The North East of England has the UK’s least healthy workforce, with 31% at risk of developing health problems, according to research by VitalityHealth.
Its Britain’s healthiest company report, which surveyed 23,376 employees across 82 UK organisations, also found that London had the healthiest employees, with less than a quarter (24%) of respondents at risk from a health issue.
The research also found:
- London had the lowest number of respondents at risk from nutrition-related illnesses (48%), compared to 60% in Northern Ireland.
- London also had the least number of respondents at risk from body mass index (BMI)-related issues (12%), compared to 28% in the North East.
- 45% of respondents in the North East do not do enough physical activity, 6% show symptoms of depression, 26% consume too much alcohol, and 29% have elevated blood pressure.
- The North East also had the highest proportion of employees with four or more risk factors that may affect their health (22%).
- Welsh respondents were the most likely in the UK to be current or past smokers (45%). They were also the least likely to have had a health screen in the past year, with 88% not having done so.
- Just 3% of respondents in Scotland were at risk of a mental health problem, compared to 6% in the North East.
Greg Levine, director of corporate healthcare at VitalityHealth, said: “Health and wellbeing is playing an increasingly important role in how businesses maximise the productivity and happiness of their workforces.
“Clearly, there are some areas across the UK where businesses need to do more, but if [employers] are able to develop a culture in which wellness programmes are integrated into day-to-day life, the benefits for both employees and the organisation itself will be quickly realised as productivity is improved and the cost of absenteeism is reduced.”