Think different to stop presenteeism costing billions in lost productivity – thinktank

2 Aug 24

IPPR reveals that the hidden impact of poorly workers to industry and business dwarfs costs of absence.

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A major new report into workplace wellbeing has revealed that the ‘hidden costs’ of presenteeism are costing UK organisations £25bn a year. The IPPR research showed that the cost of lost productivity since 2018 has risen £30bn - and only £5bnof that  was down to sick days, with the majority accounted for by poor in-work performance.

Employees now lose the equivalent of 44 days’ productivity on average due to working through sickness, up from 35 days in 2018, and lose a further 6.7 days taking sick leave, up from 3.7 days in 2018, says the report. And that compares poorly with other countries. According to the IPPR: “Workers in the UK are among the least likely to take sick days, especially compared to other OECD and European countries. However, they are more likely to persevere at work through sickness, which can have a productivity cost.”   

The IPPR says that organisations need to engage in a far more proactive way to ensure that their workforce’s wellbeing is prioritised. Dr Jamie O’Halloran, senior research fellow at IPPR, said that too often, “UK workers are being pressured to work through sickness when that’s not appropriate – harming their wellbeing, and reducing productivity. This can be because of a bad workplace culture, poor management, financial insecurity or just weak understanding of long-term conditions among UK employers. 

“Our demonstration of a ‘hidden’ productivity costs of working through sickness should catalyse a change in approach. We should strive to make sure the work we do is good for our health, that we have the time to recover when we need it, and to ensure businesses both contribute to and benefit from population health. This would protect workers, boost profits and deliver growth.” 

The IPPR is calling on government to get involved in this, and sets out what it calls a pro-business health plan with a number of features, including:

  • Incentives: A new tax incentive for companies that commit to significant improvements in the health of their workforce, including the security, flexibility and pay of their staff, focused on SMEs. 
  • Regulation: A new ‘do no harm’ duty for employers, regulating them on health outcomes, not just safety inputs 
  • Investment: New compulsory reporting on worker health – modelled on climate emissions reporting – to help private investors differentiate between health-orientated and health-harming businesses

The report, Healthy industry, prosperous economy, is available to download from the IPPR website.

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