 | annual, each December |
Suggested citations and terms of use
Federal Statistical Office (FSO)
Federal Statistical Office (2026). Schweizerische Arbeitskräfteerhebung und abgeleitete Statistiken: Arbeitszeit im Jahr 2025. Neuchâtel: FSO.
Use: permitted with attribution under the FSO terms of use. This page cites individual figures and links to the FSO table.
Document: Labour Volume Statistics (AVOL), absences · Absences topic page
Health Promotion Switzerland
Health Promotion Switzerland (2022). Job-Stress-Index 2022. Monitoring von Kennzahlen zum Stress bei Erwerbstätigen in der Schweiz. Faktenblatt 72. Bern and Lausanne.
Use: publicly available fact sheet. Cite with series and number; graphics are not reproduced.
Document: Job Stress Index 2022, Fact sheet 72 · Job Stress Index topic page
Health Promotion Switzerland
Health Promotion Switzerland (2025). Wie verbreitet ist betriebliches Gesundheitsmanagement in der Schweiz? Monitoring-Ergebnisse 2024. Faktenblatt 116. Bern and Lausanne.
Use: publicly available fact sheet. Cite with series and number; graphics are not reproduced.
Document: Monitoring of corporate health management prevalence, Fact sheet 116 · FHNW project page
Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH)
Federal Office of Public Health (ed.) / ZHAW School of Management and Law, University of Lucerne & Bern University of Applied Sciences (2025). Kosten der übertragbaren und nichtübertragbaren Krankheiten sowie Kosten der Risikofaktoren Übergewicht/Adipositas und Bewegungsmangel in der Schweiz. Referenzjahre 2012, 2017, 2022. Bern: FOPH.
Use: federal publication, use with attribution.
Document: Costs of communicable and non-communicable diseases in Switzerland (ZHAW, University of Lucerne, Bern University of Applied Sciences) · Specialist blog by the ZHAW authors on the split between presenteeism and absenteeism
Office for Economic Affairs, Canton of Zurich
Office for Economic Affairs, Canton of Zurich (2025). Zürcher Wirtschaftsmonitoring Juni 2025. Zurich.
Use: cantonal publication, use with attribution.
Document: Zurich Economic Monitor, June 2025 · Press release of the Canton of Zurich
Statistics Collection Point for Accident Insurance under the Federal Act on Accident Insurance (SSUV)
Coordination Group for Accident Insurance Statistics under the AIA (ed.) (2025). UVG-Statistik 2025. Lucerne: Statistics Collection Point for Accident Insurance under the AIA (SSUV). ISSN 1424-5132.
Use: the publication may be reprinted with attribution, except for commercial use. This page therefore cites only individual figures with attribution and reproduces no tables or graphics from the AIA statistics.
Document: AIA statistics 2025 · Press release of the Swiss Insurance Association
Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH)
Bern University of Applied Sciences (2024). Presenteeism at Work. Bern. Specialist publications: Golz, C., Gerlach, M. et al. (2024), Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, and International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health.
Use: university publication, cite with attribution.
Document: Presenteeism at Work
Gallup
Gallup (2026). State of the Global Workplace: 2026 Report. Switzerland country-level data. Washington, DC: Gallup.
Use: all rights reserved. This page cites individual figures with attribution and a link. Gallup graphics are not reproduced; all charts here are redrawn from the figures.
Document: State of the Global Workplace 2026
Gallup
Gallup (2026). Gallup Engagement Index Germany 2025. Berlin: Gallup GmbH.
Use: all rights reserved; any reference must link to the original document. This page links to the report for every figure it cites.
Document: Engagement Index Germany 2025 · Gallup Germany report page
Initiative Gesundheit und Arbeit (iga)
Barthelmes, I., Bödeker, W., Sörensen, J., Kleinlercher, K.-M. and Odoy, J. (2019). iga.Report 40. Wirksamkeit und Nutzen arbeitsweltbezogener Gesundheitsförderung und Prävention. Zusammenstellung der wissenschaftlichen Evidenz 2012 bis 2018. ISSN 1612-1988.
Use: freely accessible PDF, cite with report number.
Document: iga.Report 40: Wirksamkeit und Nutzen arbeitsweltbezogener Gesundheitsförderung und Prävention · iga report page
Deloitte UK
Deloitte UK (2024). Mental health and employers: the case for investment. Pandemic and beyond, 4th edition. London: Deloitte.
Use: corporate publication, cite with attribution.
Document: Mental health and employers: the case for investment, 4th edition
BMAS / Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA)
BMAS/BAuA (2025). Sicherheit und Gesundheit bei der Arbeit, Berichtsjahr 2024. Download from www.baua.de/suga
Use: reproduction and distribution of the figures is permitted only with attribution.
