Employee health and wellbeing
Explore the CIPD’s point of view on health and wellbeing at work, including recommendations for employers
Explore the CIPD’s point of view on health and wellbeing at work, including recommendations for employers
Employee health and wellbeing should be a core element of any HR strategy and central to the way an organisation operates.
The latest official data shows that 35.2 million working days were lost to work-related ill health in 2022/23, with stress, anxiety and depression accounting for almost 24 million of these. CIPD research shows that employee sickness absence is at the highest level we’ve reported for 15 years and around three-quarters of respondents (76%) report some stress-related absence. Over two-thirds of respondents report that senior leaders take wellbeing seriously. However, lack of line manager skills and confidence is the top challenge for employee wellbeing and ‘management style’ remains among the top causes of stress-related absence. In addition to this, many people continue to work when unwell, even if they are working from home, while many employees use holiday or sick leave to work.
Organisations need to understand the causes – including any underlying health or workplace issues – for sickness absence and develop effective strategies for optimising employee health and attendance.
Employers have a fundamental duty of care for the health, safety and welfare of their workers. However, our research shows that despite more organisations stepping up their efforts, more needs to be done to tackle rising rates of sickness absence, presenteeism and the impact of poor mental health. This means taking a systematic and evidence-based approach.
A focus on employee health and wellbeing should be a core element of any HR strategy and central to the way an organisation operates. It should not simply consist of one-off initiatives but be based on employee need.
As well as benefitting employees, an integrated approach to wellbeing can increase employee engagement and foster a joint commitment to organisational success.
Organisations should take a holistic approach and provide good work for people that helps to prevent ill health. We define ‘good work’ as work that is fairly rewarded, providing people with the means to securely make a living; it gives opportunities to develop skills and a career, and ideally provides a sense of fulfilment. Organisations also need to focus on the wider dimensions of wellbeing, including financial wellbeing, which still needs more attention given the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
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