Germany's sick-note crackdown may be treating the symptoms, not the disease

Germany is implementing plans to tighten sick-note rules to combat rising absenteeism. However, researchers argue that this crackdown may be treating the symptoms rather than the actual disease. They suggest that the government might be mistaking the visible signs of increased sick leave for the underlying illness causing the trend. Consequently, the proposed measures may fail to address the root causes of the absenteeism problem currently affecting the German workforce and its overall productivity.