UK Sickness Absence Crisis: Understanding lived experience of younger adults with long-term ill-health to inform policy & management practice

The UK has experienced a steep rise in economically inactive adults since the pandemic, with over three million adults now registered as long-term sick (UK Parliament, 2024). The UK is the only G7 country which has not regained its pre-pandemic employment rate, due to rising long-term sickness (Resolution Foundation, 2024). Unless addressed, disability benefit spending predicted to rise by 45% by 2028-29 (OBR, 2024).

The U-shaped nature of the problem is particularly concerning: 16-24 and 50-64-year-olds account for nine-tenths of the rise (Murphy, 2024). Between 2019-2022, those off work due to long-term sickness aged 16-24 and 25-35 increased by 29% and 42% respectively, particularly for mental health issues.

Although the causes are unclear, the increase coincides with shifts in work practices, with 44% of UK workers now in remote or hybrid roles (ONS, 2022), often involving longer hours and irregular schedules (Eurofound, 2017; 2022), making it harder for managers to identify health issues (Ferreira et al., 2022). Younger people, who never experienced ‘pre-pandemic working’ may also have different attitudes towards work, and its relationship to their health and wellbeing.

This project aims to use qualitative (e.g. diary, interviews) and quantitative (e.g. questionnaire) methodologies to understand why long-term sickness absence (LTSA) rates have escalated in the UK over recent years, particularly amongst younger people. Key outcomes will include recommendations and guidance for UK policymakers, employers, and employees.

Key objectives:

• Understand the ‘lived experiences’ of young people with long-term health issues, and how this aligns with management perspectives and policies.
• Explore how managers and employees make attributions about the practices used to manage LTSA (Nishii et al., 2008). E.g. As conducive to employee wellbeing/organisational commitment or fuelled by employers’ needs to cut costs?
• Identify key ‘critical turning points’ and opportunities for better LTSA management, particularly in the context of remote and hybrid working.

The corresponding research questions are:

1. To what extent have current formal and informal HR/management practices for LTSA/ill-health management changed in light of increased remote/hybrid working, changing employee needs and expectations?
2. What are the experiences of younger employees regarding ill-health and work, from experiencing ill-health at work to becoming economically inactive?
3. What attributions are made by managers and employees regarding LTSA management practices, and what impact do they have?
4. Where are the opportunities for improving current management practices to better manage long-term ill-health in hybrid work contexts?

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Application deadlines

• Applications for October 2025 intake closes on 1st July 2025.
• Applications for January 2026 intake closes on 1st October 2025.