The challenge
Understand the health pressures affecting your workforce
The health of your workforce is a business issue.
Employee health affects far more than absence. It can influence energy, concentration, confidence, performance, engagement and whether experienced people remain in work.
In 2025, an estimated 148.8 million working days were lost to sickness or injury in the UK, equivalent to 4.4 days per worker.
At the same time, employers are operating within a changing health landscape. People are working for longer, the population is living with increasingly complex health needs, and access to treatment can be delayed.
By the end of December 2025, the NHS elective waiting list stood at 7.29 million cases. The State Pension age is also scheduled to rise from 66 to 67 between 2026 and 2028.
The pressures facing employers
Sickness absence
Ill health can remove people from work completely, but recorded absence only reveals part of the challenge.
Employees may also remain at work while experiencing fatigue, stress, poor sleep, health concerns or reduced concentration. This can affect their ability to perform at their best even when they are technically present.
Mental health
Poor mental health is estimated to cost UK employers £51 billion each year. Deloitte estimates that approximately £24 billion of this cost is associated with presenteeism - employees continuing to work while experiencing poor mental health.
The CIPD’s 2025 workplace health report found that employees were absent for an average of 9.4 days per year, the highest level recorded by its survey in more than 15 years.
Weight and metabolic health
In England, 64.5% of adults were living with overweight or obesity in 2023–24, including 26.5% living with obesity.
Weight and metabolic health are complex issues. Effective support should be respectful, evidence-informed and focused on health, habits and individual circumstances rather than stigma or short-term transformation programmes.
Menopause and women’s health
The CIPD found that 17% of employees who had experienced menopause symptoms had considered leaving work because of inadequate support, while 6% had left employment.
Menopause can affect sleep, energy, concentration, confidence and wellbeing. Employers therefore need practical and inclusive ways to support experienced employees through this stage of life.
An ageing workforce
As people remain in employment for longer, organisations need to consider how they will support employees through changing health needs and different life stages.
This is not only a wellbeing consideration. It is also connected to workforce resilience, retention, skills and business continuity.
Awareness is not always enough
Many workplace wellbeing programmes provide valuable information through webinars, apps, gym memberships and one-off events.
However, information alone does not guarantee that people can turn knowledge into consistent action.
The evidence surrounding workplace wellbeing interventions is mixed. Reviews suggest that programme design, relevance, participation, organisational support and implementation all influence whether an intervention produces meaningful results.
NUVAVEN bridges the gap between education and action by providing structured, personalised and ongoing support.
You cannot address what you do not understand.
The first step is to identify the health pressures affecting your particular workforce rather than assuming that every employee or organisation needs the same solution.
Sources:
Office for National Statistics — Sickness absence in the UK labour market: 2025
NHS England — Waiting list reaches its lowest level in three years
GOV.UK — State Pension age review
Deloitte — Poor mental health costs UK employers £51 billion a year
CIPD — Health and wellbeing at work 2025
GOV.UK — Obesity Profile: May 2025 update
CIPD — Menopause in the workplace
BMC Public Health — Workplace health promotion interventions: scoping review
The challenge
Understand the health pressures affecting your workforce
The health of your workforce is a business issue.
Employee health affects far more than absence. It can influence energy, concentration, confidence, performance, engagement and whether experienced people remain in work.
In 2025, an estimated 148.8 million working days were lost to sickness or injury in the UK, equivalent to 4.4 days per worker.
At the same time, employers are operating within a changing health landscape. People are working for longer, the population is living with increasingly complex health needs, and access to treatment can be delayed.
By the end of December 2025, the NHS elective waiting list stood at 7.29 million cases. The State Pension age is also scheduled to rise from 66 to 67 between 2026 and 2028.
The pressures facing employers
Sickness absence
Ill health can remove people from work completely, but recorded absence only reveals part of the challenge.
Employees may also remain at work while experiencing fatigue, stress, poor sleep, health concerns or reduced concentration. This can affect their ability to perform at their best even when they are technically present.
Mental health
Poor mental health is estimated to cost UK employers £51 billion each year. Deloitte estimates that approximately £24 billion of this cost is associated with presenteeism - employees continuing to work while experiencing poor mental health.
The CIPD’s 2025 workplace health report found that employees were absent for an average of 9.4 days per year, the highest level recorded by its survey in more than 15 years.
Weight and metabolic health
In England, 64.5% of adults were living with overweight or obesity in 2023–24, including 26.5% living with obesity.
Weight and metabolic health are complex issues. Effective support should be respectful, evidence-informed and focused on health, habits and individual circumstances rather than stigma or short-term transformation programmes.
