Inflammatory bowel disease is considered to be common in developed countries of Europe and North America. Chronic disease, bowel and systemic symptoms disrupting daily functioning, coexisting extraintestinal complications, and recurrent, not infrequently severe and unpredictable clinical course significantly lower patients’ quality of life. Although there are more labour force non-participants in the IBD patient group, the majority of them manage to overcome the difficulties posed by the disease and maintain full work capacity. Regional differences in work disability reflect different social security systems.