Latest news with #InstituteforPublicPolicyResearch
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Mental health sick days soar by 5m in just a year
Britons took an extra 5m sick days for mental health reasons last year after a surge in conditions including stress, anxiety and depression. Staff took a record 20.5m days off because of mental health in 2024, according to the Office for National Statistics, up from 14.8m in 2023. This accounted for 13.7pc of all sick days taken in Britain, the highest proportion since 2019. Jamie O'Halloran, senior research fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Research, said the figures reflect 'the tip of the iceberg' as many employees continue working even when they are unwell. He said: 'We must do more to prevent avoidable ill health and create workplaces that support people with health conditions to get into – and stay in – work. 'The lack of progress on mental health is particularly alarming and must become a greater priority for both public health policy and employer strategy.' Poor mental health appears to be more prevalent in the public sector, where it accounted for 16.4pc of absences last year – compared with 6.7pc in the private sector. There has been a surge in diagnoses of mental health conditions such as anxiety and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Overall ill health is also more problematic in the public sector, where it accounts for an absence rate of 2.9pc compared with 1.8pc for private companies. The latest figures also show that it is not only those in work taking time off because of sickness. The number of people of working age who are economically inactive – neither in work nor looking for a job – because of ill health has surged to 2.8m, up from 2.1m before the Covid pandemic. In total, workers took 149m sick days in 2024, which is down 10pc on the previous year. The number of days taken for minor illnesses dropped by a third to 33m, while workers took 26.5m days for musculoskeletal problems, roughly the same as 2023. The overall sickness rate, which charts absences as a share of all working hours, fell to 2pc. As a result the proportion of sick days is back to its pre-pandemic level. Sam Atwell, at the Health Foundation, a charity, said sick employees must be supported to prevent them from dropping out of work altogether. 'Employers and government alike should be concerned by these findings as extended or repeated episodes of sickness absence can be a warning sign that an employee is at risk of leaving the workforce and becoming economically inactive,' he said. 'Employers have a key role to play in ensuring that workers are provided with adequate sick pay and are actively supported during sickness absence. 'Our analysis shows that the UK statutory sick pay rate is among the least generous across all OECD countries. 'Workers without occupational sick pay are at a greater risk of either working through illness or leaving work altogether.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Mental health sick days soar by 5m in just a year
Britons took an extra 5m sick days for mental health reasons last year after a surge in conditions including stress, anxiety and depression. Staff took a record 20.5m days off because of mental health in 2024, according to the Office for National Statistics, up from 14.8m in 2023. This accounted for 13.7pc of all sick days taken in Britain, the highest proportion since 2019. Jamie O'Halloran, senior research fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Research, said the figures reflect 'the tip of the iceberg' as many employees continue working even when they are unwell. He said: 'We must do more to prevent avoidable ill health and create workplaces that support people with health conditions to get into – and stay in – work. 'The lack of progress on mental health is particularly alarming and must become a greater priority for both public health policy and employer strategy.' Poor mental health appears to be more prevalent in the public sector, where it accounted for 16.4pc of absences last year – compared with 6.7pc in the private sector. There has been a surge in diagnoses of mental health conditions such as anxiety and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Overall ill health is also more problematic in the public sector, where it accounts for an absence rate of 2.9pc compared with 1.8pc for private companies. The latest figures also show that it is not only those in work taking time off because of sickness. The number of people of working age who are economically inactive – neither in work nor looking for a job – because of ill health has surged to 2.8m, up from 2.1m before the Covid pandemic. In total, workers took 149m sick days in 2024, which is down 10pc on the previous year. The number of days taken for minor illnesses dropped by a third to 33m, while workers took 26.5m days for musculoskeletal problems, roughly the same as 2023. The overall sickness rate, which charts absences as a share of all working hours, fell to 2pc. As a result the proportion of sick days is back to its pre-pandemic level. Sam Atwell, at the Health Foundation, a charity, said sick employees must be supported to prevent them from dropping out of work altogether. 'Employers and government alike should be concerned by these findings as extended or repeated episodes of sickness absence can be a warning sign that an employee is at risk of leaving the workforce and becoming economically inactive,' he said. 'Employers have a key role to play in ensuring that workers are provided with adequate sick pay and are actively supported during sickness absence. 'Our analysis shows that the UK statutory sick pay rate is among the least generous across all OECD countries. 'Workers without occupational sick pay are at a greater risk of either working through illness or leaving work altogether.' Sign in to access your portfolio
North Wales Chronicle
6 days ago
- Business
- North Wales Chronicle
