Mental Health and Working World

In recent years, mental and psychosomatic illnesses have steadily increased in Germany, making them increasingly significant for occupational rehabilitation.

In this section, you find interviews with researchers who have dealt with matters of mental health and occupation as part of their projects.

Mental and psychosomatic illnesses are clinical pictures with rising importance within German society (s. DRV, n.d.; Radke, 28/08/2024). In recent years, various statutory health insurances have recorded a steady increase in working incapacity caused by mental illness (AOK, October, 18^th, 2023; BARMER; August, 3^rd, 2023; TK, 2024, p. 5). According to surveys of the statutory health insurance AOK, the proportion of mental illnesses as a cause of sick leave rose by almost 50 per cent between 2012 and 2022 (s. AOK, 18.10.2023).

This development poses considerable challenges not only for the healthcare system, but also for those involved in the professional and working world, as mentally healthy employees tend to be more motivated and more productive (Federal Ministry for Health (Ger.: Bundesministerium für Gesundheit (BMG)): INQUA, n.d.). However, mental illness can reduce productivity at work and impair or even threaten employment (BMG, 27 September 2023; LWL, 2021, p. 6). As such, mental health has a significant impact on participation in working life.

Accordingly, the challenges posed by the increasing number of mentally ill and mentally disabled people in the population are also dealt with in research on inclusion of people with disabilities in working life. In various projects, researchers deal with questions on occupational participation in the case of mental illness.

For 2021, the German statutory health insurance AOK reported an 18 percent increase in sick notes due to mental illnesses, and an associated 53 percent increase in days of incapacity to work compared to 2011. Falling numbers in sick notes after a record high in 2019 may be attributed to behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic, as fewer doctor visits lead to fewer diagnoses. Meanwhile, the number of days of incapacity to work remained stable in the mentioned period.

AOK-Bundesverband (October 18th, 2023). Fehlzeiten-Report: Anhaltend hohe arbeitsbezogene Beschwerden und stetig steigende Fehlzeiten aufgrund psychischer Erkrankungen. https://www.aok.de/pp/bv/pm/fehlzeiten-report-2023/#c26353.

Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales (BMAS) (n.d.): Initiative Neue Qualität der Arbeit (INQA). Das INQA-Themenfeld Gesundheit. Retrieved June 5th, 2025 from https://www.inqa.de/DE/themen/gesundheit/uebersicht.html.

Bundeministerium für Gesundheit (BMG) (September 29th, 2023). Förderung der psychischen Gesundheit und des Wohlbefindens am Arbeitsplatz.

Deutsche Rentenversicherung Bund (DRV) (n.d.). Psychische und Psychosomatische Krankheiten. https://www.klinikgruppe-drv-bund.de/DE/unsere_kliniken/diagnosen/psychosomatische_Krankheiten/psychosomatische_krankheiten_node.html

Grobe, T. G., Braun, A. & Starke, P. (2022). Barmer Gesundheitsreport 2023: Risikofaktoren für psychische Erkrankungen. Schriftenreihe zur Gesundheitsanalyse - Band 41. BARMER. https://www.bifg.de/media/dl/Reporte/Gesundheitsreporte/2023/barmer-gesundheitsreport-2023-bf.pdf.

Grobe, T. & Bessel, S. & aQua – Institut für angewandte Qualitätsförderung und Forschung im Gesundheitswesen GmbH (2024). Gesundheitsreport 2024 - Arbeitsunfähigkeiten. Techniker Krankenkasse (TK). https://www.tk.de/resource/blob/2168508/ee48ec9ef5943d2d40dc10a76bedf290/gesundheitsreport-au-2024-data.pdf.

Landesverband Westfalen Lippe (LWL) (2021). Psychische Gesundheit im Arbeitsleben.Tipps und Informationen für Betroffene und Arbeitgeber, Interessenvertretungen und Führungskräfte (3rd. edition). https://www.lwl-inklusionsamt-arbeit.de/media/filer_public/95/ab/95aba308-b3c7-4bf4-bc6e-dc1038dcdbfc/lwl-psychgesundheit2021_pdf-ua.pdf.

Radke, Rainer (August 28th, 2024). Statistiken zu psychischen Erkrankungen. Statista. Retrieved June 5th 2025 from https://de.statista.com/themen/1318/psychische-erkrankungen/#topicOverview.

Statistisches Bundesamt (2003). Sozialleistungen Schwerbehinderte Menschen. Fachserie 13 / Reihe 5.1. Retrieved July 16th, 2025 from https://www.statistischebibliothek.de/mir/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/DEHeft_derivate_00007018/2130510019004.pdf.

Statistisches Bundesamt (December 6th, 2025). Sozialleistungen Schwerbehinderte Menschen. Fachserie 13 / Reihe 5.1. Retrieved July 16th, 2025, from https://www.destatis.de/DE/Themen/Gesellschaft-Umwelt/Gesundheit/Behinderte-Menschen/Publikationen/Downloads-Behinderte-Menschen/schwerbehinderte-2130510219004.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=3.

Statistisches Bundesamt (March 14th, 2025). Stastistischer Bericht Schwerbehinderte Menschen. Ergebnisse 2023. EVAS-Nummer 22711. Retrieved July 16th, 2025 from https://www.destatis.de/DE/Themen/Gesellschaft-Umwelt/Gesundheit/Behinderte-Menschen/Publikationen/Downloads-Behinderte-Menschen/statistischer-bericht-schwerbehinderte-2130510239005.xlsx?__blob=publicationFile&v=3.