Rising Absence, Growing Risk: 2025 CIPD Health & Wellbeing Report
The latest CIPD Health and Wellbeing at Work report shows a sharp rise in sickness absence: 9.4 days per employee per year, up from 7.8 in 2023.
Mental ill health has overtaken other conditions to become the leading cause of long-term absence and the second most common cause of short-term absence. A quarter of employees also report that their job has harmed their mental or physical health.
For HR leaders and senior teams, these figures highlight an urgent truth: wellbeing is not a side issue. It’s a core driver of organisational resilience, cost, and reputation.
The impact for organisations
The implications go far beyond lost days:
Financial cost - rising absence strains budgets and productivity.
Operational strain - gaps in teams lead to pressure, overtime and fatigue.
Retention risk - if work itself damages health, people leave.
Yet most organisations remain reactive, relying on EAPs, counselling, or phased returns after problems escalate. These are essential supports, but on their own, they don’t address the root causes.
From reactive to proactive
The report makes it clear: organisations must shift focus from cure to prevention. That means:
Job design and workload: ensuring roles don’t create chronic stress.
Manager capability: giving managers the skills and confidence to spot early warning signs.
Open culture: building everyday trust so wellbeing conversations aren’t left until crisis.
These aren’t grand, one-off projects. They’re everyday practices - but they rely on leaders making wellbeing part of how work gets done.
“Too often, support only begins once employees are already struggling.”
The role of training
Training is the bridge between strategy and lived experience. It gives managers practical tools to lead with confidence, equips teams with resilience skills, and creates a shared language for talking about mental health.
When combined with policies and support structures, training turns wellbeing from an intention into consistent, everyday action.
What leaders should do now
Benchmark your position - Compare your current absence and wellbeing metrics to the CIPD averages (are you above or below the 9.4 days?).
Run a mini audit or pulse survey - Ask employees: “Do you feel work affects your health? In what ways?”
Start small, prove value - Pilot a training module or manager cohort in one division, measure impact, refine.
Design with pragmatism - Use existing touch-points (team meetings, performance check-ins) to fold in health conversations.
Partner for capability - If internal resources are tight, collaborating with external providers ensures quality and reduces burden.
Final thought
The CIPD’s 2025 findings are a wake-up call. Absence rates are climbing, and mental ill health is at the centre of the challenge.
Leaders face a choice: continue firefighting absence, or invest now in building a culture that protects wellbeing, strengthens resilience, and sustains performance.
If you’d like to explore how tailored wellbeing and mental health training could support your organisation, get in touch.