UK companies could unlock a £9.9bn “productivity premium” by encouraging their employees to discuss their health and wellbeing needs, a British Standards Institution (BSI) study found.
Creating a culture of trust, where employees feel able to talk about their health issues, could make organisations more productive, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), which conducted the research on BSI’s behalf.
The “productivity premium” could be the result of companies acting early on their employees’ health concerns:
- £5.5bn productivity gain linked to physical health
- £2.8bn for neurodiversity-related needs
- £1.3bn for psychological health
- £300m for menstrual and menopausal health
The study found that employees with low confidence take more time off work, accumulating an additional 2.6 sick days a year.
They are also more likely to work while unwell, reducing their productivity. Presenteeism among those with low confidence is 9.5% higher than their more confident colleagues.
A quiet but urgent crisis
Intervening early could prevent employees experiencing wellbeing issues from dropping out of the workforce.
Indeed, more than 800,000 adults have not worked since 2019 due to ill health, while more than half of workplace absence is linked to mental health issues.
The situation was described as “a quiet but urgent crisis” by Sir Charlie Mayfield (pictured), chair of the Keep Britain Working review.
Uncomfortable
The BSI report found that 48.7% of employees with low confidence and experiencing psychological challenges had left a job or took extended time off, compared with 41.1% with those who were more confidence.
BSI’s research also discovered that almost one in three (29%) employees do not feel comfortable approaching their line manager about a mental health problem, while 39% would struggle to raise the issue with a team director.
Even for physical health conditions, 17% would not feel confident speaking to their line manager and a quarter would not approach a team director.
Not having the confidence to ask for support is more pronounced for people with certain conditions: menstrual and menopausal (49.6%), neurodiversity (46.6%) and psychological (41.3%).
Passive obligation to active opportunity
Kate Field, global head of human and social sustainability at BSI, said workplace wellbeing starts with a culture of trust.
“When employees are facing health challenges, employers are not powerless. There are easy but meaningful steps they can take to support their people and sustain organisational performance and resilience.
“Our findings show that, where trust has not been cultivated and support feels difficult to access, employees’ health challenges are more likely to escalate and lead to time away from work.
“We know that everyone has moments where their physical or mental wellbeing are not optimal; the support an individual receives at these moments from their employer can make a big impact.”
Anne Hayes, director of standards development at BSI, added that with rising economic inactivity, the UK is facing a clear and pressing challenge.
“The Keep Britain Working review highlights the important role employers can play in helping people remain in, and thrive at, work.
“At BSI, we are supporting this agenda by helping to turn ambition into practical action.
“Existing standards already provide organisations with clear frameworks to embed effective support for employees and foster workplace cultures built on trust and wellbeing.”
Liam Daly, senior economist at the CEBR, said a productivity premium is unlocked when employees feel confident enough to raise health challenges with their employers.
“Critically, this reframes the employer’s role from passive obligation to active opportunity.
“Fostering a culture of trust and openness is a tangible and achievable goal. Workplaces with stronger standards-based provisions are consistently associated with fewer workplace absences among employees facing health and wellbeing challenges.
“Health, safety and wellbeing standards give organisations a practical framework to move beyond good intentions, embedding the behaviours, systems, and accountability that build genuine employee confidence,” he added.
Sir Charlie Mayfield, chairman of the Keep Britain Working review, said: “This timely research supports what we found on the review around a culture of fear and a lack of support.
“We have committed to address this through establishing a healthy working lifecycle, developing better workplace health provision and building the evidence of what works to underpin incentives for adoption.
“I am pleased to be working in partnership with the British Standards Institution to develop a recognised and credible standard for the healthy working lifecycle.”
