We have been reviewing the 2025 CIPD Health and wellbeing at work survey report. The findings show how organisational culture, people practices and inclusion are shaping workforce health, with rising sickness absence, persistent mental health challenges and uneven access to support.
Rising absence and the central role of mental health
The average level of sickness absence has reached a record 9.4 days per employee, compared with 7.8 in 2023. While minor illness remains the leading cause of short term absence, mental ill health is the second most common short term cause and the leading driver of long term absence. Stress continues to feature heavily, often linked to workload, personal health issues and the wider pressures many employees face. Public sector and large organisations report the highest levels.
Although two thirds of organisations are taking steps to reduce stress, only half feel confident their approach is effective. Flexible working, employee assistance programmes and staff surveys are commonly used, yet root causes such as job design, workloads and variable management capability still require attention. Senior leaders are showing stronger commitment to wellbeing and manager confidence is rising, but fewer than one third of organisations train managers in mental health, even though those that do report significantly better outcomes.
A more strategic approach to wellbeing and the importance of equity
It is encouraging that more organisations now have a standalone wellbeing strategy, increasing to 57 per cent in 2025. These strategies increasingly span mental health, values, personal growth, financial wellbeing and good work. Support for life stage challenges is also growing, particularly caring responsibilities, bereavement, chronic conditions and neurodiversity.
At the same time, the report highlights areas that remain under addressed, including sleep hygiene and gambling harm. Only a small proportion of organisations identify mental health risks among remote workers, despite many reporting rising concerns in homeworker populations. The report also reinforces the need for equitable access to healthcare support, especially for employees with lower incomes or pre existing conditions who often face more barriers.
Across the findings, the importance of fairness, trust and psychological safety is clear. When employees feel able to disclose challenges and access timely support, organisations benefit from stronger engagement and healthier attendance patterns. Investing in inclusive leadership capability and designing work that supports health helps create the conditions in which people can thrive. The evidence strongly reinforces the link between inclusion and wellbeing, showing that inclusive cultures reduce many of the risks highlighted in the report.
You can read the original article here.
Q&A: Inclusion, Wellbeing and Organisational Performance
Q: Why are sickness absence levels rising across UK organisations?
A: The latest CIPD data shows record levels of long term and short term absence, driven largely by mental ill health, stress and chronic conditions. Many of these issues are linked to workload, role design and the wider pressures employees face. Organisations with strong inclusive cultures tend to experience lower absence because employees feel safer to raise concerns early and seek support when needed.
Q: How does inclusive leadership support better wellbeing outcomes?
A: Inclusive leadership strengthens trust, psychological safety and fairness. These conditions make it more likely that people will disclose health challenges, ask for adjustments and access specialist support sooner. Early intervention helps reduce the length and frequency of absence and improves long term health outcomes.
Q: What role do managers play in reducing stress and improving mental health?
A: Managers are often the first to notice changes in behaviour or performance. When they are trained to have supportive conversations, spot early indicators of poor wellbeing and provide clear signposting, organisations see better outcomes. The report shows that organisations that train managers in mental health support consistently perform better on confidence, capability and wellbeing indicators.
Q: How can organisations create more equitable access to health and wellbeing support?
A: Equity requires understanding the barriers faced by different employee groups. Employees with lower incomes, caring responsibilities or pre-existing conditions often struggle most. Organisations can improve equity by offering accessible healthcare benefits, removing referral barriers, ensuring remote access to support and designing policies that recognise diverse life circumstances.
Q: How does inclusion reduce the risks identified in the CIPD report?
A: Many of the risks—high workload stress, low disclosure, inconsistent support—are made worse in cultures where people do not feel heard or valued. Inclusive cultures encourage voice, fairness and supportive decision-making. This reduces hidden health challenges, improves early intervention and creates conditions where employees stay engaged and well.
Q: What practical first steps can organisations take?
A: Three high-impact actions are:
• training managers in mental health and inclusive leadership
• reviewing role design and workload to reduce preventable stress
• ensuring health benefits and support pathways are accessible to all employees, including remote workers and those with pre-existing conditions
These steps create immediate improvements while laying strong foundations for long term cultural change.
