*The diagnoses are based on the tenth revision of the International Classification of Diseases, which was introduced in Finland in 1996.

reported absence due to illness was 4 per 100 days, amounting to a per-year total of two weeks per person and 73 million days for the entire population. These figures are increasing steadily. On average, the number of sick days is the same for women and men. The average length of sickness leaves is 33.9 days. However, in 1996 sickness leaves for people with mental health problems averaged 62.4 days, longer than for any other diseases. The number of sick leaves due to depression has increased drastically. It more than doubled from 1990 (5,467) to 1995 (11,600).⁸

To illustrate the problem, the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions has calculated the direct financial burden of a three-month sick leave to the employer, employee and society.⁹