Far beyond being ‘just’ an HR issue or part of your Corporate Social Responsibility agenda, the health and wellbeing of your workforce has a measurable impact on your bottom line.
Findings from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) reveal that workplace sickness cost UK businesses a staggering £103bn in 2023 – an increase of £30 billion since 2018. But what exactly makes up this enormous cost and more importantly, what can forward-thinking organisations do to address it?
The hidden costs behind employee ill health
The IPPR report highlights that £25 billion of the increased cost was due to lower productivity, with £5 billion attributed to increased sick days. This points to a worrying trend: presenteeism – employees working while unwell – is creating a far greater financial burden than absenteeism.
On average, UK employees lost the equivalent of 44 days of productivity due to working through sickness in 2023, up from 35 days in 2018. They also lost 6.7 days through taking sick leave, an increase from 3.7 days in 2018. These figures paint a clear picture of a workforce that’s increasingly unwell but continuing to work despite their health challenges.
The CIPD’s Health and Wellbeing at Work 2023 report reinforces these findings, showing the highest sickness absence rate in over a decade at 7.8 days per employee per year. With three in four organisations observing presenteeism among both remote and office-based workers, it’s evident that the ‘always on’ grind culture is taking its toll on employee health. What’s more, the mass-industry shift towards hybrid working is making absenteeism and presenteeism alike more difficult to manage.
Breaking the vicious circle
The relationship between health and work can operate as either a virtuous or vicious circle. When employees enjoy good health, businesses benefit from increased productivity, creativity, and engagement. Conversely, when health declines, business performance suffers.
Unfortunately, many UK organisations find themselves trapped in the vicious circle, with poor workplace practices contributing to declining employee health, which in turn hampers business performance. This is particularly prevalent among marginalised or minority groups, with the IPPR report finding that Black or Asian workers are twice as likely to work through sickness compared to their white British counterparts.
Targeted health assessments: An investment that delivers real returns
Breaking this cycle requires more than reactive approaches to health and wellness in the workplace.
Enter LiveSmart, a tiered approach to employee health assessments that can be tailored to your organisation’s specific needs and budget – transforming employee wellbeing from a cost centre to a strategic investment with measurable returns.
The LiveSmart assessment portfolio addresses the key health issues that drive workplace costs:
Lifestyle Assessments:
Focus helps individuals understand their risk of heart disease and Type 2 Diabetes. Employees receive personalised advice on how to maintain excellent heart health, lower their diabetes risk, and optimise their overall wellbeing. When these conditions are addressed proactively, businesses avoid the substantial costs associated with long-term absences and reduced productivity.
Inspire builds on this foundation by identifying common nutritional deficiencies which may affect individual performance. In addition to heart health and diabetes risk factors, Inspire provides a comprehensive picture of vitamin levels, plus advice and support on how to feel revitalised and energised – directly addressing the fatigue that often underlies presenteeism.
Medical Assessments:
Flourish provides a full picture of health including how an individual’s vital organs are performing. Building upon the tests and personalised advice available through Inspire, with Flourish individuals obtain a complete view of their current health, including liver, kidney, thyroid, and immune system performance – catching potential issues before they develop into conditions requiring costly medical interventions.
Perform offers a fully comprehensive assessment of an individual’s health and wellbeing. Including tests for chronic inflammation and more comprehensive heart health markers, Perform gives individuals even deeper insights into their overall health, plus the option to discuss their results with one of our expert doctors- particularly valuable for key personnel whose absence would significantly impact operations.
What makes LiveSmart uniquely cost-effective is not just the assessment itself, but the outcomes.
Unlike traditional health assessments that highlight potential problems but go no further, LiveSmart drives measurable health improvements, with two-thirds of participants showing health gains after their first assessment. As studies and empirical evidence show time and again, reduced absenteeism and decreased presenteeism can enhance productivity, in turn supporting a healthier bottom line.
With engagement rates consistently above 50% and the flexibility to deliver testing onsite or at employees’ homes, LiveSmart minimises disruption while maximising participation – ensuring your wellbeing investment delivers organisation-wide benefits and engagement, rather than only reaching the already health-conscious minority.
When evaluating the £103 billion cost of workplace ill health, the question isn’t whether your business can afford to invest in employee health assessments, but whether it can afford not to.
LiveSmart offers a clear path to transform this substantial business cost into an opportunity for sustainable growth through a healthier, more productive workforce.
To find out more about LiveSmart Health Assessments, get in touch.