New OHE research finds productivity losses from respiratory infections cost UK businesses £44 billion per year

• Productivity losses from respiratory infections cost UK businesses £44 billion per year, or £852 per employee.
• Presenteeism (working but with lower productivity) due to respiratory infections costs businesses more than absenteeism, making up about 55% of the total costs.
• The burden of respiratory infections is disproportionately higher for women and varies across business sectors.

The UK’s trailing productivity growth rate relative to other G7 economies has prompted policymakers to give a lot of attention to long-term sickness – in reality however, 80% of absences are due to short-term illnesses like respiratory infections which have attracted little political attention.

In particular, due to the high prevalence of respiratory infections -- concentrated over the winter months -- they have a direct and considerable impact on both the NHS as well as businesses and the economy at large.

A new report by the Office of Health Economics, funded and commissioned by Pfizer, finds that short-term respiratory infections are an underestimated drain on employees, businesses, and the economy. In particular, presenteeism (working while ill) causes significant productivity losses.

The report draws on a survey of 2,910 adults from a UK panel by YouGov plc between 11th and 24th October 2023. It finds that:

• Productivity losses from respiratory infections cost UK businesses £44 billion per year, or £852 per employee.
• Presenteeism (working but with lower productivity) due to respiratory infections costs businesses more than absenteeism, making up about 55% of the total costs.
• The study highlights disproportionately higher days impacted by respiratory infection for women compared to men.
• Some industries report higher impact than others – people working in public administration and defence were among those that reported the highest average duration of both absenteeism and presenteeism due to respiratory infections.
• On average, employees are impacted by respiratory infections for just over an entire working week every year, with around 1 day taken as absence and the remainder as presenteeism days, during which employee productivity drops by 32%.
• Employees reported that key areas of work impacted during a presenteeism day related to error rate and quality (29%), creativity (29%), decision making (27%) and communication (26%).
• Investments in prevention, including vaccines, hygiene, and social distancing, could yield big returns for businesses. With many working adults excluded from NHS-provided respiratory vaccines, employer-led vaccination programs could bridge the gap and drive productivity gains.

Amanda Cole, Associate Director at OHE and co-author of the report said

“Much has rightfully been said about the effects of long-term ill-health on the workforce and the economy. However, the impact of short-term illnesses on economic productivity has received less attention.

Our research shows that respiratory infections hit harder than you would think. Short-term respiratory infections incur a substantive cost for employers and,  in fact, employees working while ill causes more productivity loss than absence. We also know that these losses are disproportionately borne by women.

The policy recommendations in the report – and, in particular, the emphasis on prevention, especially through workplace vaccination schemes – offer a solution both to improve overall employee health, but also to address health inequity within the workforce.”

The full report is available online at: Employer Costs from Respiratory Infections - OHE