As many as 3.37 million adults could be economically inactive due to long-term health conditions within the next 10 years without urgent action from government and employers, the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) is warning.
It projected an increase of 26% in these cases over the next decade and also highlighted the issue could cost the economy as much as £36bn a year.
Previous RSPH research has shown there are 10 million people across the UK workforce with no access to health support.
‘Fundamental shift’
The RSPH is calling for a ‘fundamental shift’ in the way policymakers and employers see workplace health – arguing that workplaces are underutilised as settings that can support people with long-term health conditions to stay in work and even prevent them developing.
It has put forward a range of measures that it argues would make workplaces better equipped to support the health of their employees.
These include a national health and work standard that would establish a minimum level of support for all UK workers.
Other measures include a concerted focus on upskilling line managers by employers so they can more effectively support staff at risk of stopping work due to their health.
Host of interventions needed
William Roberts, chief executive of the Royal Society for Public Health, said: “The UK’s productivity crisis is one of the biggest challenges facing our economy and long-term health conditions in the workforce are a major factor in this.
“It’s set to get a lot worse if we don’t act – causing enormous harm to our economy and the people forced to stop working.
“In the past workplace health has been seen as a tick box exercise for white collar workers. We need a fundamental shift in how we see the role of employers in keeping people healthy backed up by a national standard that covers all UK employees.
“There’s a host of interventions that the government and employers could be implementing which we hope to see recommended in the Keep Britain Working review.
“Acting now on workplace health will pay off for businesses, the public and our economy,” he added.