Marvin OnumonuIll health has overtaken artificial intelligence (AI) as the second biggest threat to UK jobs, according to research commissioned by AXA Health and carried out by Censuswide.
The research found that fears about ill health causing job losses were common across all age groups, with those nearing retirement seeing it as the biggest threat.
Younger workers were also worried, with 33% of those aged 16 to 24 believing they may need to retire early due to health concerns.
A third of 16 to 24-year-olds said their workplace stopped them from leading a healthy lifestyle because of stress, showing health risks at work were both physical and mental.
43% of employees saw “feeling motivated and engaged” as the most important part of being healthy at work.
This was followed by working in a clean, organised environment (41%) and having a psychologically safe workplace (39%).
19% of workers said they were too busy to use health benefits, while 17% said the process was too complicated or inconvenient.
45% of workers spent lunch breaks on their phones, rising to 53% among 35 to 44-year-olds.
Only 9% used this time for exercise.
Among workers aged 55 and over, just 1% used their break for exercise and 18% took no break at all.
Despite these differences, each age group believed they prioritised their health more than others.
Financial pressures were causing retirement ages to rise.
Most employees wanted to stop work between 60 and 64, but expected to work until 65 to 69.
39% had increased their retirement age due to finances.
27% of workers said people over 50 were ‘older workers’, while 31% put the threshold at 60 and above.
When asked the ideal age to be in today’s workplace, the answer was 32, about half the age people expected to still be working.
This has created a situation where workers felt anxious about health affecting their jobs but also felt forced to work longer than they wanted.
Some did not have support systems in place to help them stay healthy over longer careers.
Heather Smith, CEO at AXA Health, said: “These findings should serve as a wake-up call for UK employers.
“When a third of workers see ill health as a major threat to their careers and young people are already worried about early retirement due to health concerns, we need to take action.
“Workers are telling us they need motivation, engagement, and psychologically safe environments to feel healthy at work.”
Smith added: “This needs more than just a blanket benefit structure – it’s about creating the right workplace environment and culture and, of course, choosing the right benefits to support the needs of their workforce.
“Ultimately, we need a shift from reactive healthcare to preventative wellbeing that’s genuinely embedded in business strategy.
“Looking after your health is important at every age. No matter if you are 20, 40 or 60 – it is never too early or too late to make healthy changes so you can keep being active and well in later life.”
She said: “At AXA Health, we’re part of this transformation by supporting businesses with healthcare, caring for the health and wellbeing of our colleagues and sharing our expertise with the Keep Britain Working Review to redesign workplace health.
“Healthcare benefits must be relevant, accessible, and aligned with what employees at every life stage actually need.
“But this isn’t just about benefits packages, it’s about creating workplaces where people can thrive throughout their careers and not just survive until retirement.”
Lyndsey Simpson, founder and CEO at 55/Redefined, said: “There is a paradox about age and work in that the older the employee, the less likely they are to take a day off work sick, versus their younger colleagues.
“This stoic, resilient, always showing up attitude is admirable and benefits employers who typically see their over-50s workers 200% less likely to take a day off work than their under-30s.
“But our insight from our Me/Redefined career platform echoes today’s AXA findings that health (both physical and mental) is the primary concern as we age, and we are not doing enough to support the decades-long careers of today’s employees.”
Simpson added: “Working through to our mid-70s will be the norm for most, and thus to sustain 50+ year careers, we must move from reactive health to preventative health solutions.”
