Rising absences in SMEs: Findings from the 2026 labor market study

Written by Sara Amati 07.09.2026

Absences are a growing burden for Swiss SMEs, especially due to mental health-related staff absences. These are the findings of AXA’s SME labor market study 2026. We explain what is behind this development and what measures you can take to counteract it in your company.

Read the study (in German)

Key points at a glance about rising absences in SMEs

This article focuses in particular on unplanned absences due to illness, accidents or mental stress. They are difficult for SMEs to plan for and can give rise to significant direct and indirect costs.
Absences due to mental health in particular have increased: a good third of SMEs are moderately or severely affected – an increase of around 10 percentage points compared to 2023. Nevertheless, countermeasures are decreasing: only 14 percent of SMEs offer targeted programs to promote mental health (AXA SME labor market study 2026).
Systematically analyzing the causes of absences and taking targeted action to prevent them can reduce absences and improve the health of employees over the long term.

To what extent are increasing absences putting a strain on Swiss SMEs?

Rising absences are creating problems for SMEs. In AXA’s SME labor market study (in German), 42 percent of the companies surveyed stated that the cost of employee absences has risen in the past five years. The bigger the company, the greater this effect: while 38 percent of small SMEs report increased costs due to staff absences, the figure for large SMEs is almost two thirds at 62 percent.

Mental health-related staff absences are rising significantly

Physical illness and accidents are still the most common reasons for absences, but the increase in mental health-related absences is striking. A good third of SMEs (35%) say they are moderately or severely affected by absences due to the mental state of their employees. Compared with 2023, this represents an increase of around 10 percentage points.

The trend clearly shows that rising absences are not a problem for individual companies, but a structural challenge for the Swiss SME sector.

What costs do increasing absences give rise to for companies?

Absences cost a company far more than the lost working day. Four cost dimensions play a key role:

Continued payment of salary: companies continue to pay salaries while no work is performed. Depending on the duration of the absence and the insurance solution, the company bears some of the costs itself.
Replacement and temporary staff: temporary staff employed at short notice are often more expensive and require time for familiarization.
Loss of productivity: depending on the role of the absent person, orders may be delayed, processes may stall or important knowledge may be missing.
Additional strain on the team: the remaining employees take on additional tasks. This increases the risk of further absences.

The higher the number of absences, the higher the direct as well as indirect costs. To take targeted countermeasures, it’s worth taking a closer look at the causes of absences.

What are the causes of psychological stress in the workplace?

46 percent of SMEs cite the personal stress experienced by employees as the most frequent cause of psychological stress in the workplace. This shows how closely personal life circumstances and the situation at work are intertwined.

At the same time, part of the problem that should not be underestimated arises directly in the company. 36 percent of SMEs cite too high a workload as an important factor. Other causes include conflicts in the team or with line managers, a lack of appreciation, and uncertainty about one’s own work situation. This means that four of the five most frequently cited causes are within the employer’s direct sphere of influence – an indication that companies have more influence on mental health-related absences than is often assumed.

Personal responsibility as a possible buffer against mental health-related absences

The figures suggest that personal responsibility works. In companies that give their employees the flexibility to act, only 27 percent are moderately or severely affected by mental health-related absences, compared with 43 percent in companies that lack this principle (AXA's SME labor market study 2026 (in German).

How do SMEs react to staff absences due to mental stress?

Measures to combat mental health-related absences	2023	2026
Creating a pleasant working atmosphere	41%	36%
Promoting an open communication and feedback culture	35%	28%
Promoting a work-life balance	27%	26%
Employee surveys	16%	21%
Promoting physical health (nutrition, exercise, etc.)	13%	14%
Training supervisors	12%	11%
Increasing insurance coverage	8%	7%
None	23%	25%

Source: AXA SME labor market study 2026

It is strikingthat SMEs are currently using five of the seven measures against mental health-related absences less often than they were in 2023. At the same time, there has been an increase in the proportion of companies that are not taking any corresponding measures at all. SMEs that are now taking action therefore have an opportunity, as investing in mental health can reduce absences and costs. At the same time, they strengthen attractiveness as an employer and create an advantage in the competition for skilled workers.

