Depression & Sick Leave: How Common Are Depressive Illnesses at Work?

Depression is not only a heavy personal burden, but also a major factor in illness-related work absences across the workforce. Data from public health insurance providers highlights the scale of its impact.

According to the DAK Psychreport 2026, depressive episodes and recurrent depressive disorders accounted for a total of 201.9 days of incapacity for work per 100 DAK-insured employees in 2025—up from 182.6 days in the previous year. Depression thus represented around 55 percent of all mental health-related sick leave within the evaluated sample.

A figure of roughly 202 absent days per 100 employees does not mean that every employee misses two days of work due to depression. Rather, it is a statistical metric that calculates total recorded days of work incapacity per 100 insured members. Some individuals may be unable to work for several weeks, while others take no sick leave or only take a brief absence.

Similarly, overall sick leave rates cannot be directly equated with sick leave specifically caused by depression. According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), employees in Germany were registered sick for an average of 14.6 workdays in 2025. This general average encompasses absences across all health conditions and is therefore not directly comparable to diagnosis-specific metrics from individual health insurers.

A single, standardized nationwide figure showing exactly how many employees in Germany are signed off work due to depression cannot easily be drawn from published health insurance reports. Insurance reports vary in terms of which insured populations are tracked, how diagnoses are evaluated, and whether they measure individual sick leave cases or the total number of absent days.

For its Psychreport 2026, DAK evaluated work incapacity data from approximately 2.4 million employed policyholders. While these results provide valuable insights into absence trends, they do not constitute a full count of all employees in Germany.

For proper context, it is also essential to distinguish between having depression as a medical condition and taking actual sick leave due to depression. Not everyone with depression is unfit for work. Conversely, depressive symptoms can be severe enough to prevent an individual from carrying out their professional duties for an extended period.

Absences due to mental health conditions frequently last longer on average than those caused by many physical illnesses. This pattern is consistently reflected across health insurance statistics.

Among DAK-insured employees, the average duration of work incapacity for a mental health condition in 2025 was approximately 34 days per case. This metric applies to mental health disorders overall rather than depression exclusively.

Data from the BKK Health Report 2025 further highlights that depressive illnesses rank among the diagnoses associated with particularly long absence periods. For single depressive episodes (ICD-10 code F32) and recurrent depressive disorders (F33), average case durations are reported at approximately eight and ten calendar weeks, respectively.

These figures represent statistical averages across specific insured groups and do not predict how long an individual's sick leave will last. Duration depends on several factors, including the severity of the illness, its clinical progression, potential comorbidities, and individual workplace conditions.

Depression can impair various capacities essential to daily work life. These include concentration, decision-making ability, drive, resilience, and managing interpersonal demands. Sleep disturbances and profound fatigue can also make it difficult to maintain a regular work schedule.

For some individuals, symptoms improve within a manageable timeframe. Others require more time before their functional capacity and resilience fully return. Consequently, returning to the workplace does not depend solely on whether mood has slightly improved. Concentration levels, daily routines, and the ability to cope with professional demands also play a key role.

Mental health-related absences are not distributed evenly across all professional sectors. Health insurance evaluations consistently highlight fields involving high emotional strain, responsibility for others, or challenging working conditions.

The DAK Psychreport 2026 reports the following figures for mental health-related work absences in 2025, measured in days of work incapacity per 100 DAK-insured employees:

• Healthcare: 474
• Public Administration: 430
• Education, Culture, and Media: 368
• Average across all evaluated sectors: 366

These figures apply to mental health-related sick leave overall rather than depression exclusively.

Absences due to mental health conditions have grown significantly in importance in recent years. According to the Scientific Institute of the AOK (WIdO), mental health-related days of work incapacity among AOK-insured employees in 2025 were approximately 42 percent higher than ten years earlier.

This trend cannot be traced back to a single cause. Mental health conditions usually develop through an interplay of various factors. Workplace demands can play a role, as can personal stress, physical factors, or pre-existing health issues.

Statistical recording methods also influence these trends. Changes in medical diagnostic practices, the electronic transmission of work incapacity data, and a more open approach to mental health can all contribute to absences being documented more completely or differently than in the past.

Consequently, a rise in recorded absences does not automatically mean that mental health conditions have increased to the exact same extent. It does show, however, that mental health plays a crucial role when analyzing work incapacity and occupational health promotion.

Mental health conditions cannot be prevented through individual time management or better daily work organization alone. The conditions under which people work are equally important.

Companies can help identify strain at an early stage by planning workloads realistically, providing adequate staffing and recovery time, and fostering open communication about feeling overwhelmed. Managers hold a special responsibility in this regard. They can help ensure that employees feel able to address difficulties without fear of stigmatization or negative consequences.

For individuals, taking early signs of psychological distress seriously can also be beneficial. Persistent exhaustion, sleep problems, difficulty concentrating, or a growing loss of joy and interest should not be ignored over the long term. If such symptoms persist for an extended period or significantly impair daily life, seeking a medical or psychotherapeutic evaluation is recommended.

When dealing with depression, appropriate treatment can help relieve symptoms and improve daily functioning. Which form of support is suitable depends on the individual situation. Psychotherapy and, where appropriate, medication are among the established treatment options.

Depression can heavily impact both daily life and professional routine. Alongside medical or psychotherapeutic treatment, digital tools can offer valuable complementary support. One such program is deprexis.

The digital therapy deprexis is based on methods of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). It is not designed to push you toward higher output despite your exhaustion; rather, it allows you to step-by-step explore the connections between your thoughts, behavior, and mood while trying out new coping strategies.

deprexis is available free of charge on prescription, with costs fully covered by your health insurance provider. This means your doctor or therapist can prescribe deprexis, allowing you to receive an activation code for the program. Once you have your code, you can easily redeem it on our website and begin your digital therapy right away.