Study reveals surprising trends in sick leave use across Israel in 2025

A 2025 study of Israeli workers finds sick leave patterns shaped by job type and flexibility, not commitment, with Gen Z taking the fewest days and public sector absenteeism highest.

An analysis of data on thousands of workers in hundreds of organizations in various sectors presents a broad picture of the utilization ofsick days in the Israeli labor market in Israel in 2025, and refutes some widespread conceptions.

The analysis, which compares groups of workers by gender, sector, pay level, and seasons of the year, is designed to identify main trends in the labor market and to examine the connection between job characteristics and patterns of absence from work.

“The data before us paint a much more complex picture than the common conceptions of the labor market in Israel,” says Prof. Assaf Avrahami, CEO of Hilan Value.

“We see that patterns of utilization of sick days do not reflect a lack of commitment, but chiefly the nature of the job and the degree of employment flexibility. For example, the fact thatGeneration Z, the youngest, has the lowest utilization of sick leave, contrary to what might have been expected, and the fact that in months with the most religious holidays, reporting sick actually declines, rebut the ‘extended weekend’ myth that many managers believe.

“What particularly stands out in the current study is the direct connection between job flexibility and attendance at work. The more that workers are able to work from home, the less they are absent, but it’s important to understand that this is not necessarily a positive thing. The phenomenon of ‘sick attendance’, that is, working in a sub-optimal state of health, can affect output and employees’ health in the long term. The findings ought to stimulate an in-depth discussion of a healthy organizational culture that balances between flexibility and genuine concern for workers’ welfare.”

The following are the main insights from the study:

A third of the workers surveyed did not report sick at all in 2025, and the average number of days sick leave taken during the year was 7.6.

How does Israel stand by comparison to the rest of the world? According to OECD figures, the average number of days of sick leave in member countries is 3-5, and in some countries it reaches 15-20 days. Israel is in a middling position in relation to other countries and is not far from the international norm.

The number of workers reporting sick is relatively low at the beginning of the week, and gradually rises as the weekend draws near. It was also found that in the days before and after religious holidays the average number of employees reporting sick is 15.5% lower than on other days.

Why does that happen? The common perception that the most frequent sick day is Sunday (the first day of the working week in Israel) is mistaken. People do not extend their weekends by reporting sick because “it’s hard to go back to work” after weekends and holidays.

No less importantly: the analysis finds that people return to work after non-working days feeling fresher and better able to deal with the new week of work.

Married workers, and widows and widowers, report a higher number of days sick than unmarried workers. Surprisingly however, across the range of marital status, employees without young children utilize more sick leave than employees with children and with the same marital status. The exception is unmarried women with young children, whose utilization of sick leave is a high 28%.

The implication is that parental responsibility is not a main cause of a rise in sick leave taken, and it could be that commitment to a family actually strengthens attendance and persistence at work when people are slightly ill.

The sectors with the highest average utilization of sick leave are central and local government, old age homes, and the banks, which are characterized by daily interface with the public, and limited possibilities for remote or hybrid working.

These characteristics tend to increase exposure to infection and to reduce the ability to continue working when slightly ill. In addition, it may be that in these sectors there is higher awareness of workers’ rights and an organizational culture that encourages full exploitation of social benefits, including sick leave.

Sectors in which there is greater job flexibility enable people to avoid complete absence even when they are not in the best of health, thus reducing the number of days taken as sick leave.

The connection between pay level and utilization of sick leave is not linear. Workers at medium pay levels have higher average numbers of days sick, while the lowest and highest paid workers have a lower average.

This finding may reflect differences in job characteristics and employment conditions. Low-paid employees may avoid absence from work for fear of loss of income, or of the job itself.

High-paid employees, on the other hand, generally have responsible jobs and a higher degree of flexibility that enables them to work from home. Middle grade workers often have jobs with a high workload but limited flexibility, and accordingly utilize more days sick leave.