The Cost of Doing Nothing: Why Whole of Workforce Healthcare Is the Missing Piece in Today’s Retention and Wellbeing Strategy

As an adviser or consultant, you’re often the one employers turn to when pressure mounts in the workplace:

“We can’t afford to lose more people.” “The gaps are getting harder to fill.” “We’ve invested in wellbeing, so why isn’t it working?”

Meanwhile, sickness absence is rising, NHS waiting lists continue to grow and strikes and delays are compounding the strain.

Behind the headlines, employees are quietly struggling, often in roles where support is least accessible. Too often, it’s the people on the frontline, those in lower-paid or non-desk roles, who are being left out of the healthcare conversation. They’re the least likely to access private care, and yet often the most in need of support.

Many are still turning up, doing their best, but running on empty. Smiling through stress. Hiding exhaustion. Practising what we’ve come to know as pleasanteeism. These signs cannot be ignored. Doing nothing comes at a real cost: lost talent, avoidable absence, falling engagement, and, perhaps most importantly, in the erosion of trust.

Inaction doesn’t keep things the same, it quietly makes them worse. At Lime Health, the answer isn’t more of the same. It’s a shift in mindset: healthcare designed for the whole workforce.

The Reality Employers Are Facing

• Over 2.5 million people are now out of work due to long-term illness, the highest figure on record.

• NHS backlogs delay essential care, from mental health support to physiotherapy.

• PMI remains out of reach for most employees.

• Non-desk-based, lower-paid workers are most likely to miss out, and least likely to seek help.

• Employers are working hard to retain their teams, but building loyalty and belonging in a mobile workforce is harder than ever.

• Pleasanteeism is widespread: many employees are hiding burnout or struggling silently.

• Keeping Britain Working review and NHS 10-Year Plan both highlight the need for more proactive, workplace-based care.

Many employers genuinely want to support their people. But a gap still exists between intent and impact. When healthcare doesn’t reach those who need it most, the promise of wellbeing feels hollow, and employees notice

Whole of Workforce Healthcare: A More Inclusive Path Forward

The employers you advise are doing their best in a challenging environment. What they need now are practical, forward-thinking options that meet today’s realities.

Lime Health’s Whole-of-Workforce Healthcare is designed with that in mind.

It’s not PMI. It’s not a bolt-on wellbeing perk. It’s a clinically led, prevention-first solution that gives every employee access to fast, inclusive, and meaningful care.

It’s a powerful and reassuring solution for clients who want to:

• Reduce absence rates

• Protect essential skills

• Boost team morale and sense of belonging

• Align benefits with their people-first values

What Lime Health offers:

✅ Immediate access to care, no long waits or gatekeeping

✅ Support for both mental and physical health

✅ Designed with reach in mind, from the frontline to the back office

✅ Scalable, inclusive design for the entire workforce

✅ A preventative model that supports long-term wellbeing, not just crisis response

Why Now: The Rising Cost of Standing Still

Employers don’t need to be told what’s going wrong. They feel it every day. What they need are solutions that match the scale, and urgency, of the challenge.

When a valued employee leaves, it’s more than a vacancy. It’s lost experience, team disruption, and a signal to others. Rebuilding trust and loyalty takes time, and it starts with action.

For employees silently struggling, working while unwell or unsupported, knowing that help is accessible, can make all the difference.

The longer businesses wait to respond, the greater the risks: to performance, to culture, and to reputation.

With Lime Health, you can offer your clients a better path forward:

“A solution that supports everyone, where healthcare is practical, inclusive, and built around your people, not just your policies.”

When people feel supported, they stay. When employers act early, they lead.

As an adviser, you’re in a unique position to help shape that future, not just with insight, but with action.

And we’re here to support you, every step of the way.