Tackling the Nation’s Health Crisis Through Collaboration and Accountability
- 5 Min Read
Businesses and government must collaborate to tackle the nation’s health crisis. A research by Business for Health and University of Cambridge Public Health team highlights the need for cross-sector partnerships, evidence-based policies, and accountability to improve workplace health and economic outcomes.
- Author: Tina Woods CEO, and Elizabeth Bachrad Head of Programme Strategy, Business for Health
- Date published: Oct 3, 2024
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Following a landslide victory in July, the Labour government inherited a health system stretched to its limits, with rising inequality, and an economy struggling to recover from the lingering effects of the pandemic.
Business for Health and the University of Cambridge Public Health team were awarded a grant from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) to research a systems-led approach for workplaces and government to address and work towards solving this complex work and health crisis.
Our findings include:
Amplify Collaboration Across Sectors and Strategies
Fostering collaboration and buy-in across sectors and society is key to driving meaningful and sustainable change.
Businesses and local authorities need clear links and a shared sense of purpose to achieve the common aim of improving the nation’s health. This includes the need for HR departments within businesses to work closely with C-suite executives and government officials to align their policies and practices with the national health strategy.
Our research has shown that this cross-organisation collaboration enables sharing of knowledge and best practices, which will ultimately make it easier for businesses and government to work together towards their shared goals with shared accountability. This collaborative approach will be essential in implementing and evaluating effective health policies and programmes to enhance the evidence base of what works
Foster Inclusive Policy Reform
The second key focus area that stood out in our research is the need for input from businesses and employees towards policy reform and implementation.
Engaging directly with employees brings an essential voice, as their frontline experiences can ensure that standards and reporting requirements address real workplace challenges. Their input also makes reforms more practical and relevant to workforce needs. Equally crucial is involving the business community at large. Employers need assurance that reforms will deliver tangible benefits, such as improved productivity, lower costs, or better employee retention. Active engagement with businesses allows policymakers to address concerns and design workable solutions.
An example of this is the current workplace reforms that the Labour government is focusing on, including potential right to switch off reforms and changes to flexible working. While the focus on employees is essential, the government needs to ensure that businesses understand and are able to adapt to these policies. This type of consultation is key to the success of such policies but also to mitigating pushback from businesses.
This collaborative, multi-stakeholder approach will also help strike the right balance between employee protection and business viability, fostering buy-in from all parties and increasing the likelihood of successful implementation. Ultimately, such reforms create healthier work environments that benefit both the workforce and employers.
Establish a Link Between Health and the Economy
With recent IPPR reports showing that economic inactivity due to sickness could hit 4.3 million in the next five years, the importance of an evidence base on the link between health and the economy cannot be understated.
Through a partnership with the Office for National Statistics (ONS), Business for Health will relaunch the ONS Health Index, providing businesses, local authorities, and the government with the data and insights needed to make informed decisions that positively impact both health and economic growth.
This initiative will also establish methods for monitoring the progress of outcomes of any health strategies implemented, allowing for the identification of successful interventions and the incentivisation of further improvements through mechanisms such as procurement opportunities, ROI and tax breaks.
Education, Engagement and Advocacy
Finally, our research highlighted the importance of engaging businesses and broader communities with the health agenda.
Facilitating data-sharing agreements and mapping the strengths and assets of communities to the social drivers of health, means that the government can empower businesses to see their role as economic drivers of positive change.
Alongside this, it is imperative that the government introduce a reporting framework for accountability, which ensures that businesses and local authorities are held responsible for their contributions to the nation’s health and wellbeing. This approach will foster a sense of shared responsibility and enable a more holistic and effective approach to addressing the health crisis.
It also ensures that businesses and the broader communities are constantly learning. No one is expected to hold all the solutions but with effective data and reporting, there’s a benchmark to progress from.
Improving the Nation’s Health ‘together’
Our research reinforces that tackling the nation’s health crisis requires strong collaboration across businesses, local authorities, and government.
We have found that the government needs to engage directly with employees and employers to ensure that health reforms, and future reporting frameworks are practical and grounded in real-world needs.
To support this, our partnership with the ONS and the relaunch of the ONS Health Index will provide data to link health improvements to economic growth, to demonstrate the responsibility of business leaders to support the health of their employees.
The government should hold businesses accountable to this responsibility but ensure that they’re also doing everything in their power to help businesses progress and adhere to these changes. It’s only together that we can help create a healthier, more resilient future for the country.