Employment, Productivity and Work

Employment and health have an interconnected relationship, where employment can impact health, and health can impact employment.

Stable and secure work can improve health and wellbeing through regular income, social interaction, and sense of purpose. In comparison, those in poor-quality jobs or unemployment are known to suffer worse healththan those in good quality work. To benefit health and wellbeing, ideally work should be well paid, safe, and supportive, with opportunities for training and development and benefits such as paid sick leave, access to employer pensions, and maternity and paternity leave. Employers should support those with long-term sickness or caring responsibilities to reduce risk of unemployment, and have policies in place to protect employee health for example if work involves manual labour or exposure to excessive levels of work-related stress.  

Many people suffering from poor health leave work due to lack of support from their employer. Increased access to occupational health services and better support from line managers regarding physical and mental health could improve job satisfaction and keep people in employment.

Employees feeling fulfilled and supported at work are likely to be more productive, and less likely to take time off sick and may retire later, which in turn can also benefit society as a whole by positively impacting the health of employees and boosting the economy.

This podcast hosted by Alliance Manchester Business School explores the lessons learnt from Protect, a major UK government study into the transmission of the COVID-19 virus and the wider UK research programme around COVID-19.

Debating the findings of the nationwide study are Professor David Fishwick, Chief Medical Advisor at Health and Safety Executive GB, Sheena Johnson, Professor of Work Psychology and Wellbeing at Alliance Manchester Business School, and Martie Van Tongeren, Professor of Occupational and Environmental Health at The University of Manchester.

Employment, Productivity and Work

Prof Sheena JohnsonProfessor of Work Psychology and Wellbeing

Prof Martie van TongerenProfessor of Occupational & Environmental Health

Case studies

Institutes