The UK labour market is at a crossroads. Despite signs that the wave of economic inactivity driven by ill health may be stabilising, 2.8 million people remain out of work due to long-term sickness. New research with Professor Stavroula Leka, Director of the Centre for Organisational Health & Well-being at Lancaster University, reveals that structural divisions in job quality risk leaving millions unable to balance their health needs with sustained employment. One in 17 workers report they expect to leave their current job within the next year due to health reasons. Our report, A Divided Workforce? Worker Views on Health and Employment in 2025, drew on a national representative survey of more than 3,700 workers. It paints a picture of a two-tier workforce: where some workers benefit from secure, supportive employment, while others face poor job quality, limited protections, and associated health risks. At the heart of this divide, the report – launched at the inaugural Work and Health Summit in London earlier this year – reveals three groups: workers already in poor health; those on low incomes; and young people at the beginning of their careers. Each of these cohorts faces a distinct set of barriers that risk compounding a cycle of poor health and employment outcomes. A REINFORCING CYCLE Work environment and working conditions have a substantial bearing on whether people with ill health are more vulnerable to leaving the workforce early. It is therefore critical that workers in ill health are engaged in good quality and healthy forms of employment that help protect against further deterioration of their wellbeing. Worryingly, our research uncovered the opposite was often the case. Workers who reported they were in poor health were much less likely to feel their employer was supportive of their health. They were more likely than those in good health to say their job had a negative impact on their physical (two times) or mental (1.5 times) health. They were also 1.6 times more likely to be worried their deteriorating health would impact their ability to remain in employment. Workers in poor health also have noticeably less access to key attributes of ‘good quality’ work, including autonomy, job security and flexible working arrangements. All are often critical factors in supporting those in poor health to remain in employment. 16 |
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