Working nine

to thrive
Better aligning employment with modifiable drivers of health
could unlock years of higher-quality life and create trillions of
dollars of economic value.
by Jacqueline Brassey, Lars Hartenstein, Barbara Jeffery, and Patrick Simon

March 2024
At a glance

— Health can be meaningfully modified by factors outside traditional healthcare systems, including work factors.

— Employers have considerable opportunities to improve health through six modifiable drivers: social interaction, mindsets and beliefs,
productive activity, stress, economic security, and sleep.

— Globally, improving employee health and well-being could create $3.7 trillion to $11.7 trillion in economic value.

Imagine a world in which employers make activity, stress, economic security, and sleep—were
evidence-based investments in the health of their identified from the growing body of research that
employees. In return, they reap a manifold benefit connects the dots among drivers of health and
to those investments: their employees thrive, their the workplace. Researchers are building a greater
business thrives, and the societies in which they understanding of how employers can address
operate thrive. There’s a positive opportunity modifiable drivers to create change in favor of
that arises when employers address the inherent optimal employee health.
interconnectedness between work and health.
Considering that the average person spends a
The McKinsey Health Institute (MHI) has previously third of their life at work (more than 90,000 hours
identified 23 drivers of health (see sidebar “The in a lifetime),2 employment can be a critical piece
23 drivers of health”).1 Employment can greatly of the puzzle when working toward the goal of
influence some of these drivers, such as social improving global health. MHI analyzed 26 workplace
interaction and sleep. In this article, we zoom in on factors to understand how they influence a range
six drivers of health that employers can influence of health- and work-related outcomes across
and could be wise to support. By improving 30 countries. 3 That research showed there are
employees’ health, employers could add trillions of important differences between the workplace
dollars to the global economy and have a positive factors that lead to poor health and those that lead
impact on society. When employers and employees to good health. Our analysis found that employee
work together to improve modifiable drivers of self-efficacy, adaptability, and feelings of belonging
health, everyone benefits. at work were top predictors of good health, whereas
toxic workplace behaviors, role ambiguity, and role
conflict at work were top predictors of poor health.
Modifiable drivers of health in the
workplace: What does the research say? Previously, researchers at the University of Oxford’s
Six modifiable drivers of health in the workplace— Wellbeing Research Centre analyzed data from
social interaction, mindsets and beliefs, productive more than 15 million employees on their well-being
and the underlying workplace factors driving it. 4

1
Lars Hartenstein and Tom Latkovic, “The secret to great health? Escaping the healthcare matrix,” McKinsey Health Institute,
December 20, 2022.
2
“How many hours does the average person work per week?,” FreshBooks, April 17, 2023.
3
Jacqueline Brassey, Brad Herbig, Barbara Jeffery, and Drew Ungerman, “Reframing employee health: Moving beyond burnout to holistic
health,” McKinsey Health Institute, November 2, 2023. In this article, any McKinsey Health Institute research not otherwise cited comes from
this source.
4
“How to use the Work Wellbeing Score on Indeed company pages,” Indeed, May 1, 2023.

Working nine to thrive 2

The 23 drivers of health

The McKinsey Health Institute has — daily living: productive activity, social — healthcare: vaccination,
identified 23 drivers of health across six interaction, content consumption, detection and diagnosis, clinical
categories.1 All of them are considered and hygiene intervention, adherence
modifiable:2
— exposure: nature, atmosphere, sensory Together, the drivers of health have a broad
— physical inputs: diet, supplementation,
stimulation, materials, and stress influence on holistic health (mental, phys-
and substance use
ical, social, and spiritual health) and apply
— state of being: mindsets and beliefs, to settings beyond the workplace. Other
— movement: mobility, exercise,
body composition, physical security, research on holistic health has explored
and sleep
and economic security a smaller ecosystem of factors that are
directly measurable within an organization. 3

