Keep Britain Working Review Autumn 2025 and How Building an Individual’s Resilience Can Improve Outcomes

In late 2024 a working committee was set up to examine the issues of ill-health and disability in the UK workplace. Here, we take a look at the findings of the Keep Britain Working Review and how they relate to improving employee wellbeing and mental health, as well as building employee resilience in the workplace.

Summary of this article

The Keep Britain Working Review aims to find ways to improve the workplace experience for both employees and employers in relation to sickness, return to work, participation of disabled people, access to support, reduced turnover and increased productivity.

Our global research found a reduction in employee wellbeing globally in 2025/26; a marked increase in sickness absence, in particular mental health issues, stress, anxiety, depression, and burnout; increased presenteeism, turnover and attrition; reduced engagement and productivity, impacting both employee wellbeing and company profits.

Research into the mitigating effect of high psychological resilience on stress, burnout, performance and mental health, consistently shows that interventions to improve employee mental health, wellbeing and resilience have positive outcomes. This is true of both stand-alone resilience interventions or where resilience training is embedded in wellbeing programmes.

Many successful company wellbeing programmes include elements focused on improving employee resilience, and many workplace studies propose focusing on building employee resilience as a key business strategy to tackle the decline in employee wellbeing. There appears to be a positive correlation between the introduction of resilience and stress management into a wellbeing programme and enhanced outcomes.

Our own research using the ResilienceBuilder® Assessment Tool found people with the highest levels of resilience were 9x more likely to be at an optimal level of performance, 3x less likely to be impacted by exhaustion, 7x less likely to be impacted by illness, and 12x less likely to be impacted by burnout than those with the lowest levels of resilience.

Leaders and managers need to be given the right frameworks, tools and training to build their own wellbeing and resilience, and identify wellbeing issues in their people, to support them, and promote a supportive environment and culture where all people are happy and fulfilled at work.

Aim of the 2025 Review

This review sought to uncover the issues around ill-health and disability in the workplace. The aim was to find an approach that would allow more people to stay in work, to recover faster and live more fulfilling lives. Employers would retain experienced staff and see higher productivity.

Why the system is not working

The review found consistent challenges:

• A culture of fear for both employees and employers, especially line managers, which creates distance between people and discourages safe and early disclosure of problems and constructive conversations at a time when help would be most effective.
• Employees fear disclosing health conditions or disabilities, worried by stigma, discrimination or potential damage to career prospects.
• Employers and line managers fear doing the wrong thing and that by raising health issues or disabilities they may cause offence or trigger grievances.
• A lack of an effective or consistent support system for tackling health and the barriers faced by disabled people.

The need for change

This review was carried out against the backdrop of rising mental health issues, particularly amongst younger people. The growth in 16–34 year-olds that are economically inactive due to a mental health condition was 76% between 2019 and 2024. Between January and March 2026, an estimated 1,012,000 young people aged 16 to 24 in the UK were classified as NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) — the first time the figure has exceeded one million since 2013 (Office for National Statistics 2026).

In all, 2.8 million working-age adults are economically inactive due to health issues, a 40% rise since 2019. Only 53% of disabled people are in work and are more likely to be self-employed.

Employers in the UK lose on average £120/day in profit from sickness absence (£85 billion/year), and the cost to replace staff has been estimated at up to nine months’ pay, causing disruption, lost capacity and unplanned costs (Health & Wellbeing at Work, CIPD Sept 2025). Presenteeism is estimated to cost employers the equivalent of 4–9 lost productive days per year per person.

From the employee perspective, a 22-year-old who falls out of work for health reasons could be over £1 million worse off over the course of their working life than if they had been sustained in employment. The human and social costs of not working are poorer health, lost opportunities, stalled careers, and reduced life chances — the impact of not working on mental wellbeing is considered even greater than the loss of a partner (Why Workplace Wellbeing Matters, De Neve & Ward).

What are the challenges facing employers and employees?

The review proposes a shift in responsibility for employee wellbeing — from the individual and the NHS, to a shared responsibility between the employer, employee, and health services, all enabled by Government.

