UK employees feel pressure to work when unwell, survey shows
Few workers disclose health concerns on the job, and public sector workers say pressure from heavy workloads is negatively affecting their health.
Although most UK employees say they feel good about their mental and physical health, more than half feel compelled to work even when they are unwell. Discontent with work is more pronounced amongst public sector workers, many of whom say they are exhausted by "unbearable" workloads, new data finds.
A report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) found that many employees do not feel comfortable discussing health issues with their boss and employer, and 53% of employees report that they have worked in their main job the previous three months despite not feeling well enough to do so, a number up 7 percentage points from a year ago.
According to the report, Health and Wellbeing at Work 2023, there are mixed feelings from respondents on whether their organisations encourage a dialogue around mental health concerns. This report is based on data collected in early 2023 from more than 5,000 UK workers.
"Our findings show that only in cases of an injury due to an accident at work, COVID-19, and heart problems have over half of workers [discussed their health issues with their boss or employer]," the report said. However, public sector workers are more likely to say their organisations encourage them to be open about mental health concerns than private sector workers.
Despite this, public sector workers (28%) are more likely than private sector workers (20%) to feel their physical health is negatively affected by work, the report said. They are also less likely than private sector employees to feel full of energy and enthusiastic and more likely to feel exhausted and under excessive pressure.
"It's important that organisations create an open, supportive culture where employees feel they can come forward," CIPD senior policy adviser Rachel Suff said in a news release.
Nearly one-third (31%) of all employees, and 42% of public-sector employees, say their workload is "too much" or "far too much". Those heavy workloads are causing many employees to neglect their health.
The pressure to work despite not feeling well often comes from within employees themselves, the report said, and 72% say they work when unwell because their "workload is perceived as too great".
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