YuLife Data Reveals 54% of Employees Work While Unwell as Keep Britain Working Report Launches

As the government backed Keep Britain Working programme publishes its new A National Growth Opportunity report today, new YuLife data shows how widespread health problems are while people are still at work, and how some of the warning signs associated with sickness absence can be identified earlier.

YuLife analysed more than 67 million health responses collected through its Dynamic Health Questionnaire, including 50 million in the past year, from more than 5 million daily health check ins by 70,000 employees. Unlike a one off survey, the data builds over time, with nearly half of all users having at least six months of history.

The analysis found:

• 54% had worked while unwell, in pain or struggling with their mental health in the past month. More than one in four, 28%, had done so several times or most days, rising to 34% among under 35s.
• Employees experiencing severe chronic pain were three times as likely to report taking time off for a health condition, and 2.4 times as likely to regularly work through ill health.
• Of 42,408 people who flagged a stress, sleep, mood, pain or mental health risk since February, 87% received a personalised recommendation within a day and 47% went on to act on one.

At the heart of YuLife is an AI powered health intelligence and engagement layer that learns from ongoing health interactions to become more personalised and useful over time. It adapts questions and recommendations to each individual, helping surface relevant support earlier, while anonymised and aggregated insights give employers a clearer picture of how workforce health is changing and where support may be needed.

Crucially, identifying emerging risks early depends on people engaging consistently. 81% of users have completed at least two health check ins, the median user has completed 11, and nearly half of all users have at least six months of history. That sustained engagement helps build the longitudinal picture needed to identify where support may be needed and act earlier.

The findings come as Keep Britain Working publishes its new A National Growth Opportunity report today, which focuses on preventing avoidable work loss through earlier action and better workplace health intelligence.

YuLife became a Keep Britain Working Vanguard in July and is helping build the evidence around what can keep more people healthy and in work.

“Keeping people healthy and in work requires a much better understanding of workforce health, how it is changing and how organisations compare. Right now, we don’t have that shared intelligence at a national level.

That matters even more as AI changes the pace and nature of work. Businesses are rightly measuring what AI means for productivity. We need to be just as rigorous about understanding how workforce health is changing. At YuLife, we’re already using AI and aggregated, anonymised health insights to understand workforce health trends, benchmark them and give individuals more personalised and relevant support.

As a Keep Britain Working Vanguard, we’re committed to building the evidence for what works and helping create a more preventative approach to workplace health.” said Tal Gilbert, CEO of YuLife.