Belgian federal employees were absent from work for longer than ever before in 2024, new figures from Medex show.
The agency, which monitors illness-related absences in federal services, reported that civil servants took an average of 18.2 sick days last year, the highest number on record.
When excluding staff who took no sick leave, the average rises to 25 days, a figure that was only higher during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The data also show a sharp increase in stress-related and psychological illnesses. In 2015, these conditions accounted for 30 percent of total sick leave, but by 2024 they had risen to 43.7 percent.
In total, federal employees were absent for more than 1.5 million working days due to illness last year.