1
Lars Hartenstein and Tom Latkovic, “The secret to great health? Escaping the healthcare matrix,” McKinsey Health Institute, December 20, 2022.
2
In labeling drivers of health as “modifiable,” it’s important to recognize that they are complex and nonlinear. They interact with one another, and their effects can vary by
genetics, traits, randomness, and other contextual factors outside of an individual’s control. Therefore, the modifiability of these health drivers can change over the course
of a person’s lifetime and can vary from person to person. For example, some research estimates that 31 to 47 percent of variance in well-being outcomes are influenced by
genetic factors, as seen in World Happiness Report 2022, UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, 2022.
3
Jacqueline Brassey, Brad Herbig, Barbara Jeffery, and Drew Ungerman, “Reframing employee health: Moving beyond burnout to holistic health,” McKinsey Health
Institute, November 2, 2023; Sanne Magnan, “Social determinants of health 101 for health care: Five plus five,” National Academy of Medicine, October 9, 2017.

The researchers identified and tested 11 factors, productive activity, stress, economic security,
including compensation, flexibility, purpose, and sleep. 6
inclusion, achievement, support, trust, belonging,
management, and learning. The three top factors Social interaction
for the companies that scored best on well-being The positive effects of regular social interactions
were feeling energized, belonging, and trust. on health have been widely reported. For instance,
Interestingly, they are different from the top drivers a study reviewing mortality rates has documented
that employees think will make them happy and an average 50 percent increase in likelihood
drive well-being at work: pay and flexibility. 5 for survival if participants have strong social
relationships.7 Furthermore, social integration
Together, all the research led us to identify six drivers during childhood is related to lower blood pressure
of health that employers can most easily influence. and body mass index in adulthood. 8

Social interactions at work experienced by

Employers can improve employee employees strongly influence health and workplace
health through six modifiable drivers outcomes. Feeling connected at work is associated
Our analysis shows that employers can effect with greater innovation, engagement, and quality
significant change through six modifiable drivers of work—and may be especially impactful for those
of health: social interaction, mindsets and beliefs, with smaller social networks outside of their jobs.9
MHI’s 2023 research shows experiencing toxic

5
“The key drivers of workplace wellbeing: Tapping into the hidden gems of happiness,” Indeed, July 6, 2021.
6
We recognize that employers can influence other modifiable drivers of health not specifically addressed here (for example, diet and mobility)
but are focusing this article on the drivers most likely to create considerable opportunities for employers to improve health.
7
Julianne Holt-Lunstad, J. Bradley Layton, and Timothy B. Smith, “Social relationships and mortality risk: A meta-analytic review, PLOS
Medicine, July 2010, Volume 7, Number 7.
8
For more, see Jenny M. Cundiff and Karen A. Matthews, “Friends with health benefits: The long-term benefits of early peer social integration
for blood pressure and obesity in midlife,” Psychological Science, May 2018, Volume 29, Number 5.
9
For more, see Our epidemic of loneliness and isolation: The U.S. Surgeon General’s advisory on the healing effects of social connection and
community, US Office of the Surgeon General, May 3, 2023.