‘Young people and black workers at highest risk of workplace surveillance'
Shop floor staff, warehouse workers, delivery drivers, and those working in call centres and from home are all at high risk of having calls recorded, emails analysed and possibly even being monitored by cameras or laptop webcams, a think tank said. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said there is an urgent need for legal reform so workers can have a say over how they are monitored and managed both at work and while working from home, amid a warning rights to privacy could be being breached. Its research suggested those in low-skilled roles – where worker retention may be seen as less critical – and low-autonomy jobs – where there might be lower levels of employee trust – as well as those not in a union are most likely to be subject to monitoring at work. Young workers aged 16 to 29 came out as being at high risk. Black employees were also seen as likely to face surveillance, with high rates of low autonomy and lower-skilled work, although greater levels of union representation. Among workers in the private sector, men were found to be at higher risk of surveillance across all three risk factor measures. The IPPR is calling on the Government to introduce new legislation that gives people 'a genuine voice over how they are monitored at work' through new legal rights to consultation – similar to those with redundancy law – and more transparency requirements, compelling employers to disclose what data is collected, why, and how it will be used. Joseph Evans, IPPR researcher and co-author of the report, said while technology has 'evolved really rapidly', legislation has not kept up with the pace of change 'so at the moment many of these practices are not illegal but what we don't have is a mechanism to control them where surveillance does tip over into potential breaches of privacy or freedom of expression and association in the workplace'. He said surveillance can have 'quite negative impacts on people in terms of their health and stress and anxiety'. Artificial intelligence (AI) is has transformed surveillance, he added, giving employers an even greater insight into their employees. He said: 'Surveillance and algorithmic management are very linked. Often surveillance packages are single software packages which both collect data and then use it to make recommendations to employers, and algorithmic management itself is being innovated and rapidly transformed by AI which can create much more sophisticated insights.' Increasing levels of surveillance of certain workers could 'deepen the inequalities already baked into the labour market', said Mr Evans, noting that black workers are more likely to be in jobs with a higher risk of 'intrusive surveillance'. He added that productivity could also be affected. 'If surveillance has a chilling effect on people's willingness to express themselves in the workplace, that may also decrease their satisfaction at work,' he said. 'As part of their wider changes to employment rights, through the Employment Rights Bill, there should be substantive new rights to negotiate and consult over surveillance. And specifically adapting pieces of legislation like the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act to provide the new mechanism for workers to be able to negotiate over surveillance. 'Implicit in the right to negotiate is that it would give workers the right to challenge if they felt it (surveillance) was excessive or unfair.' The IPPR analysed data from the 2023 Institute for Social and Economic Research's UK Household Longitudinal Survey to produce its findings. A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said: 'Our plan to Make Work Pay aims to ensure workers' rights keep pace with technological change so that workers' voices are at the heart of Britain's digital transition. 'This includes safeguarding against invasion of privacy and discrimination by algorithms.'
Rhyl Journal
6 days ago
- Business
- Rhyl Journal
‘Young people and black workers at highest risk of workplace surveillance'
Shop floor staff, warehouse workers, delivery drivers, and those working in call centres and from home are all at high risk of having calls recorded, emails analysed and possibly even being monitored by cameras or laptop webcams, a think tank said. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said there is an urgent need for legal reform so workers can have a say over how they are monitored and managed both at work and while working from home, amid a warning rights to privacy could be being breached. Its research suggested those in low-skilled roles – where worker retention may be seen as less critical – and low-autonomy jobs – where there might be lower levels of employee trust – as well as those not in a union are most likely to be subject to monitoring at work. Young workers aged 16 to 29 came out as being at high risk. Black employees were also seen as likely to face surveillance, with high rates of low autonomy and lower-skilled work, although greater levels of union representation. Among workers in the private sector, men were found to be at higher risk of surveillance across all three risk factor measures. The IPPR is calling on the Government to introduce new legislation that gives people 'a genuine voice over how they are monitored at work' through new legal rights to consultation – similar to those with redundancy law – and more transparency requirements, compelling employers to disclose what data is collected, why, and how it will be used. Joseph Evans, IPPR researcher and co-author of the report, said while technology has 'evolved really rapidly', legislation has not kept up with the pace of change 'so at the moment many of these practices are not illegal but what we don't have is a mechanism to control them where surveillance does tip over into potential breaches of privacy or freedom of expression and association in the workplace'. He said surveillance can have 'quite negative impacts on people in terms of their health and stress and anxiety'. Artificial intelligence (AI) is has transformed surveillance, he added, giving employers an even greater insight into their employees. He said: 'Surveillance and algorithmic management are very linked. Often surveillance packages are single software packages which both collect data and then use it to make recommendations to employers, and algorithmic management itself is being innovated and rapidly transformed by AI which can create much more sophisticated insights.' Increasing levels of surveillance of certain workers could 'deepen the inequalities already baked into the labour market', said Mr Evans, noting that black workers are more likely to be in jobs with a higher risk of 'intrusive surveillance'. He added that productivity could also be affected. 