How health benefits could ease the UK productivity crisis

At the end of last year, 2.5 million people were out of work because of ill health, with a knock on effect on the economy. But employers can help

Changes to childcare funding and pension tax aside, March's Spring Budget included a raft of measures aimed at keeping employees well and helping those who aren’t in good health get back to work.

With both mental health and musculoskeletal problems mentioned as causes for concern, these challenges are nothing new for professionals in workplace wellbeing.

According to Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures, half a million more people are out of work due to ill health than in 2019, bringing the total to 2.5 million towards the end of 2022.

This is reflected in Vitality’s most recent Britain’s Healthiest Workplace (BHW) data, which revealed that during the same timeframe UK employers have seen a 39% fall in productivity, an economic cost of £127.9bn to the UK.

It is hardly surprising that the Chancellor is now taking steps to address it.

Unhealthy workforce

The main reason UK productivity is low is largely down to economic inactivity driven by an unhealthy workforce.

According to BHW, UK productivity has been dropping steadily since 2014. Alarmingly, one in five survey respondents reported suffering from burnout last year, resulting in an individual average loss of over 90 productive days per year.

As well as workplace pressures, a combination of the Covid-19 pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis and wider global issues has taken a significant toll on the nation’s mental health – one of the most common reasons for workplace absence in the UK.

More than one-tenth of survey respondents indicated having symptoms of depression, with those affected losing on average more than 100 productive days per year.

While government steps have served to shine a light on these challenges, they are unlikely to be enough on their own to reverse the productivity crisis in the UK.

More than just wellbeing interventions

Poor wellbeing can be caused by a range of factors, such as lack of physical exercise, poor nutrition and a lack of sleep. However, too often measures are focused on providing a solution after an employee is already experiencing ill-health.

The government’s objective of helping people that are living with health conditions return to work, such as by scrapping work capability assessments, is a worthy ambition. However more needs to be done to keep people healthy and in work in the first place.

What’s more, since the pandemic employee attitudes have shifted. According to a recent report published by Vitality, 82% of UK office workers believe companies have a greater responsibility to support the mental health and physical wellbeing of their employees since the pandemic.

A turnkey wellbeing solution offering group private medical insurance or a wellbeing scheme for an uninsured workforce is an effective way to support staff, especially as employer-led schemes are increasingly offering an extensive range of preventative and wellbeing support services alongside primary and secondary healthcare services.

Sustainable behaviour change

The challenge facing any health and wellbeing intervention, whether government or employer-led, is getting employees to engage with it in a meaningful way.

Organisations need to do more than signpost benefits and services. To truly positively affect lifestyle choices daily interactions are needed. This can, in turn, support employee wellbeing and drive productivity at work, even remotely.

Vitality Programme, for example, is informed by the laws of behavioural economics to foster engagement through rewards and partners integrated into the programme, the largest of its kind linked to insurance.

Embedding benefits

Through digitisation, via an app, an employer can embed wellbeing benefits – such as access to mindfulness tools, discounted gym membership and savings on spa breaks and weekends away – into an employee’s everyday life.

Positive feedback loops – created through the gamification of activity points and daily targets – help create tangible reasons to get involved. The more employees engage, the more value they get. They are also more likely to stay healthy.

Through this, employers can lead from the front by driving positive change and improve productivity in their organisations by allowing staff to access the right tools, using the right nudges, at the right time.

They can also offer healthcare benefits and rewards that act as a key differentiator in a competitive job market and a powerful way to retain employees, while also driving better outcomes for all involved. That way, everyone wins.