Menopause and women’s health
The CIPD found that 17% of employees who had experienced menopause symptoms had considered leaving work because of inadequate support, while 6% had left employment.
Menopause can affect sleep, energy, concentration, confidence and wellbeing. Employers therefore need practical and inclusive ways to support experienced employees through this stage of life.
An ageing workforce
As people remain in employment for longer, organisations need to consider how they will support employees through changing health needs and different life stages.
This is not only a wellbeing consideration. It is also connected to workforce resilience, retention, skills and business continuity.
Awareness is not always enough
Many workplace wellbeing programmes provide valuable information through webinars, apps, gym memberships and one-off events.
However, information alone does not guarantee that people can turn knowledge into consistent action.
The evidence surrounding workplace wellbeing interventions is mixed. Reviews suggest that programme design, relevance, participation, organisational support and implementation all influence whether an intervention produces meaningful results.
NUVAVEN bridges the gap between education and action by providing structured, personalised and ongoing support.
You cannot address what you do not understand.
The first step is to identify the health pressures affecting your particular workforce rather than assuming that every employee or organisation needs the same solution.
Sources:
Office for National Statistics — Sickness absence in the UK labour market: 2025
NHS England — Waiting list reaches its lowest level in three years
GOV.UK — State Pension age review
Deloitte — Poor mental health costs UK employers £51 billion a year
CIPD — Health and wellbeing at work 2025
GOV.UK — Obesity Profile: May 2025 update
CIPD — Menopause in the workplace
BMC Public Health — Workplace health promotion interventions: scoping review
The challenge
Understand the health pressures affecting your workforce
The health of your workforce is a business issue.
Employee health affects far more than absence. It can influence energy, concentration, confidence, performance, engagement and whether experienced people remain in work.
In 2025, an estimated 148.8 million working days were lost to sickness or injury in the UK, equivalent to 4.4 days per worker.
At the same time, employers are operating within a changing health landscape. People are working for longer, the population is living with increasingly complex health needs, and access to treatment can be delayed.
By the end of December 2025, the NHS elective waiting list stood at 7.29 million cases. The State Pension age is also scheduled to rise from 66 to 67 between 2026 and 2028.
The pressures facing employers
Sickness absence
Ill health can remove people from work completely, but recorded absence only reveals part of the challenge.
Employees may also remain at work while experiencing fatigue, stress, poor sleep, health concerns or reduced concentration. This can affect their ability to perform at their best even when they are technically present.
Mental health
Poor mental health is estimated to cost UK employers £51 billion each year. Deloitte estimates that approximately £24 billion of this cost is associated with presenteeism - employees continuing to work while experiencing poor mental health.
The CIPD’s 2025 workplace health report found that employees were absent for an average of 9.4 days per year, the highest level recorded by its survey in more than 15 years.
Weight and metabolic health
In England, 64.5% of adults were living with overweight or obesity in 2023–24, including 26.5% living with obesity.
Weight and metabolic health are complex issues. Effective support should be respectful, evidence-informed and focused on health, habits and individual circumstances rather than stigma or short-term transformation programmes.
Menopause and women’s health
The CIPD found that 17% of employees who had experienced menopause symptoms had considered leaving work because of inadequate support, while 6% had left employment.
Menopause can affect sleep, energy, concentration, confidence and wellbeing. Employers therefore need practical and inclusive ways to support experienced employees through this stage of life.
An ageing workforce
As people remain in employment for longer, organisations need to consider how they will support employees through changing health needs and different life stages.
This is not only a wellbeing consideration. It is also connected to workforce resilience, retention, skills and business continuity.
Awareness is not always enough
Many workplace wellbeing programmes provide valuable information through webinars, apps, gym memberships and one-off events.
However, information alone does not guarantee that people can turn knowledge into consistent action.
The evidence surrounding workplace wellbeing interventions is mixed. Reviews suggest that programme design, relevance, participation, organisational support and implementation all influence whether an intervention produces meaningful results.
NUVAVEN bridges the gap between education and action by providing structured, personalised and ongoing support.
You cannot address what you do not understand.
The first step is to identify the health pressures affecting your particular workforce rather than assuming that every employee or organisation needs the same solution.
Sources:
Office for National Statistics — Sickness absence in the UK labour market: 2025
NHS England — Waiting list reaches its lowest level in three years
GOV.UK — State Pension age review
Deloitte — Poor mental health costs UK employers £51 billion a year
CIPD — Health and wellbeing at work 2025
GOV.UK — Obesity Profile: May 2025 update
CIPD — Menopause in the workplace
BMC Public Health — Workplace health promotion interventions: scoping review