Benefits could create a healthier UK – in and outside the workplace

The private sector has an important role to play in finding a solution to health challenges countrywide

Around two-thirds of people in the UK are overweight or obese and around five million have diabetes.

Habits such as smoking, poor diet and sedentary lifestyles are leading causes of premature deaths in this country, costing the NHS billions each year.

Meanwhile, poor health has driven half a million more people out of work and low productivity is responsible for an estimated total £127.9bn economic loss since 2019.

Even as the world continues to move on from the Covid-19 pandemic, the UK is not getting healthier and economic inactivity levels are still rising.

Sliding productivity

According to Britain’s Healthiest Workplace, the largest study of employee wellbeing survey in the UK, carried out by Vitality, productivity has been falling steadily since 2014. Alarmingly, one in five 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 pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis and wider global issues has taken significant toll on the nation’s mental health – one of the most common reasons for workplace absence.

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

While government steps in the Spring Budget shone a light on these challenges, they are unlikely to be enough alone to turn the tide on the productivity crisis in the UK.

The UK is getting less healthy

Despite continued growth of the wellness industry globally and an explosion of digital wellbeing solutions, the UK is getting less healthy.

Even with the best of intentions, making healthy decisions is not easy. It takes a complex combination of nudges and incentives to truly bring about sustainable behaviour change.

Poor wellbeing can be caused by a range of factors, such as lack of physical exercise, poor nutrition and a lack of sleep, and too often measures are focused on a ‘downstream’ solution - the point at which an employee is already unwell.

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. But more needs to be done to keep people healthy and in work in the first place.

Shifting attitudes

Employee attitudes have been changing since the pandemic. According to a report published by Vitality in late 2022, as many as 82% of UK office workers surveyed believe companies have a greater responsibility to support the mental health and physical wellbeing of their employees following Covid-19.

Given the pressures on the NHS, this has brought sharply into focus the need to provide health and wellbeing support to staff in a way that unlocks productivity.

Organisations are stepping up to play an increasingly important role in providing access to an extensive range of preventative and wellbeing support services alongside primary and secondary healthcare services.

Behaviour change

In this context, organisations have an ever-expanding role to play in influencing positive lifestyle choices – such as physical activity, mental wellness and nutrition – to offset the UK’s growing health problem.

Thanks to rapid innovation in technology, businesses are in a powerful position to harness the power of engagement in an evidence-based wellbeing programme that effectively incentivises healthy behaviour.

An approach that embraces highly advanced data, technology and health management capabilities can carry huge benefits for individuals and businesses in the UK as a force for social good.