Working nine to thrive 3

workplace behavior is a strong predictor of negative Mindsets and beliefs
health outcomes at work, including loneliness at Research, including MHI analysis, has
work, the intention to leave an organization, and demonstrated a connection between positive
burnout symptoms. mindsets and beliefs and better health experience.13
This includes the positive effects of a growth
Toxic workplace behavior is a critical workplace mindset on mental health and the benefits of
driver to combat. If left unaddressed, it can gratitude on physical health. Positive mindsets and
mitigate the benefits of any health and well-being beliefs in the workplace are also greatly influential in
initiatives pursued. Examples of interventions good holistic health.
to counter toxic workplace behavior include
establishing a zero-tolerance policy for it and In fact, good holistic health isn’t achieved by
creating anonymous feedback processes through completely avoiding workplace stressors. Instead,
which employees can report it—which also it can be maintained through creating positive
normalizes a culture of providing concrete, specific experiences at work, such as experiencing high
feedback to colleagues.10 self-efficacy, high adaptability, a feeling of meaning,
and a feeling of belonging at work. For example,
Meanwhile, experiencing psychological safety on an individual may be able to tolerate the stress of a
a team and support from coworkers and managers looming deadline on a big project if they believe that
predicts positive health outcomes, including they have the support of their team.
better holistic health. In 2023, MIT Sloan School
of Management researchers outlined proven Employers can foster meaning and belonging
social-health initiatives that helped managers by engaging employees through compelling
build psychological safety on their teams.11 They storytelling and fostering a connection to an
included training managers to use one-on-one organization’s mission. Purpose-driven companies
meetings to increase employee individuation12 by that excel at this grow two times faster than their
asking employees what was important to them and competitors do and achieve gains in employee
where they needed support. Another use of the satisfaction, employee retention, and consumer
meetings was to remove blockers for employees by trust.14 Some of these outcomes may be attributed
helping them prioritize among tasks. Interestingly, to employees who are intrinsically motivated
individuation has been shown to increase and able to maintain better well-being over time,
psychological safety the most when psychological creating a positive performance loop.15 Additionally,
safety is relatively low, while removing blockers employee self-efficacy and adaptability are
is more effective when psychological safety is capabilities that can be cultivated among employees
relatively high. to make a more resilient and healthy workforce.16

10
For more, see Amy Gallo, “How to manage a toxic employee,” Harvard Business Review, October 3, 2016, and Deepa Purushothaman and
Lisen Stromberg, “Leaders, Stop Rewarding Toxic Rock Stars,” Harvard Business Review, April 20, 2022.
11
Chris Rider et al., “Proven tactics for improving teams’ psychological safety,” MIT Sloan Management Review, March 27, 2023.
12
“Individuation” refers to treating employees as unique individuals.
13
For more, see Mathias Allemand, Patrick L. Hill, and Brent W. Roberts, “Examining the pathways between gratitude and self-rated
physical health across adulthood,” Personality and Individual Differences, January 2013, Volume 54, Number 1; Lisa A. Williams and
Monica Y. Bartlett, “Warm thanks: Gratitude expression facilitates social affiliation in new relationships via perceived warmth,” Emotion,
February 2015, Volume 15, Number 1; and David S. Yeager et al., “A synergistic mindsets intervention protects adolescents from stress,”
Nature, July 2022, Volume 607, Number 7,919.
14
Scott Mautz, “Patagonia has only 4 percent employee turnover because they value this 1 thing so much,” Inc., March 30, 2019; Graham
Staplehurst, “The evolution of purpose,” Kantar, August 27, 2020; “This is what work-life balance looks like at a company with 100% retention
of moms,” Quartz, October 16, 2016.
15
For more, see Emma L. Bradshaw et al., “A meta-analysis of the dark side of the American dream: Evidence for the universal wellness costs of
prioritizing extrinsic over intrinsic goals,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, April 2023, Volume 124, Number 4.
16
For more, see Jacqueline Brassey, Aaron De Smet, and Michiel Kruyt, Deliberate Calm: How to Learn and Lead in a Volatile World, New York,
NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 2022.

Working nine to thrive 4

Productive activity diminish into worse well-being because of the
Productive activity includes employment- and excessive demands of high stress and lack of
nonemployment-related activities. Examples replenishment of energy resources. The employer’s
include volunteering, caregiving, spending time on role is to ensure that employees are stimulated,
hobbies, worshiping, spending time on activism, challenged, and motivated—but not overwhelmed—
playing music, and traveling. by the demands they experience in the workplace.

Employment has been linked to improved life Chronically elevated levels of stress can
expectancy.17 According to MHI research, one of increase the risk of cardiovascular disease,
the top contributors to productivity at work is an neurodegenerative disease, and metabolic
individual’s sense of self-efficacy—an employee’s disease.21 Job strain and effort–reward imbalance
belief that they can cope with difficult or changing can predict several common mental disorders.22
situations. Self-efficacy can be improved through Additionally, MHI research shows that an increase in
interventions, suggesting that employers can target workplace demands is the driver most predictive of
self-efficacy to improve employee productivity.18 burnout and distress symptoms at work.

