# Share of employees mentally drained by work rises to 21%

> The share of employees who feel mentally drained by their job a few times a month or more has risen from 13% to 21% in ten years, according to Statistics Netherlands (CBS) and research institute TNO.

Society · published 2026-11-09 05:55 · updated 2026-11-09 12:27 · https://nlnow.nl/a/21-of-dutch-employees-feel-mentally-fatigued-by-work/

In 2025, 21% of employees felt mentally fatigued by work a few times a month or more, up from 20% a year earlier and 13% ten years earlier. The figures come from the Nationale Enquête Arbeidsomstandigheden (NEA), a working conditions survey by CBS and TNO. Employees count as mentally fatigued when they regularly feel tired and exhausted, for example emotionally drained by work or empty at the end of the day.

**Work-related mental fatigue climbed from 13% to 21% of employees in ten years** (% of employees; source: CBS, TNO)

- 2015: 13.4
- 2016: 14.6
- 2017: 15.9
- 2018: 17.3
- 2019: 17
- 2020: 15.7
- 2021: 17.3
- 2022: 20
- 2023: 19
- 2024: 20.1
- 2025: 20.7

Employees aged 25 to 35 saw the biggest increase, and this group is also the most affected: 28% in 2025, up from 15% in 2015. Among 55- to 65-year-olds there was no rise. For 65- to 75-year-olds the share grew from 2% to 9%. CBS says this is partly because more people in this group have not yet reached state pension (AOW) age.

The rise is sharper among women. In 2025, 24% of female employees felt mentally fatigued by work, against 14% ten years earlier. Among men the share rose from 13% to 18%.

Mental fatigue rose at every skill level, CBS says. It is highest at the top level, which covers the most complex expert tasks: 23%, up from 15% in 2015. At the lowest level it is 18%, up from 12%.

About a quarter of employees in teaching, creative and language jobs, ICT, and in care and welfare jobs are affected. Agricultural jobs are lowest, at 12%.

After flu and colds (55%), mental health issues, stress and burnout are the most cited reason for the most recent sick leave, at 9%. They were cited by 11% of women who took sick leave and 7% of men. Such absences last 67 days on average, the longest of any complaint, against 15 days for all absences in 2025.

Overstrain or burnout was also the most reported occupational disease in 2025. 3.6% of employees reported one or more doctor-diagnosed occupational diseases, and just over half of those were overstrain or burnout (1.9% of all employees).

Within care and welfare jobs, mental fatigue from work was most common among psychologists and sociologists in 2025: 37% of them felt it a few times a month or more, CBS says.

Among workers under 25, the share who feel mentally fatigued by work has also grown sharply, from just under 8% in 2015 to more than 18% in 2025.

**Fatigue rose in nearly every age group, most among 25- to 35-year-olds** (% of employees; source: CBS, TNO)

- 15 to 25: 7.7 to 18.4
- 25 to 35: 15 to 28.2
- 35 to 45: 14 to 23.1
- 45 to 55: 13.9 to 18.6
- 55 to 65: 16.4 to 16.7
- 65 to 75: 2.2 to 8.5

**Fatigue rose at every occupational level, most at the top** (% of employees; source: CBS, TNO)

- Level 1 (least complex tasks): 11.8 to 17.7
- Level 2: 12.8 to 18.7
- Level 3: 13.4 to 20.5
- Level 4 (most complex tasks): 14.7 to 23.4

## Background

- **CBS (Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek)**: Statistics Netherlands, the independent government body that produces the official statistics on the Dutch economy and society.
- **NEA (Nationale Enquête Arbeidsomstandigheden)**: The NEA (National Working Conditions Survey) is a recurring Dutch survey of employees about their working conditions, including workload, physical and mental strain, and health at work. It is carried out by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) together with the research organisation TNO. Its results are used by government, employers and researchers to track how working conditions change over time.
- **TNO (Nederlandse Organisatie voor toegepast-natuurwetenschappelijk onderzoek)**: TNO is the Dutch Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research, an independent research institute that does applied research for government, businesses and other organisations. Its work covers areas such as health, energy, digital technology, defence and the built environment. In the context of working conditions, TNO helps carry out national surveys and studies on the health and wellbeing of workers.
- **AOW (Algemene Ouderdomswet)**: The AOW is the Dutch state pension, a basic old-age pension paid by the government to people who have reached the AOW age. Entitlement depends on how many years a person has lived or worked in the Netherlands, and the Social Insurance Bank (SVB) administers it. Because the AOW age is the age at which most people in the Netherlands start receiving a state pension, it is also the usual point at which people move from working life into retirement.

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