REBA Inside Track: Employers must be proactive as the UK workforce ages and chronic conditions affect health

Writing in REBA’s second report in its societal health series, produced in partnership with Mercer Marsh Benefits, content director Jo Gallacher outlines how good data on workplace demographics and a forward-thinking approach will help employers keep pace with shifting health needs

 

Employers have long been aware of the vital role they can play in promoting a happy and healthy workforce, yet there will always be limits to the provisions they offer. 

As we’ve seen in report one of this series, The Shifting Medical Economy: Impact on Workplace Health, healthcare technology is progressing at rapid pace, creating opportunities for new treatment, health data collection and also predicting and preventing potential future health conditions before they become an issue. 

Longer working lives 

Although technology may be able to assist in healthcare outcomes, it is a fact that as working lives continue to expand, so, too, does the likelihood of developing one or more chronic illnesses. 

The Health Foundation’s REAL Centre found that 3.7 million people in the workforce have a ‘work-limiting’ health condition that restricts the type or amount of work they can do (see page 3). This figure has increased by 1.4 million over the past decade, suggesting that – despite advances in healthcare, and employers playing a larger role in wellbeing – chronic health conditions are having, and will continue to have, a significant impact on employees’ health. 

Add in the growing demand from employees for specialised support, such as fertility benefits, neurodiversity assessments and healthcare screening, and reward and benefits professionals are met with an almost impossible task when it comes to deciding where to prioritise wellbeing spend. 

Growing demand 

Every employee will have unique healthcare needs, and, as the workforce continues to adapt to longer working lives, employer-funded health models will need to change at pace to keep up with employee demand. 

Cost will undoubtedly continue to be a challenge for employers, and projecting future chronic health concerns and disabilities will never be an exact science. But a good understanding of workforce demographics, plus an open-minded approach to healthcare advancements, could prove vital to mitigating rising healthcare costs.