The line graph provides information on the proportion of employees being absent from work for at least a day due to illness between 1991 and 2001.
The Netherlands and Sweden commenced the period with an identical proportion of 5%. After a slight rise by 1% in the following year, the figure for the former dropped to around 4.5% in 1996, before recovering to finish at 6%. The latter, however, witnessed a fall to 3% in 1998, followed by a negligible rise by half a percent in 1999 and again a drop to 3%
France and the UK also displayed similar starting points and changes in the beginning. Until 1996, the trends for both were erratic, hovering at around 3 and 2.5 percent respectively. Thereafter, the percentage for France rose to 5%, whereas that for the UK continued fluctuating, staying at more or less the same figure.
Germany was an exception in the chart in that it always had the lowest figures and minimal alteration. The employee sickness absenteeism rate in this country started at approximately 1.5%, yet after a negligible fluctuation, it ended the period with just under 2%.
Overall, the Netherlands, France and Germany experienced an increase in the rate of employee absenteeism for sickness, while Sweden showed the reverse and the UK stability with noticeable fluctuations. Throughout the period, the Netherlands maintained the highest rate, but Germany demonstrated the lowest figure.