Furthermore, employers have the opportunity Some jobs are high in demand by structure. For
to help the people in their communities connect example, some organizations have seasonal or
to meaningful and productive activities that other cyclical patterns in work demand. In these
support their long-term health and well-being. situations, interventions should focus on building
Enjoyable leisure activities are also associated in recovery time so that employees can regain their
with improved psychosocial and physical measures energy after high-demand periods.
that support good health and well-being, including
greater life satisfaction and engagement and lower Economic security
rates of depression, blood pressure, cortisol, and Economic opportunity and economic security can
physical function.19 influence many facets of health and productivity.
For example, high-income individuals are five
Stress times more likely than low-income individuals
In discussing workplace stressors, it’s important to to report strong health.23 Employees who are
acknowledge that stress itself isn’t necessarily a struggling financially are more likely than others
bad thing, as it’s actually needed to learn, grow, and to experience signs of poor mental health that
develop.20 Optimal levels of stress can contribute to might affect their ability to function at work.24 A
better performance. After that point, the benefits lack of job stability links with poor mental health,

17
For more, see “Relationship between employment and health,” Health Foundation, October 5, 2022.
18
For more, see Jacqueline Brassey et al., “Emotional flexibility and general self-efficacy: A pilot training intervention study with knowledge
workers,” PLOS One, 2020, Volume 15, Number 10.
19
For more, see Sarah D. Pressman et al., “Association of enjoyable leisure activities with psychological and physical well-being,”
Psychosomatic Medicine, September 2009, Volume 71, Number 7.
20
For more, see R. B. Zajonc, “Social facilitation,” Science, July 1965, Volume 149, Number 3,681.
21
For more, see Fan Tian et al., “Association of stress-related disorders with subsequent risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality: A
population-based and sibling-controlled cohort study,” Lancet Regional Health–Europe, May 2022, Volume 18.
22
For more, see Bridget Candy and Stephen Stansfeld, “Psychosocial work environment and mental health—a meta-analytic review,”
Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health, December 2006, Volume 32, Number 6.
23
Steven H. Woolf et al., How are income and wealth linked to health and longevity?, a joint report from Urban Institute and Virginia
Commonwealth University, April 13, 2015.
24
For more, see Lu Fan and Soomin Ryu, “The relationship between financial worries and psychological distress among U.S. adults,” Journal
of Family and Economic Issues, 2023, Volume 44, Number 1.

Working nine to thrive 5

as well as poor physical well-being (for example, The MHI survey found that one of the main
cardiovascular disease).25 Any short-term rise in contributors to an employee’s average number
employee performance fueled by job insecurity is of sleep hours is the experienced volume of work
often negated by the additional burden on employee required of them. Furthermore, one of the top
physical and mental health.26 contributors to an employee’s satisfaction with
their sleep is their ability to adjust to unexpected
MHI research shows that the greatest contributor changes. This may suggest that employee programs
to employees’ feelings of financial insecurity is that look to improve adaptability may in turn improve
whether they are paid sufficiently to cover their employees’ satisfaction with their sleep.
basic needs. While what it takes to feel economically
secure is unique to each person, employers can Employers have additional interventions they can
reduce feelings of financial insecurity by ensuring consider if their employees are struggling with
that compensation covers basic needs. getting consistent, high-quality sleep. They include
creating work environments with ample natural light
Sleep and access to healthy foods, limiting or disabling
There’s a strong association between sleep hours employees from being online after hours, creating
and both employee health and workplace outcomes. incentives for employees who prioritize sleep, and
The cost to employers when employees have encouraging and rewarding leaders who model the
insufficient or poor-quality sleep can be substantial. prioritization of sleep over work.

