Absenteeism in the workforce generates an overcost of €240 million in the LA DISTRIBUCIÓN ANGED member companies and a loss of nearly 12.6 million hours worked. This overcost amounts to 21% of the total annual investment of the companies, while the loss of hours worked would be equivalent to 7,113 full-time jobs, according to data from the report “Absenteeism in retail and large distribution,” presented by ANGED and The Adecco Group Institute.
This has become one of the main challenges for the organization and productivity of companies. In the large-scale distribution, its impact is especially relevant due to the high dependence on in-person presence: absences directly affect shift planning, customer service, shelf replenishment, logistics, or continuity of service.
The study notes a sustained increase in absenteeism. 81.8% of surveyed companies state that absenteeism has risen in the last three years, reaching around 8%, compared to the national average of 7.6%.
In the overall retail sector, in 2025 there were 734,522 temporary incapacity processes due to common contingencies initiated, with an average duration of 45.33 days. The equivalent number of workers who do not attend work even one day per year is 158,805 for the overall retail sector and 19,000 for the LA DISTRIBUCIÓN associated companies.
The main pressure point
Common contingencies are the main pressure point. 91% of companies consider the incidence of common contingencies to be high or very high, representing approximately 75% of the hours not worked. The 2025 absenteeism rate due to common contingencies among the LA DISTRIBUCIÓN associated companies has grown by 60% since 2018.
All of this has an impact on the organization of work. To sustain activity, 81.8% of companies rely on temporary hiring, 72.7% reorganize teams, and in many cases, certain leaves are simply not covered because it is impossible to anticipate coverage.
Among the causes, the low volume of leaves due to occupational contingencies and accidents stands out: they account for only 1%, well below the national average (2.73% according to Social Security), signaling a commitment to safety in the workplace.
By contrast, leaves linked to mental health now account for 20% of the total and have doubled in recent years. In this regard, 81.8% of companies have implemented psychological support programs.
The causes of this phenomenon are multifaceted. Beyond medical leaves, companies identify factors such as work-life balance, minor health issues, the Monday effect and long weekends, as well as hard-to-justify causes detected by 80% of companies.
Proposals
There is a clear consensus among the participating companies about the need to pursue structural reforms that reduce a problem affecting people’s health and corporate productivity. Specifically, the following lines of action are proposed:
- Strengthen public-private health cooperation to improve the prevention and management of temporary disability, clearly enabling workers’ compensation mutuals to expedite tests not covered by public health and to authorize them to clear workers for return to work in certain circumstances, with full safeguards for workers.
- Review temporary disability benefits for common contingencies to adjust the financial incentives associated with absences.
- Promote health digitization aimed at streamlining follow-up processes and medical clearance.
- Develop active aging policies to adapt working conditions to the progressive aging of the workforce.
