Loz Sandom Loz is a 28-year-old freelance illustrator with a degree in illustration. Sadly, he has been unemployed for the past year due to intensive mental and physical health issues. Before joining Mayors Hope, Sandom was an executive in digital marketing. Today, he is meeting the difficult situation created by his unemployment and anxious to return to work. His experience is indicative of a growing national trend across the United Kingdom. Currently, nearly one out of every five working-age Americans are unemployed and dropped out of the labor force.
The UK government launched a new Health and Employment Partnership with more than 60 businesses to combat increasing health-related sickness leave in the workplace. This launch is the culmination of a three-year plan. Among its many objectives are decreasing sickness absence reason rates, improving return to work prospects and increasing the disability employment gap. The government is recognizing the urgency of support. This achievement is overshadowed by a deeply concerning reality—800,000 more individuals are unemployed today than before 2019, and many have been pushed out of the labor market due to health ailments.
Absence through sickness alone costs UK employers around £85 billion each year, including the cost of lost productivity and sick pay. The economic impact is profound. In other words, a 22-year-old who is made unemployed by health problems might forfeit around £1 million over their lifetime. Experts warn that without targeted interventions, another 600,000 individuals could leave the workforce due to health-related challenges by the decade’s end.
As Loz Sandom noted during our discussions, she just wants to get a job and do good stuff. “I am willing to do the work, and I want to. I want to find a job,” she stated. Even with her optimism, she understands that there are systemic barriers keeping her and others with similar experiences from making the transition. “It’s such a shame because they’re missing out on so many fantastic disabled people that can do fabulous jobs,” she added, emphasizing the untapped potential within this demographic.
Ruth Curtice, an expert on workforce issues, explained during a recent webinar that the study of this crisis has identified key barriers. “The review has accurately identified a culture of fear, a dearth of support and structural barriers to work as key challenges to overcome in turning the tide for Britain’s economic inactivity problem – which is currently trending in the wrong direction,” she explained.
The Scottish government has ambitious plans to make a voluntary, certified standard available by 2029. This new effort motivates employers to build cultures of support for employees living with health issues. As Peter Cheese recently noted, it’s critical now to understand and put these recommendations into practice. “The report’s success will depend on the extent to which these recommendations are understood by business in driving positive outcomes and backed by policymakers at a national and regional level,” he noted.
Sir Charlie, a long-time champion of health in the workplace, repeated the enormous benefits for everyone from keeping people in work. “So keeping people in work, keeping them active, actually helps them to stay healthier,” he stated. He further emphasized the negative consequences of high sickness rates on both employers and the broader economy: For employers, sickness and staff turnover is a double whammy of disruption, cost and lost experience. For the public finances, it means lower growth, increased welfare spending and more strain on the NHS.”
Pat McFadden highlighted the win-win scenario for both employers and employees when it comes to supporting health in the workplace. “That’s in the interests of employers because these are good experienced staff and it’s in the interests of employees too because most people want to stay in work if they possibly can,” he remarked.