Although being in work generally leads to better health, not all workplaces are healthy.  Poor health and safety management increases the risk of occupational diseases and injury.

• Between 2% and 10 % of your annual salary bill is likely to be going on sickness absence.
• Musculoskeletal problems and stress related conditions are now the most common reasons for absence from work.
• An estimated 34 million working days are lost in England and Wales due to smoking-related illness.
• Physical inactivity has major health consequences including obesity, coronary heart disease and cancer.
• Alcohol misuse among employees in England costs up to £6.4 billion a year in lost productivity through increased absenteeism, unemployment and premature death.
• The costs of making reasonable adjustments to keep an employee who develops a health condition or disability will certainly be less than recruiting and training a new staff member.

The longer someone is signed off, the less likely they are to return to work.  For example, only half of back pain sufferers off work for six months will return to work.   For people with mental health problems, the biggest obstacle to returning to work is often fear of discrimination by their employers.

You can change all this.  You can have a measurable impact on reducing heart conditions, reducing smoking, and reducing sickness absence. You can have a healthy, energised and motivated team.