For employers, the ambition to sustain a healthy, happy workforce is increasingly acknowledged as a strategic business priority.
Further to the cultural benefits associated with enhanced morale, companies today understand that employee wellbeing is a critical driver of productivity and performance. Not only that, but there is also growing recognition that such efforts often exist outside of a nine-to-five pattern, with many leaders extending their support for the mental and physical health of employees beyond the workplace.
This shift has not gone unnoticed by the workforce, with almost three-quarters (74%) in 2025 saying they believe senior leaders prioritise employee wellbeing – a rise of 21% since 2020.
But turning a business priority into a practical plan is not a straightforward task. HR teams must develop policies and identify benefits that balance support for ongoing health-related demands while adapting to changing expectations and emerging wellbeing needs.
Here, we reflect on some of the known drivers of wellbeing policy and some of the newer behaviours that are likely to influence that balance and shape the healthcare benefits landscape in 2026.
Established issues
Unsurprisingly, the NHS continues to loom large over healthcare conversations. While there is evidence of pandemic-induced pressures easing – in the year to July 2025, the total NHS waiting list decreased by 220,000 from 7.62 million to 7.40 million – swift access to treatment remains a concern for many employees.
This continues to drive many to private healthcare providers, ensuring private medical insurance remains an employee benefit in high demand.
Another trend that shows little sign of changing in 2026 is the elevated levels of workplace absence due to ill health. Again, official figures point to pressures easing in this area, with a year-on-year decrease in sickness absence from 2.3% to around 2.0% recorded in 2024.
However, that still equates to almost 149 million working days being lost to sickness or injury. And the CIPD’s 2025 Health and Wellbeing at Work Report suggests that, on average, UK employees were off sick for nearly two full working weeks (9.4 days).
Long-term health conditions are a major contributing factor to these statistics. Indeed, the government’s Keep Britain Working review found that around 8.7 million people are living with a work-limiting condition.
Digging deeper, there are two conditions that are cited as the main causes of long-term absence: mental ill health (such as depression or anxiety) and musculoskeletal injuries (such as back pain). And even with government promises to tackle workplace ill health, labelled “one of the biggest brakes on growth and opportunity”, it is likely that these issues will persist into 2026.
But these are not the only issues employers are having to contend with as the New Year unfolds. Newer and perhaps less expected behaviours are also beginning to influence the wider landscape of workforce wellbeing.
Digital presenteeism
Turning up for work when unwell might, on the surface, seem to indicate an employee’s dedication and loyalty. But presenteeism can, of course, be harmful to health. By failing to prioritise short-term recovery, staff risk more significant long-term damage, such as burnout.
And the prevalence of remote and hybrid working models have made it far easier for ill workers to suffer in silence behind their computer screen. This digital presenteeism has become more problematic among a cohort of workers who are already at risk from digital fatigue through intensive screen use and the pressure to be ‘always on’, placing the onus on employers to be aware of the risks.
Another potentially hidden risk to productivity and personal wellbeing is the menopause. Awareness and understanding of this issue have increased in workplaces in recent years as conversations have risen closer to the surface of corporate discourse.
This has, on the one hand, had the effect of emphasising the importance of providing menopause support and symptom-aware policies to support female workers. On the other, it has underlined the potential for shortcomings in this area to translate to a retention risk among affected staff.
Another potentially sensitive health issue is becoming an increasing feature of workplace conversations: weight-loss drugs. Known collectively as GLP-1s, these treatments have boomed in recent years, with an estimated 1.5 million people now taking them, and the vast majority (95%) of those gaining access through self-funded private prescriptions.
Reports also suggest that employers are beginning to encompass these treatments within the scope of benefits packages.
Navigating new territory
But while they are framed as ‘wonder drugs’, GLP-1s are not something to be considered in isolation. For the individuals taking them, there will also be a requirement to manage possible side effects and associated changes in nutrition as well as the need to access approved clinical pathways for ongoing professional support.
And for employers, aside from essential ethical and health-related considerations, there are important cost-benefit calculations that will need to be addressed.
The need to navigate new territory such as this underlines the growing complexity of the challenge employers face when it comes to workplace wellbeing in 2026 – particularly in the context of ongoing concerns around NHS waiting times and long-term absence through mental and physical ill health.
And however that challenge evolves as the year unfolds, companies must continue striving to find the right balance of benefits to solve the equation; a balance that supports teams by sustaining staff wellbeing and, in doing so, delivers on an increasingly important strategic priority.
The information contained within this communication does not constitute financial advice and is provided for general information purposes only. Links to related sites have been provided for information only. Their presence on this blog does not mean that the firm endorses any of the information, products or views published on these sites. No warranty, whether express or implied is given in relation to such information. Vintage Health or any of its associated representatives shall not be liable for any technical, editorial, typographical or other errors or omissions within the content of this communication.