Employees with untreated insomnia cost employers Many employers are already investing in employee
an average of $2,280 more annually than health and well-being, but we would encourage
employees without untreated insomnia because them to reflect on where they currently provide
of absenteeism, “presenteeism,” poor performance, support and if they might want to change resources
and increased incidents of accident and injury.27 or add more interventions. For example, many
According to the MHI 2023 survey, 31 percent of employee assistance programs (EAPs) provide
employees across the world average fewer than coverage of interventions for factors such as stress
seven hours of sleep per night. Although everyone and economic security but less coverage of those
has unique needs, this falls below the ballpark for factors such as social interactions at work.
number of hours recommended to maintain good Additionally, while EAPs are widely available, they
health.28 Researchers have shown severe sleep tend to be underused by employees and focus on a
loss can even lead to death, as our bodies conduct reactive instead of a proactive approach to health. 30
necessary reparative processes when we sleep.29

25
For more, see Susan J. Ashford, Guo-Hua Huang, and Cynthia Lee, “Job insecurity and the changing workplace: Recent developments
and the future trends in job insecurity research,” Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, January 2018,
Volume 5; Imma Cortès-Franch et al., “Employment stability and mental health in Spain: Towards understanding the influence of gender
and partner/marital status,” BMC Public Health, April 2018, Volume 18, Number 1; Marnie Dobson, Paul Landsbergis, and Peter L. Schnall,
“Globalization, work, and cardiovascular disease,” International Journal of Health Services, October 2016, Volume 46, Number 4; and Jose A.
Llosa et al., “Job insecurity and mental health: A meta-analytical review of the consequences of precarious work in clinical disorders,” Anales
de Psicología, 2018, Volume 34, Number 2.
26
Mindy Shoss et al., “Job insecurity harms both employees and employers,” Harvard Business Review, September 6, 2022.
27
Ronald C. Kessler et al., “Insomnia and the performance of US workers: Results from the America Insomnia Survey,” Sleep, September 2011,
Volume 34, Number 9.
28
We acknowledge that every individual is different, but there are some indications of recommended average hours of sleep that may benefit
health. For more, see Eric J. Olson, “How many hours of sleep are enough for good health?,” Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and
Research (MFMER), February 21, 2023.
29
For more, see Alexandra Vaccaro et al., “Sleep loss can cause death through accumulation of reactive oxygen species in the gut,” Cell,
June 2020, Volume 181, Number 6.
30
For more, see James Kenney, “Why most employee assistance programs don’t work,” Forbes, July 6, 2022; and Stephen Sokoler,
“Reimagining traditional employee assistance programs,” Forbes, March 17, 2023.

Working nine to thrive 6

In rethinking a workplace strategy
on employee health and well-being,
current EAP offerings can be useful
starting points for action but are
unlikely to be the full solution.

In rethinking a workplace strategy on employee While it may not be feasible in the near term to bring
health and well-being, current EAP offerings can all employees everywhere to optimal well-being,
be useful starting points for action but are unlikely capturing just 10 percent of the total opportunity
to be the full solution. They are also unlikely, by could yield up to $1.17 trillion of annual value and
themselves, to yield the ROI that employers raise the global GDP by more than 1 percent (see
increasingly expect. Strengthening the sidebar “Business case methodology”).
measurement of intervention outcomes may
also help guide an organization’s overall In addition to contributing to increased
investment strategy. productivity at work, our calculations indicate
that investing in employee health and well-being
provides a positive opportunity for attracting and
Improving global employee retaining talent. As noted in McKinsey research,
health can create trillions of employees facing mental-health and well-being
dollars of economic value challenges are four times more likely than others to
It makes good business sense to invest in want to leave their organizations. 31
employee health and well-being. We estimate
that the total global opportunity for optimizing Better health correlates with higher productivity
employee health and well-being is $3.7 trillion to across countries and workplace settings and
$11.7 trillion, which is equivalent to raising global is also strongly correlated with workforce
GDP by 4 to 12 percent. Together, high- and participation at all ages. 32 Every 1 to 3 percent
middle-income economies represent 95 percent increase in global workforce participation is worth
of this total opportunity (exhibit). a further $1.4 billion to $4.2 billion, 33 benefiting

Patrick Guggenberger, Dana Maor, Michael Park, and Patrick Simon, “The State of Organizations 2023: Ten shifts transforming
31

organizations,” McKinsey, April 26, 2023.

