January 16, 2025 – The McKinsey Health Institute (MHI) in collaboration with the World Economic Forum today unveiled a new report highlighting the $11.7 trillion business opportunity to improve the health and lives of workforces globally. To realize this potential – benefiting employees and improving the performance and culture of organizations – employers must make better strategic investments in workforce health, not just more.
Burnout symptoms and suboptimal holistic health continue to negatively impact the workforce, with more than half of employees, across industries and demographics, reporting suboptimal employee health. A healthy workforce is only possible if employers help employees from diverse demographics achieve it. The data shows that 80 percent of workers surveyed identified with a minority factor, such as women, LGBTQI, neurodivergent, and more, revealing the “minority” is actually the majority when it comes to our global workforces. However, proven interventions exist and to make progress, all organizational leaders, not just human resource executives, must recognize and prioritize employee health as a business and cultural imperative.
The report outlines six evidence-based principles employers can use to make a positive impact, improve the lives of their employees, and potentially unlock up to $12 trillion in global economic value:
- Understand the baseline and value at stake.
- Develop initiatives for a sustainable healthy workforce.
- Pilot interventions to test and learn.
- Track three to five metrics to measure success.
- Ensure leadership commitment and sponsorship.
- Embed employee health into organizational culture.
"We know that investing in employee health makes a tangible difference,” said Shail Thaker, report author and Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company. “The return on investment is proven through improvements in productivity, absenteeism, and retention. And employers are exposed to more downside risk by not investing in better employee health, due to healthcare costs, reduced productivity, attrition, and more.”
Shyam Bishen, Head of the World Economic Forum’s Centre for Health and Healthcare, emphasized that there is both a strategic and economic imperative for investing in workforce health and well-being. “Employers are uniquely positioned and have an opportunity to support critical public health needs and ambitions across the globe,” he said.
“Employees who self-report being women, LGBTQI+, neurodivergent, lacking a high school diploma, or having a low-income, report higher burnout and lower holistic health than those who do not,” said Barbara Jeffery, report author, Partner, and Healthy Workforces Coleader at the McKinsey Health Institute. “Taken together, these employee groups represent the majority – not the minority – of the workforce.”
Read the full report.
For interviews with the authors, please contact mhi_media@mckinsey.com.