Absenteeism has consolidated as one of the phenomena drawing the most attention in the Spanish labor market in recent months, fueling an intense debate about its figures, the impact across different sectors, or the economic consequences for companies. Amid that debate, the report “Radiography of Workplace Absenteeism in Spain 2026,” by InfoJobs analyzes what’s actually behind those absences and to what extent they reflect justified reasons, from the workers’ own perspective.
Data from the study confirm that this phenomenon continues to affect a high percentage of the employed population: 47% of workers have been absent from work in the last twelve months, two points lower than in 2025. At the same time, the analysis allows for nuance: the main reasons for absence are health-related and only 2% of the total employed acknowledge some absence without justification whose time, moreover, was not recovered.
Sick Leave
According to InfoJobs data, 24% of the employed population had some absence backed by a medical sick leave and 31% had some absence without a sick leave, both figures slightly lower than 2025 (25% and 33%, respectively).
The report dives precisely into that 31% who were absent without a sick leave. Thus, 84% of this group say that all of their absences were justified, versus 16% who acknowledge some unjustified absence. Extrapolated to the entire employed population, that percentage would represent 4%.
And taking it a step further, among those who had any unjustified absence, half recovered the corresponding time. The final figure thus stands at 2% of the employed population who had any unjustified absence and, in addition, did not recover the non-worked time, a statistic that would offer a much more nuanced reading of the phenomenon than the general percentage.
Health, the main reason behind absences
The InfoJobs data position health as the principal explanatory factor of workplace absenteeism in Spain. The most cited reason by the employed population who have been absent from their position is going to a medical appointment, cited in 47% of cases. They are followed, both at 29%, by acute and temporary health problems (such as a cold, a headache, menstrual pain, and health issues requiring a recovery period).
These figures point toward absenteeism largely linked to workers’ health, rather than a lack of commitment to the company.
Mental health: increasing direct link with the work environment
Within that health-related universe, the report pays special attention to mental health, which accounts for 9% of absences from the job. It is also a category that in the majority of cases (85%) has, wholly or in part, a connection to the work environment, a percentage that remains stable compared to 2025.
However, when breaking down that relationship, the report detects a notable change: those who attribute their mental-health absences directly and exclusively to work rose from 42% in 2025 to 53% in 2026, while those attributing it only partially fell from 43% to 32% in the same period. This suggests that, when mental health is behind an absence, the work environment tends to gain weight as a direct explanatory factor.
Is it really a generational issue?
The debate about absenteeism often points, repeatedly, to younger generations. However, the InfoJobs data nuance that narrative. The percentage of the employed population that has been absent (with or without leave) barely varies between ages 25 and 65, where it hovers in a narrow range, from 47% to 48%. The only exception is those under 25, who sit below the rest at 41%.
What does change notably across generations is the reason for absence. Mental health represents 15% of absences among those aged 16 to 24 and 13% among 25 to 34, compared with 7% in the 45 to 54 bracket and 5% among those over 55. These data would thus indicate that the generational difference in absenteeism lies less in the number of absences than in the reasons behind them.
The InfoJobs report also records differences in workplace absenteeism by other variables. By gender, women register a higher rate of absences than men, both with leave (27% vs. 22%) and without it (34% vs. 28%), though they are also the ones who justify their absences most (85% vs. 81% for men).
By length of service, absenteeism is notably lower among those with less than one year in their role (37%) than among those with longer tenures (48% between one and five years, 49% after five years). By type of contract, apprenticeship agreements (54%) stand out, compared with 38% for self-employed workers. By company size, absenteeism is 45% in small firms, versus 49% in medium and large firms.
By regions, the Basque Country (51%) and Catalonia (50%) show the highest percentages, while Andalusia (44%) records the lowest. Valencia Community and Madrid sit in an intermediate position, with 48% in both cases.
In the words of Mónica Pérez, Director of Communications and Studies at InfoJobs: “Absenteeism is a complex, structural phenomenon that cannot be explained only by the volume of absences, but by what lies behind them. Our data show that health is a trigger and, in the case of mental health, its direct link to the work environment grows.” And she adds: “Companies, for their part, face a lack of transparency in the motives and the need to incentivize commitment. We cannot ignore external factors such as the aging of the active population or the saturation of the healthcare system. All of this makes it necessary to shift from reactive control of absences to preventive management of mental and organizational health.”