32
For more, see Dan Chisholm et al., “Scaling-up treatment of depression and anxiety: A global return on investment analysis,” Lancet
Psychiatry, May 2016, Volume 3, Number 5; Clément S. Bellet, Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, and George Ward, “Does employee happiness
have an impact on productivity?,” Management Science, May 11, 2023; Miriam Dickinson, Kathryn Rost, and Jeffrey L. Smith, “The effect of
improving primary care depression management on employee absenteeism and productivity: A randomized trial,” Medical Care, December
2004, Volume 42, Number 12; and “Prioritizing health: A prescription for prosperity,” McKinsey Global Institute, July 8, 2020.
33
Assumes additional labor force is employed at the same unemployment rate and generates the same average GDP per employee as the
current labor force.

Working nine to thrive 7

Web <2024>
<EmployeeHealth>
Exhibit
Exhibit <1> of <1>

Improving global employee health and well-being could create up to

$11.7 trillion in economic value.

Estimated total value created by initiatives to improve employee health and well-being,1 $ trillion
All High-income Middle-income Low-income
economies economies economies economies2

Low range 3.7

1.8 1.7 0.2

5.7 5.4 0.6

High range 11.7

Total GDP,
100.6 61.2 38.2 1.2
$ trillion3

Initiatives’
estimated
share of global Insufficient
GDP,1 % 4–12 data
2–6 2–5

All High-income Middle-income Low-income

economies economies economies³ economies
1
Costs associated with implementing health and well-being interventions not included in calculation.
2
Low confidence in current estimates for low-income economies because of insufficient and unreliable data collected there.
3
High- and middle-income economies could increase local GDP by 3-9% and 4-14%, respectively.
Source: McKinsey Health Institute analysis

McKinsey & Company

employees, their health, the societies in which they resources throughout their employment with a
live, and government finances. 34 company. Ultimately, a focus on improving health
could lead to a virtuous circle of positive change,
To capture these economic benefits fully, as employees gain health literacy, and employers
employers need to move from a sole focus of in turn respond to employee health concerns.
protecting against incidental risk and illness to
helping employees achieve more optimal health. Acting now also reduces future brand and
This is particularly important when considering business risk. In Australia, a lawsuit resulted in
that employees move along a continuum of health a fine for an organization that tolerated a toxic
over time and may draw upon different workplace workplace culture. 35 Recently, the European Union

34
For more, see Lixin Cai, “The relationship between health and labour force participation: Evidence from a panel data simultaneous equation
model,” Labour Economics, January 2010, Volume 17, Number 1.
35
For more, see Naomi Neilson, “Court Services Victoria fined $380k for ‘toxic’ workplace,” Lawyers Weekly, October 19, 2023.

Working nine to thrive 8

Business case methodology

To size the economic value that could be estimates for low-income economies employees are present at work but
created if addressing health and well-being because of insufficient and unreliable data can’t be fully productive multiplied by
at the global level, we first established the collected in these countries. the average daily pay
metric for all economies by summing the
The economic value possible by addressing
positive economic effects of increased — attraction: the total premium by
each driver was calculated as follows:
employee attraction, productivity, and employees for employers with an
retention with the savings created if — attrition: the total turnover multiplied above-average happiness score
absenteeism, attrition, and “presenteeism” by the cost of turnover per employee multiplied by the total turnover
were reduced.
— absenteeism: the estimated number — productivity: the increase in
Using a similar methodology, we sized the
of working days lost because of productivity associated with increased
economic value of medium- and high-
work-related ill health and nonfatal well-being multiplied by the average
income economies. We calculated the
workplace injuries multiplied by the value of productivity
economic value of low-income economies
average daily pay
by subtracting that of the medium- and high-
— retention: the total turnover multiplied
income economies from that of all economies.
— presenteeism: the estimated by the benefit of retention
However, there’s low confidence in current
number of productive days lost when