Successful outcomes would include, for employers: the existing burden lifted, risk reduced, resilience improved, and measurable returns on investment generated. For employees: the creation of safer, more inclusive workplaces, with earlier and fairer access to help to ensure they are able to thrive at work.

87% of employers want to do the right thing

The majority of employers (87%) accept they have a responsibility to support employee mental and physical health (DWP Employer Survey 2024, GOV.UK). They are uniquely placed to spot problems early and to act on prevention through learning and development, to support rehabilitation, and to remove barriers for disabled people. They can create safe, inclusive environments where people can thrive.

They already invest billions in health and wellbeing but would benefit from clarity, evidence and data on what works — something Government should take on as part of its role in incentivising employees and employers.

Employees will be encouraged to stay connected to work, which has been shown to support recovery and resilience. Evidence shows that the longer an employee is away from the workplace the harder it is to return. Government research found that after sickness absences of 4–6 weeks, employees had a 96% chance of returning — this reduces to less than 50% after an absence of over a year.

The three major changes proposed by this review

• Establish a Healthy Working Lifecycle: define the practices that drive the best outcomes in reducing sickness absence, improved return-to-work rates and better participation of disabled people.
• Develop better Workplace Health Provision (WHP): build the support employers and employees need to deliver the Healthy Working Lifecycle, in particular ‘stay in work’ and ‘return to work’ plans and faster access to support.
• Drive adoption with high-value data: provide an evidence base to drive incentives, under the remit of the Workplace Health Intelligence Unit (WHIU).

Expected outcome: employers feel confident and empowered to act to support their employees to deliver greater productivity, in an environment where employee support is expected, collaborative and preventative, tailored to their needs so that they can thrive.

Benefits from investing in mental health and wellbeing — the Deloitte study

A recent report from Deloitte (2024), based on 26 studies, reported an average return on investment of £4.70 for every £1 invested (Deloitte, Mental Health and Employers, May 2024). Within those 26 studies, training programmes that educate and upskill employees on mental health — particularly for leaders and managers — generated ROIs of 5.0:1 and were cost-effective and easy to implement, whilst one study that looked at using exercise to promote mental wellbeing reported an ROI of 7.5:1.

Research by ResilienceBuilder® and how it aligns with the Review

Our own research on the state of the workplace aligns with the Review findings. As at December 2025, nearly 1 in 4 adults has a common mental health condition such as anxiety or depression, according to the NHS, and 8.9 million people in England are on antidepressants, up from 6.9 million ten years ago.

Almost all UK professionals recently surveyed acknowledged feeling a sense of fatigue at least once a week, and 45% of Gen Z say they feel overwhelmed by work at least once a week (PwC 2025). Depression and anxiety alone are estimated to cost the global economy US$1 trillion per year in lost productivity (WHO, September 2024).

Sickness absence increasing

There has been a marked increase in sickness absence — UK figures were 7.8 days/employee/year in 2023, rising to 10 days/employee in 2024/25 (up from 5.8 days in 2019; Civil Service 2024/25, CIPD 2019). In the US, workers with fair or poor mental health report nearly 12 days of unplanned absences annually, compared to 2.5 days for those with better mental health, estimated to cost the US economy $47.6 billion annually in lost productivity (Gallup 2022). Mental-health-related leaves of absence, particularly among millennial and Gen X women, continue to rise in the US workplace, up 22% in Q1 2024 versus Q1 2023 (ComPsych Corporation, August 2024).

Stress is at its highest level — 80% of employees worldwide at risk of burnout

During 2023, 91% of UK workers experienced high or extreme levels of stress affecting all generations; 24% of workers felt unable to handle the stress and pressure in their lives, and 20% needed to take time off work due to poor mental health caused by pressure or stress. 49% of respondents said their employer does not have a plan to spot and support people dealing with chronic stress (Burnout Report, Mental Health UK 2024).

74% of US employees experienced at least moderate stress in 2024, and 41% of employees globally experienced ‘a lot of stress’ the previous day (Gallup State of the Global Workplace 2024). Over 80% of employees worldwide were at risk of burnout in 2024 according to the Mercer Global Talent Trends 2024 Report, attributable to factors including excessive workload (37%) and exhaustion (40%).

