A new report from GoodShape - the enterprise health management platform - has shed light on the significant impact of long-term illness on the UK workforce.
Between July 2022 and August 2023, long-term illness cost UK employers a staggering £21 billion, resulting in the loss of 147 million working days. This equates to every employee in the UK losing an average of 4.5 working days per year. The repercussions of long-term illness are a significant contributor to the UK's workforce productivity problem, accounting for over half of the £41.8 billion lost over the past twelve months.
GoodShape defines long-term sickness as an absence lasting 20 working days or more. Alarming trends have emerged in the last year, with the average length of time off increasing from 59 to 62 days. While long-term sickness accounts for only 5% of total absence cases, its impact is disproportionately significant, amounting to over 50% of all working time lost due to ill health.
The top reasons for long-term absences are:
Mental Health: Mental health-related absences accounted for a staggering 48 million lost working days, costing employers an estimated £6.9 billion.
Musculoskeletal Issues: Musculoskeletal -related absences resulted in 29.9 million lost working days, with an estimated cost of £4.3 billion.
Surgery: Absences due to surgery totalled 15.1 million lost working days, with an estimated cost of £2.1 billion.
As mental health conditions alone cost UK companies an enormous £6.9 billion in working days lost to long-term illness in the year to August, this nearly equals the combined cost of all long-term absences due to musculoskeletal problems, surgery, and cancer, which amounted to £7.6 billion.
When comparing the data for July 2022 - August 2023 with the previous 12 months, some sectors have witnessed alarming increases in the duration of long-term sickness:
Retail: The average duration of long-term absence in retail is 64.8 days, reflecting a 21% year-on-year increase.
Professional Services: In the professional services sector - which includes consulting and accounting - the average duration of long-term sickness is 68.6 days, marking a 17% year-on-year increase.
Government: The government sector reports an average duration of long-term sickness at 65 days, with a 7% year-on-year increase.
Healthcare: Healthcare also saw an increase, with an average duration of long-term sickness at 58.5 days, marking a 3% year-on-year increase.
Organisations are keenly aware of the issue, investing £1.5 billion annually in health and wellbeing services such as occupational health, mental health and musculoskeletal health. Additionally, nearly £7 billion is spent on medical and protection insurance. Despite these investments, the economic toll of long-term sickness remains substantial and has become a significant economic challenge, costing UK employers billions, contributing to job shortages, rising inflation and increased benefit claims.
In response to the escalating issue the government has initiated measures aimed at encouraging individuals back into the workforce and reducing the burden on the welfare system. Changes to sick notes issued by doctors and consultations into occupational health are part of these efforts.
