The alarming rise in economic inactivity highlighted in your report (UK sleepwalking into joblessness epidemic, Tesco boss warns, 10 February) underlines a public health issue as much as an economic one. It is increasingly clear that millions of working-age people are drifting out of the labour market not through choice but because of long-term health problems and inadequate support systems around them.
Tackling worklessness requires proactive, health-centred approaches that help individuals stay in or return to work. We also know that time out of work is corrosive. Good-quality work improves physical and mental wellbeing, providing income, social connection and purpose, and protects against social exclusion.
Occupational health should form a key part of this support, including early intervention for chronic conditions and stronger partnerships between health services, employers and employment support agencies. Evidence shows that people off sick struggle to find work without dedicated support and without reform to the system, health-related worklessness will continue to grow.
Employers, too, have a role to play by embedding high-quality health support into workplaces and making reasonable adjustments that enable people with health conditions to fully participate. Only by combining health-focused return-to-work initiatives with economic opportunity can we reverse the trend of rising inactivity and help people fulfil their potential.
Nick Pahl
Chief executive, Society of Occupational Medicine