Document: Sicherheit und Gesundheit bei der Arbeit, reporting year 2024, costs of incapacity for work
Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO)
Mayrhuber, C. and Bittschi, B. (2026). Fehlzeitenreport 2026. Krankheits- und unfallbedingte Fehlzeiten in Österreich. Vienna: WIFO.
Use: figures may be cited with attribution; tables and graphics are not reproduced.
Document: Fehlzeitenreport 2026 · WIFO publication page
Federal Office of Public Health and Swiss Health Observatory (Obsan)listed only, not cited
FOPH and Obsan (year). Indicator name (MonAM indicator). https://ind.obsan.admin.ch/
Use: OPEN-BY-ASK. This page cites and links indicator values; tables and datasets are not reproduced.
Document: MonAM, monitoring system for addiction and non-communicable diseases
Swiss Health Observatory (Obsan)listed only, not cited
Swiss Health Observatory (2025). Psychische Gesundheit in der Schweiz. Nationaler Gesundheitsbericht 2025 (Obsan Bericht 08/2025). Neuchâtel: Obsan.
Use: publication close to the federal administration, cite with attribution.
Document: Nationaler Gesundheitsbericht 2025: Psychische Gesundheit in der Schweiz · Report portal
State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO)listed only, not cited
State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (2025). Ausgewählte Ergebnisse der Schweizerischen Gesundheitsbefragung: Arbeitsbedingungen und Gesundheit in den Jahren 2012, 2017 und 2022. Bern: SECO.
Use: federal publication, use with attribution.
Document: Arbeitsbedingungen und Gesundheit, analysis of the Swiss Health Survey 2012, 2017 and 2022
Techniker Krankenkasse (Germany)listed only, not cited
Grobe, T. and Bessel, S. (2026). Gesundheitsreport 2026: Arbeitsunfähigkeiten. Hamburg: Techniker Krankenkasse.
Use: all rights reserved; reprinting only with prior written permission.
Document: Gesundheitsreport 2026, sub-volume on incapacity for work
DAK-Gesundheit (Germany)listed only, not cited
Nürnberg, V. and Storm, A. (eds) (2026). Gesundheitsreport 2026. Analyse der Arbeitsunfähigkeiten. Heidelberg: medhochzwei.
Use: text and data mining expressly prohibited; figures may be cited with attribution.
Document: Gesundheitsreport 2026
Scientific Institute of the AOK (WIdO, Germany)listed only, not cited
Scientific Institute of the AOK (2026). Fehlzeiten-Bilanz 2025. Berlin: WIdO.
Use: press releases and press tables are free; the book edition is chargeable.
BARMER Institute for Health System Research (bifg, Germany)listed only, not cited
Grobe, T. G. (2026). Gesundheitsreport 2026. Fokus: Standardauswertungen zu Arbeitsunfähigkeiten im Jahr 2025. Berlin: bifg. DOI: 10.30433/gesundheit.2026.01.
Use: CC BY-ND 4.0, the most permissive licence among the German statutory health insurance fund reports.
BKK Dachverband (Germany)listed only, not cited
Klemm, A.-K. and Meyer, B. (eds) (2025). Vielfalt und gesunde Arbeit. BKK Gesundheitsreport 2025. 49th edition. Berlin: MWV.
Use: the statistics portal permits non-commercial use only.
Document: BKK Gesundheitsreport 2025
Methodology and updates
How this page is built, what it deliberately does not publish, and when it is updated.
The publication rule
No figure appears on this page without all four details: a named publisher, the year the data refer to, the year of publication and a link to the primary document. If any of the four is missing, the figure does not appear. In Swiss statistics the survey year and the publication year regularly differ, and confusing them is the most common citation error in this field, which is why both are always shown here.
All values are taken from the linked primary publications. HEALTH PRIME carries out no surveys of its own for this page and publishes no analysis of its own screenings here. The charts are redrawn from the published figures; no chart from a source is reproduced.
The anchors on this page are permanent. A key figure keeps its address once published, so that a link to #absenztage-2025 still points to the same statement years from now.
What this page does not publish
The following figures and statements circulate in the German-speaking corporate health management community, but do not appear here, either because they could not be checked against a primary document or because they misstate a verified figure.
- CHF 1,100 cost per day of absence per person
- The attribution contradicts itself: once SWICA on the basis of FSO data, once SECO. Until the primary document has been checked, we do not publish the figure.
- Presenteeism costs Switzerland 5 billion francs
- The verified 5 billion francs is the presenteeism component of the economic potential in the Job Stress Index, not a standalone cost estimate. As a standalone statement, the figure would be wrong.
