Long-term sickness is driving more women and young men especially out of the workforce, SOM, the Society of Occupational Medicine, has warned.
In a new report looking at the impact of ill health on the UK’s working population, SOM has highlighted that, of the 41.6 million people in the UK of working age (or aged between 16 and 64), 2.5 million people (or one in 16 are inactive because of long-term sickness.
The report, Understanding Recent Trends in Ill-Health Driven Fallout from the UK Job Market, has concluded that long-term sickness in women across all age groups has been rising since 2014, with women becoming economically inactive at a higher rate than men.
There has also been an increase in economic inactivity in young men, those aged 16 to 24, with sharp increases in mental health issues.
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Occupations with a low ability to work from home are more likely to see people leave the workforce because of long-term sickness.
The well-documented pressures in health and social care delivery since the pandemic, including the impact of Covid-19 itself, have led to backlogs for treatment and worsening health outcomes.
All this is not helped by the fact the UK has an ageing population, high rates of excess weight, and alcohol consumption and a legacy of smoking, resulting in long-term physical and mental health problems.
The report has been published to follow Occupational Health Awareness Week, which ran from 18 to 24 September.
More than 11 million people are now living with long-term conditions that can affect their ability to work, the report has calculated.
Of the four million living with mental health conditions only two million are employed. Nearly 60% of people who are economically inactive and left work in the last two to three years have a work-limiting health condition.
Occupation, gender, and disability all affect getting back to work, with access to occupational health provision being a key solution to overcoming these barriers, SOM has argued.
The society is calling for the UK to have comprehensive OH coverage, rather than just half the working-age population as things stand at the moment.
SOM chief executive Nick Pahl said: “The historically high number of people off work long-term sick remains an immediate and pressing concern for the government. Without investment in occupational health, these figures will continue to get worse.
“This report helps us better understand the patterns and causes of ill health-driven fallout from the UK job market. We need to understand what the catalysts are, the drivers of fallout, and what factors contribute to preventing people returning to work,” he added.
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