How Many People Get Ill Because of Their Job?

The scale of occupational ill health in Britain is enormous and growing. In 2022/23, an estimated 1.8 million workers reported suffering from a work-related illness — up 25% from 1.44 million in 2018/19.^[1] The dominant cause is no longer the industrial diseases of the twentieth century. Stress, depression and anxiety now account for approximately 900,000 cases annually, overtaking musculoskeletal disorders as the leading cause in 2017 and accelerating sharply during the pandemic.^[1] Health and social care workers, teachers and public sector employees face the highest rates. These are not minor ailments: the average case of work-related stress results in 19.6 days off work, and many cases become chronic, pushing people out of the labour market entirely.^[1]

The economic cost is staggering. HSE economists estimate that workplace illness and injury cost Britain £20.7 billion in 2021/22 — equivalent to roughly 1% of GDP.^[2] This figure captures lost output, healthcare costs and the human cost of reduced quality of life. The largest component is the 35.2 million working days lost each year, a figure that peaked at 38.8 million in 2019/20 as the pandemic tore through frontline workforces.^[1] Days lost to stress alone account for over half the total. Meanwhile, physical workplace risks have not disappeared. An average of 135 workers are killed at work each year in Great Britain, with construction and agriculture consistently the most dangerous sectors.^[3] Non-fatal injuries resulted in a further 561,000 cases in 2022/23.^[1]

Policy responses remain fragmented. The Health and Safety Executive's budget was cut by 50% in real terms between 2010 and 2020, reducing proactive inspections to a fraction of their former level.^[4] The 2017 “Thriving at Work” review recommended mental health core standards for all employers, but adoption is voluntary and patchy.^[5]Occupational health provision — workplace doctors and nurses who can intervene early — covers fewer than half of UK workers, with almost no coverage in small businesses and the gig economy. The government's 2023 consultation on an occupational health taskforce signalled renewed interest, but structural reform has yet to materialise. Without it, the gap between the scale of the problem and the capacity to address it will continue to widen.