Leading employers and workplace wellbeing experts have urged the government not to ignore health and productivity reforms for workers, warning that rising unemployment and increasing financial pressures make action more urgent than ever.
At a meeting of the Policy Liaison Group on Workplace Wellbeing on November 21, chaired by Gethin Nadin and led by renowned psychologist Professor Sir Cary Cooper, participants agreed that the recommendations in Sir Charlie Mayfield’s recent report, Keep Britain Working, need to be quickly implemented into policy and practice. Unemployment has now reached 5% and many businesses fear next week’s Budget will tighten the screws even further.
Speakers drew parallels between Mayfield’s review and Cooper’s own 2008 Mental Capital and Wellbeing Review, noting how little progress has been made in embedding wellbeing into business strategy, despite a strong evidence base linking employee health to productivity, retention and economic performance.
The group warned that the UK risks repeating historical mistakes by treating health initiatives as optional extras rather than key productivity drivers, particularly at a time when employers are already facing rising taxes, labor market instability and rising energy costs.
A key criticism has been the lack of infrastructure needed to support meaningful change. Experts said wellbeing measurement frameworks, modern internal surveys, standardized reporting processes and support for SMEs were essential. Smaller businesses, which employ the majority of the UK workforce, often lack the tools and resources to strategically manage health and wellbeing.
Participants also emphasized that responsibility for well-being cannot rest solely with HR or compliance teams. Instead, it must be embedded into the entire leadership, management and organizational culture. Developing leaders based on emotional intelligence and technical competence was seen as key to creating psychologically safe, high-performing workplaces, enabling early intervention and sustained support.
With businesses still feeling the impact of last year’s social security increase and bracing for possible changes to wage sacrifice rules, participants called on the government to consider tax breaks and financial incentives to help employers build and maintain health systems.
Sir Cary Cooper said the UK’s long-standing productivity problem will not improve without addressing the health of the workforce. “If we build systems that enable organizations to measure, track and improve their wellbeing, we will have healthier people, stronger workplaces and much higher productivity across the economy,” he said.
Gethin Nadin argued that employers’ current expectations are unrealistic. “Public health is a core responsibility of government, not an add-on to corporations,” he said. “Expecting employers to shoulder growing portions of the welfare state – without structural support or meaningful financial incentives – is not sustainable.”
Other participants expressed concerns about the increasing financial burden on workers, the impact of taxable health benefits on net income and the acute vulnerability of SMEs. Sandra Dyball warned: “If one person is absent, that could be 25% of the entire workforce.”
The consensus was clear: In view of increasing economic pressure, well-being in the workplace must not be pushed into the background. Employers, unions and government must work together to build a healthier and more resilient labor market – and implement long-standing recommendations that have been left gathering dust for too long.
