This report urges investors to consider worker health holistically as a critical yet underdeveloped theme in investing. ShareAction’s Long-term Investors in People’s Health (LIPH) initiative supports investors to consider population health, with a coalition of investors representing over AUD 6.9trillion in assets under management advocating for health to sit alongside climate change as a systemic risk for the investment system.

This report highlights the problems of an unhealthy workforce, wherein the poor health of workers in the UK has significantly impacted the economy. The cost of poor worker health was approximately AUD 254.5bn in 2022. A poor work culture that fails to prioritise worker health undermines the appeal of employers that create significant costs in terms of attracting and retaining talent and discouraging investment. Companies that prioritise workers’ health enjoy less absenteeism and increased productivity, with motivation and morale further boosted. ShareAction recommends the following fundamentals for investors to consider when assessing worker health: a real living wage, safety at work, mental health at work, job security, paid time off, engagement and representation, and good work-life balance.

Poor worker health primarily results from poor employment practices, including a lack of safety measures, job insecurity, and poor job/career development opportunities. Investors are urged to examine an organisation’s implementations around the seven fundamentals of worker health. The report provides investors with a useful framework to look at these seven fundamentals and poses the right questions to assess how well these are implemented. The burdens associated with the lack of promotion for worker health comprise lost productivity and wages, increased medical and insurance costs, and increased risk levels.

Improving worker health is essential for financial success in the long term. ShareAction recommends that investors highlight worker health’s financial materiality to key stakeholders. Additionally, investors are encouraged to advocate for social-related corporate disclosures, strengthening global standard-setting recommendations. Finally, investors must monitor companies’ progress in improving worker health by actively engaging with management through shareholder resolutions, proxy votes, and annual general meetings. Investors should collaborate with like-minded peers in shaping a brighter future for corporate worker health and advocate for companies to adopt the Good Work Fundamentals for Health.