4 July 2024
by Hassan Akhtar AIMMM

Survey on UK manufacturing wellbeing released

The latest research by manufacturing trade body Make UK shows a shift from a ‘reactive’ model of health and wellbeing to a ‘proactive’ one.

© Unsplash/Homa Appliances

Between £10,000-£50,000 is spent annually by manufacturers on health and wellbeing. This jump in overall spending has gone from a third to more than half in three years.

The survey finds mental ill health is the biggest cause of long-term sickness absence among manufacturing employees.

The repport, A Healthier Manufacturing Workforce – wellbeing and work in UK manufacturing, makes recommendations to industry and policymakers to ensure staff health and wellbeing is met.

These include

  1. Understand and review your organisational culture.
  2. Empowering work-life balance through flexible working
  3. Prioritise wellbeing to drive performance and innovation

Policy recommendations include

  1. Implement expanded tax relief on occupational health services
  2. Continue the partnership between government and industry on improving employer understanding of high-value health and wellbeing interventions
  3. Make statutory sick pay available from the first day of absence with a rebate for SMEs.
  4. Introduce tax relief on accredited leadership and management training

Authors

Hassan Akhtar AIMMM