The following graph delineates the proportion of employees, who were not presence at work, across five specific nations in Europe because of disease over a 11-year period between 1991 and 2001.
In general, it is discernible that all figures saw an upward trajectory, albeit to varying extents, with the exceptions of France and Germany. Notably, the figures for Netherlands generally took the lead in the chart.
Looking first at Netherlands, Sweden and UK, the percentage of absent workers due to ill initially were just lower than that of France, at approximately 4.8%, 3%, 2.1%, correspondingly. In 1992, Sweden slightly fluctuated at around 3% until 1995 and subsequently accelerated to narrow the discrepancy with the top choice, reaching about 4.8% at the end. By contrast, Netherlands witnessed a sharp rise and reached a peak at about 5.5%, but the figures sharply decelerate to hit the lowest point of about 4.2%. However, Netherlands’ workers suffering from illness increased considerably and turn back to the top place. Throughout the examined period, the figures for UK generally went up and down surrounding the point of about 2.3%.
Turning to France and Germany, the percentage of ill employees in France showed a substantial decline, with the lowest point of about 3.1% in 1996 being the prominent change and relatively remaining stable by 2001. Meanwhile, Germany’s figures followed a reverse trend with UK, as a result, it saw a slight fluctuation around under 2% and finally decreased compared to its staring point.