Revealed: why the UK is among the worst performers in Europe for workplace health

Revealed: why the UK is among the worst performers in Europe for workplace health

Looking at data from 14 other European nations, the UK’s workforce has one of the highest rates of long-term ill-health and disability. Around one in five people of working age have ‘health limitations’.

The research, carried out by the Institute for Employment Studies, highlights the critical role of the Covid-19 period in changing the picture of employee health. Between 2018 and 2022, the likelihood of people aged 16-24 with ill health being out of work more than doubled. The number of workers aged 55-64 being out of work also increased, while in most other European countries the figures fell.

Fixing health tactics

The research authors call for a package of integrated measures to help people to stay well while in work. Recommendations include more limits on working hours, incentivising employers to demonstrate improved workplace health, increasing levels of sick pay (linked to individual wages), improving OH services, adaptation grants for workplaces and greater access to expert advice around wellbeing at work more generally.

Prof

EAPA UK chair, Karl Bennett said: “The UK has, for some time, suffered by comparison with other nations when it comes to getting people with long-term health conditions to get back into work — the kinds of work that can be so important in supporting wellbeing, through providing both financial rewards and a sense of belonging and fulfilment.

“The pandemic years have clearly only exaggerated and exacerbated some of the inherent problems in workplaces. We need more recognition for what makes for the essentials of ‘good work’: not quick fixes, but clarity on what really makes a healthy workplace; what that means in terms of job design and management methods, and which services are best placed to deliver in which circumstances.”