This is how employees extend their weekend. The trend is strengthening from year to year

According to the latest report by Conperio, a company specializing in the analysis and management of sickness absence, every third L4 inspected last year was used contrary to its intended purpose. For over 33.3 thousand control as much as 33 percent showed irregularities.

What are Poles doing on L4?

– Inspections conducted in 2025 revealed a number of repeated irregularities. These included cases of being under the influence of alcohol on L4, including situations in which alcohol was consumed directly during the controller’s visit. It was also noted, among others: conducting teaching classes at a university, providing paid work in catering establishments or sports equipment rentals, as well as not actually taking care of the person indicated in the dismissal. In many situations, the children were at school or at an address other than the declared one – says Mikołaj Zając, president of Conperio.

The average annual sickness absence rate in enterprises cooperating with Conperio in 2025 was 7.08%. The highest level was recorded in February, when it reached 7.73%, and the lowest in May – 6.44%. This distribution confirms the continuing seasonality associated with the winter period and a clear stabilization in the spring and summer months.

Poles are extending their weekend

Last year also saw a further increase in the number of one-day sick leave. Analysis of such L4 shows a clear and repeatable pattern that may indicate employees’ attempts to extend their weekends. Data collected by Conperio shows that last year as many as 23.6 percent such dismissals occurred on Fridays, and 20.5 percent for Mondays. This means that over 44 percent all one-day L4s were concentrated in the two days immediately adjacent to the weekend. For comparison, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays recorded levels in the range of 15-16%.

Conperio indicates that the above trend is strengthening year by year. In 2023, the share of Mondays and Fridays in the pool of one-day sick leave was less than 38%.

The authors of the report draw attention to a clear relationship between the age of employees and sickness absence rates. The lowest absenteeism was recorded in the group up to 29 years of age (2.13%), while the highest rate concerned employees over 50 years of age – 4.87%, which is more than twice as much as in the youngest group. Conperio emphasizes that such a difference may result from natural health factors and greater susceptibility to chronic diseases in older age groups. With age, the risk of longer recovery periods also increases, which directly affects the level of absenteeism.

The above data shed new light on the youngest generation of employees. Generation Z, often perceived as less loyal to employers or more demanding, but in practice turns out to be the group that uses sick leave the least often. This means that young employees – despite greater professional mobility – demonstrate high operational availability and a relatively low tendency to long-term absences.

– It is worth analyzing data on absenteeism more broadly than just through the prism of control. In the case of Generation Z, the low level of absenteeism shows that we are dealing with a group with high productivity potential. This is a signal to employers that investing in development, flexible work models and conscious leadership can translate into long-term staff stability – emphasizes the head of Conperio.

In a recent survey conducted by SW Research for “Wprost”, every fifth Pole (20.7%) admitted that he had ever taken a false L4. 75.3 percent respondents declared that such a situation had never occurred.