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15 Jan 2021
by Cara Leavey

Employers have a critical role to play in fostering the conditions for a healthier UK

A new measure of the nation’s prosperity presents an opportunity to make everyone in the UK healthier, and employers have a critical role to play in this aspiration.

A new measure of the nation’s prosperity presents an opportunity to make everyone in the UK healthier, and employers have a critical role to play in this aspiration.

 

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The longstanding view is that we can judge how well our government is performing based solely on economic performance, with measures such as GDP providing the litmus test for success. However, our society’s progress depends much more than on economic performance alone: our nation’s health is one of our most important assets, and 2020 has shown how our health and wealth are inextricably linked.

Two years ago, the then chief medical officer, Dame Sally Davies, proposed the creation of a health index. This would be a new measure that would reflect the impact of the multiple factors that shape on our collective health and provide a counterweight to the dominance of economic measures against which ‘progress’ has been measured for so long.

Last month, the ONS published such an index.

It provides a marker of, not only how wealthy we are as a country today, but also how healthy we are likely to be in the future. However, the ONS Health Index presents more than just a headline figure, it also provides rich insights, into what is driving better or poorer health in local areas. This means we are not only able to see rates for a wide range of physical and mental health conditions, but can also put these into context by examining the wider influences that shape our health.

As we face the ongoing crisis, the Health Index is timely and important in focusing minds on what is needed to protect and improve the country’s health now and in the future. Through the index, there is the potential to drive decisions that reflect a broader view of health and hold the government to greater account, providing measurable evidence of how its policies contribute positively or negatively to the long-term health of the UK.

But taking action to improve the nation’s health cannot be achieved through government action alone. Employers need to also recognise the critical part they need to play in fostering better conditions for good health, chiefly by improving their staff’s personal circumstances.

The case to improve health through better working conditions is well-evidenced: previous research has shown that poor working conditions can be a significant source of stress for workers and eventually manifests itself physically. The ONS Health Index provides specific indicators on working conditions that employers can use to understand how well they are doing compared to the national benchmark. This includes data on job-related training, levels of pay and workplace safety.

But employers could also use the index to understand the prevalence of different health conditions such as anxiety, depression, musculoskeletal conditions and disability that impact daily activities, and assess whether they are doing enough to support staff living with these conditions. Or from a wellbeing perspective, the index provides further data on ‘life satisfaction’ and ‘worthwhileness’. The task now for companies is to continue to make sustained, long-term investments in their workforce.

Good health is an asset for both individuals and society. It underpins personal wellbeing and enables participation in work, family life and community. The experience of the past nine months, and measures necessary to control the virus, have significantly eroded people’s material circumstances and wellbeing. Families have fallen into hardship and housing insecurity as they have been furloughed or lost jobs. People of all ages have experienced loneliness and isolation.

The ONS Health Index is described as experimental. It is published for consultation. There are no doubt aspects of the methodology that will generate fierce debate among experts. Many practitioners may say that it has been lack of political will – not lack of data – that has held us back from creating a healthier society. However, in publishing the index, the government has unequivocally laid out the connection between the country’s health and factors such as poverty, housing and green space. Just as we have seen that it takes the whole of government to manage a pandemic, this index shows that it takes the whole of government to create a society where everyone has a fair chance to live a healthy life.

The Health Foundation is hosting a live webinar on the ONS Health Index at 13.00 – 14.00, on Tuesday 19 January 2021. We will be joined by Dame Sally Davies and guests to find out more about the index, why it was commissioned, and how it can be used in practice.

The author is Cara Leavey, policy and programme manager at the Health Foundation.