Only 57% of UK employees feel supported by their employer when experiencing work-related stress or illness, according to new research commissioned by health assessment provider Verve Healthcare – this is despite employers insisting they are intervening early.
The dual surveys, conducted with 2,000 employees and 500 HR leaders and business managers, expose what Verve Healthcare describes as a growing mismatch between employer intent and employee experience.
The data shows that 40% of employers claim they intervene before or at the very start of short-term absence – including 18% who say they act early, before absence occurs.
However, 17% of employees say they feel actively unsupported during periods of work-related stress or ill health, while more than 350 employees reported falling into a grey area where issues are neither clearly addressed nor escalated.
Alarmingly, 6% of employers admit to not stepping in to support their workforce at all.
According to Verve Healthcare, the findings suggest that workplace health in the UK remains largely reactive, despite years of wellbeing initiatives and increased awareness of mental health.
Steven Pink, CEO of Verve Healthcare, commented:
“These numbers expose a dangerous illusion of support. Employers think they’re stepping in early, but employees simply aren’t feeling it. If support doesn’t land early enough to prevent absence or deterioration, then it isn’t really support at all. It only counts when it leads to action, treatment and real outcomes.”
The data also reveals regional differences. Greater London employees report the highest support levels (65%). Whereas employees in Wales report the lowest (46%), as well as the highest levels of employees feeling unsupported (27%).
Scotland performs strongly with 62% of employees feeling supported, yet Scottish employers are the most likely to intervene only after long-term absence (27%).
Verve Healthcare says the disconnect points to a deeper structural problem within the health assessment industry. Steven Pink added:
“Businesses are haemorrhaging productivity because they’re reacting instead of preventing. Early intervention isn’t a ‘nice to have’, it’s the difference between a healthy workforce and a burnt-out one.
“The health assessment industry has been stuck in the 1990s for far too long, where it’s standard practice to find a problem, write a report, cash the cheque. That model doesn’t work in today’s workforce. Employees don’t need another report telling them they’re unwell; they need clear, fast pathways to treatment and practical support.”
The company warns that delayed intervention fuels sickness absence, presenteeism and long-term disengagement, creating extra costs for businesses at a time when productivity and retention are already under pressure.
Verve Healthcare is urging employers to rethink their approach to employee health, arguing that:
- Support must be proactive, not reactive.
- Health assessments must provide pathways, not paperwork.
- Employees must feel human-to-human connection, not corporate box-ticking.
- Businesses must prioritise clinical expertise over generic wellbeing initiatives.
“When employers wait for short-term absence or performance issues before acting, they’ve already missed the opportunity to prevent harm,” Steven Pink said.
Verve Healthcare provides employee health assessments. Its approach focuses on early intervention, clinical expertise and clearly defined pathways to further care, challenging what it sees as a reactive, report-led status quo.
“If UK businesses want healthier, more productive workforces, they have to move faster and act earlier,” Steven Pink concluded. “It’s time to stop mistaking paperwork for progress.”