The UK is facing a health crisis – and its impact is rippling through the labour market. With more than nine million people out of the workforce and 2.8 million citing ill health as the primary reason, the Government’s ambitious target of an 80% employment rate feels increasingly out of reach. Achieving it would mean bringing approximately two million more people into work – a task that is impossible without a radical change in approach. For too long, policy efforts have focused on getting people back into work rather than preventing them from leaving in the first place. This reactive mindset has created a cycle of poor health and economic inactivity. We need a national reset on workforce health, one that prioritises prevention and equips employers to take meaningful, proactive steps. BAD WORK AND HEALTH The UK is the only G7 country with a smaller workforce now than before the pandemic. This is no coincidence. It reflects decades of neglecting the complex relationship between health and employment. Policymakers have traditionally centred on the negative impact of unemployment on health. While being out of work undeniably harms wellbeing, poor-quality work can be just as damaging. Bad jobs with inflexible schedules, high stress, and low autonomy do not just make people miserable; they make them ill. Addressing workforce health demands a comprehensive approach that tackles both unemployment and poor job quality. At the Work Foundation, we sought to understand what drives people out of the labour market due to ill health and how they can be better supported. Our research, involving longitudinal data from the Understanding Society dataset and insights from more than1,000 senior business leaders, paints a clear picture 44 |
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