Work-related illness and accidents cost society 50 billion Danish kroner annually

Work accidents and illnesses cost the Danish society around 50 billion Danish kroner per year.

This is shown in a new report from the National Research Centre for the Working Environment (NFA), which for the first time has calculated the total socio-economic consequences of a poor working environment.

The report, prepared by researchers from NFA, is based on official data from 2019 and includes both work accidents and occupational diseases. The costs include both direct expenses for services such as healthcare and indirect losses in the form of reduced productivity, limited work capacity, and decreased quality of life.

– The results offer an idea of the potential for making improvements to the working environment in Denmark, states Professor Kristian Schultz Hansen from NFA.

Out of the total costs, indirect losses – such as reduced productivity and inability to perform daily tasks – amount to approximately 28 billion Danish kroner, while lost quality of life accounts for nearly 18 billion kroner. Direct expenses amount to just over 3 billion kroner.

During the period under study, there were 42,635 work accidents recorded, including 36 fatalities, as well as 43,245 occupational diseases, of which 1,733 were fatal. Common injuries and illnesses included muscle and joint pain, mental disorders, as well as cancer and lung diseases.

According to the researchers, the calculations in the report are based on a method developed by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work and the best available data. However, they emphasize that there are uncertainties associated with the model, and that other assumptions could lead to changes in the results.

Despite these caveats, the analysis shows that the costs in Denmark amount to approximately 2.1 percent of the gross national product (GNP). This is lower than in several other EU countries where similar calculations have been made.

Furthermore, the researchers point out that the report does not cover all types of work environment problems. Factors such as low well-being, high employee turnover, and internal conflicts are not included, even though they can also have significant economic consequences.

– Our result provides a solid estimate of what the costs of a poor working environment are in Denmark, says Joachim Lynggaard Boll, Research and Analysis Manager at NFA.