The cost of workers’ sickness has risen £30 billion since 2018, a think tank has warned.
At least £25 billion of these “hidden costs” is from lower productivity while £5 billion is from a rise in sick days, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said.
Dr Jamie O’Halloran, senior research fellow at IPPR, said: “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.”
The overall cost of sickness and low productivity in 2018 was £73 billion compared to £103 billion in 2023, the IPPR said.
Employees now lose the equivalent of 44 days’ productivity on average due to working through sickness, up from 35 days in 2018.
They lose a further 6.7 days taking sick leave, up from 3.7 days in 2018.
Dr O’Halloran said: “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.”
Workers in the UK are among the least likely to take sick days, especially compared to other European countries, the IPPR said.
But they are more likely to persevere at work through sickness, which can have a productivity cost.
Tina Woods, CEO and founder of Business for Health, said: “The cost of employee sickness to businesses is staggering, especially the productivity loss of people working through their sickness.”
A report by the IPPR proposed a new tax incentive for companies that commit to significant improvements in the health of their workforce.
It also wants firms to report on worker health – modelled on climate emissions reporting – to help private investors differentiate between health-orientated and health-harming businesses.
Meanwhile about a quarter of people of working-age – nearly 11 million people – do not currently have jobs.
During the Covid pandemic, all major countries saw their workforce shrink.
But while the other leading economies have since recovered, the UK still has more people out of its workforce than in 2019 – by over 1% of the working-age population.
Sir Keir Starmer’s Government aims to reach an 80% employment rate would mean getting two million more people back into work.
In her first major speech in taking over at the helm of the Department, Ms Kendall said: “Under my political leadership, the DWP will shift from being a department for welfare to being a department for work.”
Record numbers of working-age people are out of the workforce because of long-term health conditions.
The number of working-age people reporting that they have a disability has increased from 5.9 million in 2012-13 to 8.9 million in 2022-23.