Employee health and wellbeing cannot be measured by sickness absence alone. Low absence does not necessarily mean employees are healthy, engaged or receiving the support they need. A healthier workplace looks beyond who is off work and considers everyday health, working conditions, early support and whether employees feel able to look after their wellbeing before problems escalate.
Is Sickness Absence Really a Measure of a Healthy Workplace?
For many organisations, sickness absence is one of the most visible measures of employee health. It is easy to track, compare and report.
But it only tells you what happens when somebody is unable to work.
An employee can be at work whilst managing back pain, struggling with back problems, postponing dental treatment or dealing with stress. None of these situations necessarily appears on an absence report, yet each can affect how somebody feels and functions during their working day.
This is why assessing employee health and wellbeing requires employers to look beyond absence figures and consider what is happening while people are actually at work.
Healthy Working Wales is encouraging organisations across Wales to do exactly that. Its July 2026 workplace wellbeing programme asks employers to reflect on what they are already doing and identify practical steps that could better support employee health.
The Healthy Working Wales July 2026 workplace health and wellbeing update provides resources and support for employers wanting to assess and improve their approach.
What Does A Healthy Workforce Actually Look Like?
There is no single measure that tells an employer whether its employees are healthy.
A healthier workplace is one where people have appropriate support, understand the health and wellbeing resources available to them and feel able to address concerns rather than continually putting them off.
Working conditions matter too.
Healthy Working Wales points out that work itself can have both positive and negative effects on health. A workplace can provide purpose, social contact and a supportive environment, while poor working conditions or unrealistic workloads can have the opposite effect.
That means employee health is not simply the responsibility of the individual. Employers also need to consider the environment in which people are working and whether it supports good health.
What Are The Signs Employees May Need More Health Support?
Not every health concern results in somebody taking time off. Patterns within an organisation can provide useful indicators. Employees repeatedly working through discomfort, increasing requests for adjustments, low engagement with existing wellbeing benefits or feedback about workload and stress can all provide information that absence figures alone may miss.
Employers can also look at whether people are using the support already available. If an organisation provides health and wellbeing benefits but employees do not understand them, cannot easily access them or have forgotten they exist, the presence of the benefit itself tells you very little about its impact.
Talking to employees is therefore important. Surveys, conversations with managers and feedback about existing benefits can help organisations understand where support is working and where there may be gaps.
Why Does Everyday Employee Health Matter?
Healthy Working Wales reports that 6 million working days are lost through sickness absence in Wales each year, with an average of 4.1 days lost per worker.
Those figures show the scale of absence, but they also reinforce why employers should think about what happens before somebody reaches the point of being unable to work.
Healthy Working Wales identifies stress and musculoskeletal injuries among long term causes of sickness absence that can be preventable and says employers can help by addressing causes and supporting employees.
Everyday health therefore deserves attention in its own right.
Encouraging employees to seek appropriate help for physical discomfort, attend routine healthcare appointments and look after their wider wellbeing can form part of a workplace culture that takes health seriously before absence becomes the only measure that matters.
What Is Early Intervention In Workplace Health?
Early intervention simply means responding to a health or wellbeing concern before it becomes more difficult to manage.
For an employer, that does not mean diagnosing employees or becoming responsible for their medical care. It means creating an environment where people know where to find appropriate support and feel able to use it.
That might involve occupational health, adjustments to somebody’s working environment, mental health support or ensuring employees understand the healthcare benefits available to them. The right intervention will depend on the individual and the circumstances. The principle is to make support visible and accessible before an employee reaches crisis point.
How Can Employee Benefits Support Everyday Health?
Employee benefits are only one part of workplace health and wellbeing, but the right benefits can give people practical support outside the workplace. WHA Healthcare cash plans, for example, can help towards eligible everyday healthcare costs such as dental care, physiotherapy and in some cases inpatient or outpatient hospital appointments.
Rather than being designed only for major health events, they can provide support for healthcare employees may use throughout the year. This can complement occupational health and existing workplace wellbeing programmes by helping employees manage some of the costs associated with looking after their everyday health.
WHA Healthcare provides healthcare cash plans for employers that can form part of a wider employee health and wellbeing package.
The important distinction is that providing a benefit does not automatically create a healthy workplace. Employers still need to communicate what is available, encourage appropriate use and understand whether the support they provide reflects what their employees actually need. And this is exactly why employers should choose WHA Healthcare – our dedicated business development executive can assist you with implementing a healthcare cash plan for your business.
Five Questions Employers Should Ask About Employee Health
Understanding the health of your organisation does not necessarily require another dashboard.
Start by asking
- Do we only discuss employee health when somebody is absent?
- Do employees know what health and wellbeing support is available to them?
- Are people using the benefits we already provide?
- Do managers know where to direct employees who need support?
- Do we regularly ask employees what would help them look after their health at work?
The answers can reveal considerably more than an absence percentage alone.
They can also help employers distinguish between having a collection of wellbeing benefits and having an employee health and wellbeing strategy that people genuinely understand and use.
How WHA Healthcare Supports Everyday Employee Health
WHA Healthcare has supported people with everyday healthcare costs for more than 75 years.
Our healthcare cash plans can help employees claim towards eligible healthcare costs, giving employers another practical way to support the people within their organisation.
But employee health should never be reduced to the benefits package.
A genuinely healthy workplace considers the whole picture of their working environment, employee experience, access to appropriate support and whether people are encouraged to look after their health before problems become more significant.
Perhaps the question for employers is therefore not simply “What is our sickness absence rate?”
It is “How healthy are our people while they’re here?”
Frequently Asked Questions About Employee Health And Wellbeing
How can employers measure employee health and wellbeing?
Employers can consider sickness absence alongside employee feedback, engagement with health benefits, workplace conditions, staff turnover, occupational health information and other appropriate wellbeing measures. No single figure provides a complete picture of employee health.
Does low sickness absence mean employees are healthy?
Not necessarily. Employees may continue working whilst experiencing physical or mental health concerns. Sickness absence is therefore one indicator of employee health rather than a complete measure.
What is early intervention in employee wellbeing?
Early intervention means providing appropriate support when health or wellbeing concerns first arise rather than waiting until they become more difficult to manage or result in prolonged absence.
How can employers improve employee health and wellbeing?
Employers can create supportive working conditions, listen to employee feedback, communicate available health resources, provide appropriate benefits and make it easier for employees to access support when they need it.
How can healthcare cash plans support employee wellbeing?
Healthcare cash plans can help towards eligible everyday healthcare costs such as dental care, eye care and physiotherapy. They can complement an employer’s wider approach to workplace health and wellbeing.
