Thierig also pointed out that sick leave tended to increase on Fridays and late shifts. “That is not an indicator of bad working conditions because the working conditions are the same on all working days and across all shifts. It suggests that the German social system is being exploited to some extent,” he said.

How bad of a manager can you be to not understand this? When your sick leave is more than three times as high as the automotive average, then your working conditions are so bad people are getting sick. Being too exhausted to work or unable to take another day of horrid working conditions at the end of the week is a symptom of that. Not being able to make it through a late shift for health reasons is not abusing the Healthcare system. That is what it’s for. Stop treating your people bad and they will be healthier and come to work. How hard is that to understand?