adopted the European Sustainability Reporting Employees can play a role in their own health by
Standards, requiring organizations by law to report taking advantage of the workplace resources that
on working conditions such as working time, social do exist and helping cultivate a community and
dialogue, and work–life balance. As employees culture of healthy practices among colleagues.
develop higher standards for what is tolerable in They can make their desires known to employers
the workplace, more pushback and litigation may as a means of holding leaders accountable for
be possible. responding to the health needs and aspirations
of their workforces. These might include benefits
Furthermore, investors such as asset managers, such as paid parental leave and caregiving support,
private equity companies, and venture capitalists which aim to help employees balance work and
are increasingly weighing environmental, family responsibilities while tending to their own
social, and governance (ESG) considerations overall health and well-being.
in their investment decisions. They are guided
by ESG ratings released by various agencies Policy and decision makers may want to consider
and standards issued by the International a variety of ways to protect and promote employee
Sustainability Standards Board. health. Possibilities include mandating upper
limits on total working hours, health coverage paid
by employers, and employee access to therapy
Improving employee health and other psychological resources. 36 Enhancing
and well-being involves more standards and transparency could enable
than just employers employees to make informed choices about their
We have highlighted practical examples of how employment while also allowing policy makers to
employers can play a role in changing norms and audit progress on a wider scale.
catalyzing innovation around employee health
and well-being. However, employers alone can’t Through investment in public health (such as
complete this task. Employees, policy makers, and funding and grants), policy makers can encourage
local governments will need to help. and enable employers to take employee health

36
For more, see Richard Layard, “Wellbeing as the goal of policy,” LSE Public Policy Review, December 2021, Volume 2, Number 2.

Working nine to thrive 9

 Find more content like this on the
McKinsey Insights App
To capture the economic benefits of
good health fully, employers need to
move from a sole focus of protecting
against incidental risk and illness to
Scan • Download • Personalize
helping employees achieve more
optimal health.

seriously and professionalize how they track the unique opportunity for companies and employees to
impact of their initiatives on employee health and come together to set broader aspirations on health
well-being. Finally, policy and decision makers can and identify targeted interventions to pursue jointly.
lead by example in acting to promote their own
employees’ health. This may be done in partnership
with both private and other public sector employers,
such as those that play a critical role in educating Employment can and does have a profound
individuals about health—school systems, impact on health, both positive and negative.
healthcare systems, and community programs— Adapting how and where people work to support
down to the city level. optimal employee health could result in billions of
employees and their families around the world living
City governments can play an important role in longer, higher-quality lives—and simultaneously
unlocking positive health outcomes. Given that most benefiting their employers and the societies in
large employers are concentrated in cities, there’s a which they live.

Jacqueline Brassey is a coleader of employee health at the McKinsey Health Institute (MHI) and a senior fellow in McKinsey’s
Luxembourg office, Barbara Jeffery is a coleader of employee health at MHI and a partner in the London office, Lars
Hartenstein is a global leader of MHI and a senior fellow in the Paris office, and Patrick Simon is a senior partner in the
Berlin office.

The authors wish to thank Erica Coe, Aaron De Smet, Martin Dewhurst, Arne Gast, Brad Herbig, Anna Hextall, Ashini Kothari,
Tom Latkovic, May Lim, Robyn Macrae, Dana Maor, Roxy Merkand, Hannah Mirman, Lucy Pérez, and Brooke Weddle for their
contributions to this article.

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Copyright © 2024 McKinsey & Company. All rights reserved.

Working nine to thrive 10