The impact of high resilience on mental health, stress management and performance

Studies have consistently shown that interventions to improve employee mental health, wellbeing and resilience have positive outcomes — true of both stand-alone resilience interventions and where resilience training is embedded in wellbeing programmes. Research also shows that when the causes of low resilience are first identified and then targeted, resilience training is more effective than a generic ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach.

Stand-alone resilience interventions have been found to be successful in addressing common workplace issues such as stress, anxiety, burnout, attrition, turnover, productivity, relationships and work-life balance — with positive outcomes including increased productivity, job performance and satisfaction, quality of life, motivation, cognitive function and mental wellbeing, and reduced stress, depression, anxiety, burnout, attrition and absenteeism.

Enhanced outcomes when resilience training is embedded in wellbeing programmes

Many successful company wellbeing programmes include elements focused on improving employee resilience. Common employee outcomes include improved mental health, performance, engagement, job satisfaction, resilience, stress management, anxiety and burnout. From the employer’s perspective, outcomes include reduced absenteeism, presenteeism, healthcare costs and turnover, and increased ROI.

Case studies

Our own research on companies offering mental health training that included resilience training found consistent positive outcomes, including increased ROI, employee engagement, productivity, satisfaction and morale, increased retention and faster recovery from illness, as well as reduced absenteeism, reduced healthcare spend, turnover, stress and burnout, and a more positive and supportive work environment. Companies surveyed included PepsiCo, Google, Johnson & Johnson, British Petroleum and British Telecom.

Research using the ResilienceBuilder® Assessment Tool

Data from our own research involving over 1,750 employees using the ResilienceBuilder® Assessment Tool shows people with the highest (‘Strong’) levels of resilience were 9x more likely to be at an optimal level of performance. They were 3x less likely to be impacted by exhaustion, 7x less likely to be impacted by illness, and 12x less likely to be impacted by burnout, compared to those with the lowest (‘Emerging’) levels of resilience.

How are employers responding to the wellbeing crisis?

In 2024, 95% of companies tracking wellbeing programme ROI saw positive returns in both productivity and reduced healthcare costs. Mental health remains the most prevalent wellbeing activity, promoted by 54% of organisations, and 87% of HR leaders stated their wellbeing programme is key to increasing employee resilience in the workplace.

The general trend in anticipated spending on wellbeing programmes was an increase (64%), with the top three areas of focus being mental health (91%), stress management and resilience (77%), and mindfulness and meditation (74%). Increasingly, employers are maximising their wellbeing investment by adopting scientifically informed, data-driven, evidence-based solutions and interventions.

Conclusion

The majority of employers (87%) accept they have a responsibility to support employee mental and physical health. They are uniquely placed to spot problems early and to act on prevention, support rehabilitation, and remove barriers for disabled people — creating psychologically safe, inclusive environments where people can thrive. Whilst some employers are already doing this, the Review considers the current system to be fragmented and unsupportive.

Leaders and managers need to be given the right frameworks, tools and training to build their own wellbeing and resilience, and identify wellbeing issues in their people. A culture of transparency should be encouraged, with policies and workloads aligned to wellbeing behaviours, and managers given visibility and understanding of the metrics and frameworks so they know when and how to intervene on behalf of their team — the earlier issues are addressed, the better the outcome is likely to be.

In 2023, 85% of leaders said they would become more involved in workforce wellbeing over the next two years, and 72% believe their bonuses should be tied to wellbeing metrics. Around 83% of C-suite executives believe setting public wellbeing goals would improve employee wellbeing and attract top talent, though 53% had not made public commitments in 2023 due to fear of failure, reputational damage, lack of Government frameworks, and lack of senior backing. Companies with younger leadership are more likely to have public commitments: 91% of Gen Z/Millennial versus 74% of Gen X/Baby Boomer leaders.

There would appear to be willingness to engage, and it is hoped that this Review and the proposed Government frameworks may address some of the barriers to tackling the issues of ill-health and disability in the UK workplace.

Book a discovery call to find out how the ResilienceBuilder® Assessment can help you build the resilience the Keep Britain Working Review is asking employers to invest in.