A report from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) shows that Britain could lose £8 billion ($10 billion) due to the decrease in workforce size.
The report was published to mark the launch of the IPPR’s two-year Commission on Health and Prosperity. The research showed that the UK’s current policies are having a direct negative impact on workforce participation, and that it may only get worse if action is not taken.
Long Covid, disruptions from the National Health Service, and increasing mental illness have led nearly 400,000 professionals to disappear from the workforce since the beginning of the pandemic.
According to the IPPR, there is a direct correlation between the health of workers and the economy. Not only does poor health led professionals to miss their work days, but it also contributes to decreased productivity, engagement, and growing inequality.
In economically disadvantaged regions of the UK, such as Blackpool, residents began experiencing poor health in their late 50s, which is five years earlier than the national average and 12 years earlier than the healthiest region, Wokingham.
“A fairer country is a healthier one, and a healthier country is a more prosperous one,” said Dame Sally Davies, England’s former chief medical officer and co-chair of the IPPR’s Commission on Health and Prosperity “While the restrictions have eased, the scars of the pandemic still remain deep on the nation’s health and our economy.”
