Presenteeism | The £241bn issue of staff at their desks but too unwell to function

Poor workforce health is estimated to cost the UK economy £241bn a year in lost output, equivalent to around 8% of GDP and £7,000 per worker, according to research from Vitality conducted in partnership with RAND Europe.

The findings, drawn from Vitality’s Global Health Index 2026, suggest the burden falls almost entirely through presenteeism, where employees remain at work but are not functioning at full capacity.