What fields of action does the labor market study show for SMEs?

The results of the study show that there are four key fields of action for SMEs. They apply where the companies surveyed see the causes of mental health-related stress and still only take comparatively few countermeasures today.

1. Promoting physical and mental health

Exercise offers, ergonomic workspaces and healthy meals support the physical health of employees. Equally important are easily accessible offers for mental health. These include, for example, external or internal counseling centers, points of contact for high stress, or financial contributions for psychological support.

2. Creating an open communication and feedback culture

If you detect early on that individual employees or an entire team are overworked, you can take action before longer absences occur. Regular one-on-one discussions, short team check-ins or anonymous employee surveys can be implemented with little effort and can provide valuable insights for countermeasures.

3. Sensitizing and training managers

Managers are often the first to notice changes in the behavior or performance of their employees . However, this requires them to be able to recognize and react appropriately to warning signs. Training can teach them how to address stressful situations, hold supportive conversations, and accompany employees after an extended absence.

4. Improving working conditions and work-life balance

Appreciation, a fair distribution of work, predictable working hours and sufficient freedom to act can reduce stress. Flexible work models also help employees to better combine work and private life.

It’s good to know that individual measures can already make a difference. However, the impact is more sustainable if companies don’t just use them selectively, but plan for the long term, carry out regular reviews, and make changes if necessary.

Systematically tackling increasing absences

If you want to recognize rising absences early on and take targeted action, you need a systematic approach to dealing with them. Absence management helps companies visualize developments, better understand the causes, and come up with suitable measures.

Read our blog on absence management to find out how it works in practice and how you can systematically reduce absenteeism.

Can increasing absences really be managed?

Swiss SMEs can control absenteeism to a significant extent. Absences and the associated costs are on the rise, while investment in employees’ health is stagnating or declining. However, many causes of mental health-related absences are within the employer's direct sphere of influence.

Fostering an open feedback culture, empowering managers and systematically counteracting absences reduces absences and costs – and at the same time boosts your own attractiveness as an employer.

Frequently asked questions about increasing absences

In 2025, an average full-time employee in Switzerland was 8.2 days off work due to sickness or accident. Before COVID, the figure was only 7.2 days in 2019. Since then, absences have been at a higher level.

The actual number of lost days varies significantly from industry to industry. In the information and communications sector, it was around six days per year on average in 2025, while in the construction sector it was around ten days per year (source: Federal Statistical Office FSO, Swiss Labor Force Survey SAKE, 2025).

A study by the Zurich Office of Economic Affairs (in German) mentions three possible explanations for the rise in sick days:

Mental illness is on the rise: analyses by two daily sickness benefits insurers show that in ten years, there have been around 60 percent more cases with a mental health diagnosis. AXA’s SME labor market study (in German) shows a similar picture, in that a good third of Swiss SMEs are moderately or severely affected by mental health-related absences – more than in 2023.
Behavior in the event of illness has changed: since COVID, employees have been more likely to stay at home if they have ailments rather than go to work feeling sick.
The working population is aging. The proportion of people aged over 50 in employment has risen from 25 to 29 percent since 2000. At the same time, chronic diseases occur more frequently with increasing age. Although older employees are less likely to be absent than younger ones, their absences last longer on average.

In the first year of service, there is a statutory entitlement to continued salary payment of at least three weeks (Art. 324a CO). Thereafter, this minimum period is extended according to the number of years of service.

In practice, continued salary payments are usually based on the Bern, Basel or Zurich table. The applicable scale depends on the court practice of the relevant canton. According to the Bern table, for example, a person is entitled to one month’s continued salary in the second year of service; according to the Zurich table, it is eight weeks.

Daily sickness benefits insurance is particularly worthwhile if key persons are absent for a longer period of time and the statutory continued salary payment is insufficient. It protects companies against the financial consequences of prolonged illness-related absences and generally covers around 80 percent of salary for up to two years.

This protection can be important for small companies in particular. If a key person is absent for a longer period, the statutory entitlement to continued salary payments is often exhausted quickly. Daily sickness benefits insurance also covers salary, thereby relieving the burden on both the company and the affected person.