Low Worker Engagement Costs The U.K. Over 257B, Similar To Running NHS For One Year

LONDON, June 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Gallup’s latest State of the Global Workplace report finds that the opportunity loss of low worker engagement in 2023 cost the United Kingdom over £257 billion annually, totaling an estimated 11% of UK GDP — similar to the amount it cost to run the NHS in 2022 (11.3% of GDP per ONS).

Not only is low engagement costly for U.K. businesses, but employees in the United Kingdom lag European employees across a number of engagement measurements. The report shows that just 10% of workers in Britain are engaged, with the majority — nine in 10 — not engaged or actively disengaged in their work. In comparison, 13% of European workers are considered engaged.

Globally, employee engagement held steady at 23% in 2023 after multiple years of steady gains. The majority of the world’s employees continue to struggle at work and in life, with direct consequences for organisational productivity.

“By increasing the U.K.’s engagement by even a few percentage points, employees and employers could experience major improvements to their bottom line, and in turn, help support our ailing public services,” said Jeremie Brecheisen, manager partner for the United Kingdom. “In a general election year, how to improve our workplace performance should be a key consideration for an incoming cabinet.”

Down in the Dumps

The report also reveals that U.K. workers have worse emotional wellbeing than their European counterparts. Stress affected 40% of U.K. workers the day before, compared to 37% of European workers. Moreover, 20% of U.K. workers say they felt angry, and 27% felt sad the previous day, while those emotions were lower for European workers, at 15% and 17%, respectively.

Less Than Half Optimistic About the Job Market

Despite notable labour shortages in the United Kingdom, less than half (48%) of U.K. workers believe that now is a good time to find a job. This sentiment is slightly more optimistic than French workers (44%) and significantly more pessimistic than German workers (67%).

Less than one-third (31%) of employees in the United Kingdom are actively watching or seeking a new job, similar to their European peers (32%). Gallup finds that actively disengaged employees — workers who actively oppose their employer’s goals — make up 15% of the global

workforce. Poor job markets are highly correlated with active disengagement. In contrast, countries where it is a good time to find a job have lower active disengagement.

About Gallup 
Gallup delivers analytics and advice to help leaders and organisations solve their most pressing problems. Combining more than 80 years of experience with its global reach, Gallup knows more about the attitudes and behaviours of employees, customers, students and citizens than any other organisation in the world.

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