- Presenteeism causes three times as many unproductive hours as absenteeism
- There is no primary source for this multiplier.
- Two thirds of illness-related business costs arise from presenteeism
- There is no primary source for this share.
- One franc spent on corporate health management returns 2.50 to 4.80 francs
- The formula is a shortened version of the ranges in iga.Report 13 from 2008 and is therefore out of date. The current report is iga.Report 40, with a mean of 2.7 and a range of -3.3 to 15.6.
- Stress costs Switzerland 4 and 10 billion francs respectively
- The figures come from SECO studies of 2000/2003 and 2011. They are correct as historical values but outdated as a current statement.
- Figures from the 2022 Swiss Health Survey on stress at work
- We only had the values through a secondary summary. They will be included once they have been checked against the SECO document.
- Figures from the AXA Mind Health Study
- An insurer's own study, reported only secondhand in the Swiss press. We do not publish it without checking the primary source.
- Our own analyses from HEALTH PRIME screenings
- Not a single figure on this page comes from our own screenings. Aggregated analyses would only be published once the method, sample size and data protection framework are disclosed.
Update schedule
| Trigger | What is updated |
|---|---|
| Every May | The FSO publishes the Labour Volume Statistics for the previous year. All absence values, charts 1 and 2, the calculator defaults, and the as-at date and change log are updated. |
| First quarter 2027 | The results of the Job Stress Index 2026 are published. The index was methodologically revised for its tenth anniversary, so the new values may not be directly comparable with the 2014 to 2022 series. The break is shown in the chart and not smoothed over. |
| Every April | Gallup publishes the State of the Global Workplace. Section 8 is updated. |
| Annually | The AIA statistics of the SSUV are published. Section 5 is updated. |
| Every four years, next survey around 2028 | The corporate health management monitoring by Health Promotion Switzerland and FHNW is published. Section 6 and chart 5 are updated. |
| Every five years, next survey 2027 | The Swiss Health Survey is conducted; the SECO analysis of working conditions follows around two years later. |
| As required | New editions of the FOPH cost study, the Obsan health report and the DACH sources are reviewed and, where relevant, incorporated. |
Corrections
If you find a misreported figure on this page, write to info@health-prime.ch. Corrections are recorded with their date in the change log.
Citing this page
You may cite and republish the figures and charts on this page. The ready-made citation details are below.
Suggested citation (text)
HEALTH PRIME (2026). Corporate health management in figures: Switzerland 2026. Health Prime AG, Wollerau. https://health-prime.ch/bgm-zahlen-schweiz (accessed 6 November 2026).
APA
Health Prime AG. (2026). Corporate health management in figures: Switzerland 2026. https://health-prime.ch/bgm-zahlen-schweiz
BibTeX
@misc{healthprime2026bgm,
author = {{Health Prime AG}},
title = {{BGM-Kennzahlen Schweiz 2026}},
year = {2026},
address = {Wollerau},
url = {https://health-prime.ch/bgm-zahlen-schweiz},
urldate = {06.11.2026}
}Citing individual figures
Every figure on this page has its own address and a 'Cite' button. It copies a complete reference that names the primary source first and then this page, for example: 'Federal Statistical Office (2026), Labour Volume Statistics (AVOL), absences, survey year 2025, cited via HEALTH PRIME, Corporate health management in figures: Switzerland 2026, https://health-prime.ch/bgm-zahlen-schweiz#absenztage-2025'. Anyone who cites in this way credits the primary source correctly and links to the overview at the same time.
Usage rights
HEALTH PRIME has redrawn the charts on this page from published figures. You may use and republish them freely with attribution. Please name both HEALTH PRIME and the primary source given in each case, and link to this page.
This permission applies only to the presentations and texts on this page. It does not extend to the primary sources themselves. Their terms of use are listed in the source directory under each source and are in some cases narrower: the AIA statistics prohibit commercial reproduction, the MonAM indicators of the FOPH and Obsan are open-by-ask, and Gallup reserves all rights.
Contact for media
Health Prime AGSamstagernstrasse 55
8832 Wollerau, Switzerland
info@health-prime.ch
+41 44 250 28 71
Change log
What changed with each revision, with dates. The latest data status for each figure is shown alongside it.
- 8 September 2026First publication with sections 1 to 8, the legal framework, FAQs, source directory, methodology and citation notes. Data status: FSO absences 2025, Job Stress Index 2022, FOPH cost study with reference year 2022, corporate health management monitoring 2024, AIA statistics with survey year 2024, Gallup 2025.