'If surveillance has a chilling effect on people's willingness to express themselves in the workplace, that may also decrease their satisfaction at work,' he said. 'As part of their wider changes to employment rights, through the Employment Rights Bill, there should be substantive new rights to negotiate and consult over surveillance. And specifically adapting pieces of legislation like the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act to provide the new mechanism for workers to be able to negotiate over surveillance. 'Implicit in the right to negotiate is that it would give workers the right to challenge if they felt it (surveillance) was excessive or unfair.' The IPPR analysed data from the 2023 Institute for Social and Economic Research's UK Household Longitudinal Survey to produce its findings. A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said: 'Our plan to Make Work Pay aims to ensure workers' rights keep pace with technological change so that workers' voices are at the heart of Britain's digital transition. 'This includes safeguarding against invasion of privacy and discrimination by algorithms.'
South Wales Argus
6 days ago
- Business
- South Wales Argus
‘Young people and black workers at highest risk of workplace surveillance'
Shop floor staff, warehouse workers, delivery drivers, and those working in call centres and from home are all at high risk of having calls recorded, emails analysed and possibly even being monitored by cameras or laptop webcams, a think tank said. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said there is an urgent need for legal reform so workers can have a say over how they are monitored and managed both at work and while working from home, amid a warning rights to privacy could be being breached. Its research suggested those in low-skilled roles – where worker retention may be seen as less critical – and low-autonomy jobs – where there might be lower levels of employee trust – as well as those not in a union are most likely to be subject to monitoring at work. Young workers aged 16 to 29 came out as being at high risk. Black employees were also seen as likely to face surveillance, with high rates of low autonomy and lower-skilled work, although greater levels of union representation. Among workers in the private sector, men were found to be at higher risk of surveillance across all three risk factor measures. The IPPR is calling on the Government to introduce new legislation that gives people 'a genuine voice over how they are monitored at work' through new legal rights to consultation – similar to those with redundancy law – and more transparency requirements, compelling employers to disclose what data is collected, why, and how it will be used. Joseph Evans, IPPR researcher and co-author of the report, said while technology has 'evolved really rapidly', legislation has not kept up with the pace of change 'so at the moment many of these practices are not illegal but what we don't have is a mechanism to control them where surveillance does tip over into potential breaches of privacy or freedom of expression and association in the workplace'. He said surveillance can have 'quite negative impacts on people in terms of their health and stress and anxiety'. Artificial intelligence (AI) is has transformed surveillance, he added, giving employers an even greater insight into their employees. He said: 'Surveillance and algorithmic management are very linked. Often surveillance packages are single software packages which both collect data and then use it to make recommendations to employers, and algorithmic management itself is being innovated and rapidly transformed by AI which can create much more sophisticated insights.' Increasing levels of surveillance of certain workers could 'deepen the inequalities already baked into the labour market', said Mr Evans, noting that black workers are more likely to be in jobs with a higher risk of 'intrusive surveillance'. He added that productivity could also be affected. 'If surveillance has a chilling effect on people's willingness to express themselves in the workplace, that may also decrease their satisfaction at work,' he said. 'As part of their wider changes to employment rights, through the Employment Rights Bill, there should be substantive new rights to negotiate and consult over surveillance. And specifically adapting pieces of legislation like the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act to provide the new mechanism for workers to be able to negotiate over surveillance. 'Implicit in the right to negotiate is that it would give workers the right to challenge if they felt it (surveillance) was excessive or unfair.' The IPPR analysed data from the 2023 Institute for Social and Economic Research's UK Household Longitudinal Survey to produce its findings. A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said: 'Our plan to Make Work Pay aims to ensure workers' rights keep pace with technological change so that workers' voices are at the heart of Britain's digital transition. 'This includes safeguarding against invasion of privacy and discrimination by algorithms.'
