Luxembourg lacks data on burnout cases

Authorities in Luxembourg don’t know how many people are taking sick leave due to burnout, since there is no diagnostic code specific for this type of exhaustion and fatigue that doctors can use in medical certificates.

“There are no steps being taken to recognise burnout as an occupational disease,” said Health Minister Martine Deprez in response to a parliamentary question on Tuesday.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines burnout as a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress which is characterised by feelings of exhaustion and lack of energy, increased mental distance from one’s job or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job, and a reduced professional efficacy.

In most cases, sick leave because of a burnout falls under the label of “depression” or “recurrent or persistent depressive disorders in adults”, Deprez said,  even though a burnout does not equal depression. This means there are no official numbers available on how many people suffer from burnout in Luxembourg.

However, the annual Quality of Work Index study conducted by the University of Luxembourg and the Chamber of Employees found that in 2024, around 28.5% of the people surveyed felt stressed often or almost always because of their work. Nearly one in five respondents (17.2%) said that they no longer felt any joy for their job.

According to the survey, 46.2% of respondents have experienced problems sleeping due to stress at work at least once, and 40.6% said they have felt depressed because of their job.

Sick leave for burnout is subject to the same rules as other illnesses. During the first five days the person on sick leave should not leave their house at all, from the sixth day on just for essential trips and only from 10:00 to 12:00 and then again from 14:00 to 18:00.

 “People who suffer from burnout don’t recover by staying indoors” psychotherapist Isabelle Kiefer previously told the Luxembourg Times, calling for an easing of rules.

The health ministry has said that the existing conditions will not be changed, even though there has been a petition calling for time outside and increased social contact to be granted.

There is no study planned on the phenomenon of burnout, the minister said in reply to the parliamentary questions, referring to a pilot programme run by the Association for Occupational Health in the Tertiary and Financial Sectors (ASTF), which the ministry supports financially.

In 2024, the so-called “Lighthouse” project supported 35 people affected by burnout by offering psychological care in additional to medical check-ups.

A diagnosis for burnout should not be made lightly, Deprez said, and “should ideally be made by a specialist (psychologist/psychiatrist) who has also considered differential diagnoses.”