Fit and healthy workers are as much as 20 per cent more productive than
their ill or unhealthy colleagues, a new study claims.
The first UK-based investigation of workers’ health and their performance
seems to confirm fears that ill health and productivity are linked.
The research shows the productivity gap between ‘poor’ and ‘good’ health is
around seven hours, which is equivalent to losing a full working day every
week.
The findings concur with previous studies in the US suggesting that health
and well-being have a major impact on workers’ productivity output.
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The survey, by consultancy Vielife and the Institute for Health and
Productivity, found the gap is most marked between the top and bottom quartiles
of the 2,000-strong sample.
Clive Pinder, who analysed the research at Vielife, said: "The link
between health and productivity is something employers have believed intuitively
for some time. Poor health increases absence in the short-term and the
substantial costs of ill-health in the long-term."
