New Vitality Research Reveals U.S. Employees Lose 63 Productive Workdays Each Year Due to Poor Health, With 54 of Those Days Lost While Working Despite Being Unwell

• U.S. workers lose an average of 63.4 productive days a year because of poor physical and mental health, the second-highest level among the five countries studied.
• An estimated 53.9 days, or 85% of the total, are lost when employees remain at work when they are not feeling physically or mentally well.
• Poor workforce health costs the U.S. economy an estimated $2.33 trillion in lost productivity annually, according to the research.

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--New research from Vitality, a global leader in behavioral change in health, has found that U.S. workers lose an average of 63.4 days of productive time each year because of poor physical and mental health. For the purposes of the Index, “productive days lost” converts both time missed through absence and estimated reductions in performance while at work into the equivalent number of full working days. Of those, 53.9 days (85% of the total) are lost while employees are still working, rather than through absence. The findings suggest that absence records capture only a fraction of the health-related productivity loss facing U.S. employers and the impact this is having on business and the economy.

The findings are part of Vitality's Global Health and Productivity Index 2026, a comprehensive assessment of workforce health and its economic consequences, conducted in partnership with independent research organization RAND Europe. The research estimates that poor workforce health costs the U.S. economy an astounding $2.33 trillion in lost productivity annually — the largest total economic impact among the five geographic markets studied (U.S., UK, Germany, Japan and Singapore).

The productivity loss hiding in plain sight

U.S. workers lose an average of 9.5 productive days each year through absence, compared with 53.9 through “presenteeism,” when people are physically present but unable to perform at their best. Combined, this number sees the U.S. total of 63.4 days being well above the five-market average of 54.8 and second only to Germany's 69.3 days.

The research found that 32% of U.S. workers report that their health has a medium or high impact on their productivity while they are working, while 14% said they had missed more than four hours of work in the previous week because of health problems. Conversely, with the majority of employers concentrating on physical absence, employers risk measuring the visible and smaller part of the problem while missing and not recognizing the larger loss accumulating across the working week across their business through presenteeism.

A system weighted toward treatment, not prevention

While U.S. employers offer a broader range of health and medical support than employers in the other markets studied, that support remains weighted toward treating and managing illness rather than prevention and early intervention. Nearly half of U.S. workers (49%) report being offered medical or health insurance through work, while 51% say they are not offered it. However, only 18% report access to employer-organized health screenings, which could find health issues when they are far easier to treat.

Addressing that gap is especially important because the U.S. workforce carries a substantial physical and mental health burden. Almost one in three U.S. workers (29%) is classified as obese, compared with a five-market average of 18%, while 65% report moderate or serious psychological distress. The findings point to an opportunity for employers and health plans to identify emerging risks earlier, improve access to support, and direct more investment toward prevention.

Maia Surmava, CEO of Vitality U.S., said: "The scale of productivity loss that can be directly attributed to health should give every business leader pause. The issue is not simply whether people are taking sick days off, but whether their health affects them at work and allows them to perform when they get there. U.S. employers already invest heavily in health benefits, but the findings show a significant opportunity to use those systems differently — identifying risk earlier, engaging people better with their health, and making support relevant, alongside placing greater emphasis on prevention. That is how we can improve people's health while Christian van Stolk, Deputy Chief Executive at RAND Europe, said: “We consistently see evidence pointing to the impact of health and wellbeing on productivity. While absence often attracts the most attention from employers, it is presenteeism, when left unaddressed, that has the far greater impact on productivity. Recognizing this has the potential to give businesses a significant opportunity, allowing them to take a more proactive and preventive approach to work, benefiting both employees and business."

AI: a productivity opportunity and a workforce health risk

The Index also points to a tension in how AI is affecting employees’ health and having a surprising negative impact on productive capacity. More than half of U.S. workers (56%) say AI or digital tools help them to be more productive. However, across the five markets surveyed, high AI-related concern was associated with an additional 27.6 productive days lost each year compared with workers with no identified AI-related concern — the equivalent of more than five working weeks.

Approximately 12.9% of workers across the study fall into the high-concern group. Concerns about AI were concentrated among younger, less senior, and already-distressed workers. The findings suggest there is a significant opportunity for employers that proactively consider how they are implementing AI tools and how they are supporting employees, especially those who may be at higher risk of anxiety. Doing so may determine whether the technology's potential productivity gains are fully realized across the workforce.

The wider picture

The research identifies five independent risk domains associated with productivity loss across the U.S. workforce: mental wellbeing risk, physical health burden, AI-related concern, work strain, and lifestyle risk. These risks can compound: a worker at high risk across all five domains loses an estimated 119 productive days a year — close to half a working year.

Across the five economies studied, poor workforce health is estimated to cost $3.34 trillion in lost productivity annually. The U.S. accounts for an estimated $2.33 trillion, compared with $579 billion in Germany, $326 billion in the UK, $91 billion in Japan and $26 billion in Singapore when converted to U.S. dollars.

The results also indicate where employers can act. Across the study, workers who feel that their manager genuinely cares about their wellbeing lose nine fewer productive days a year than those who do not. The results from the Index conclude that employers can improve outcomes by putting in the right strategy and combining better measurement with earlier intervention, stronger manager support, and health benefits that are targeted to the needs of the people most at risk.

Vitality U.S., a company focused on delivering a range of solutions to engage people with their health and take relevant action to improve health, for health plans, insurers and employers, undertook this research to better understand the risks associated with poor health on US business, the impact of it, and what can be done to address it.

Methodology

On behalf of Vitality, FGS Global and RAND Europe conducted a mixed-methods program of research across key global markets (the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, Japan and Singapore) to gather a comprehensive understanding of workforce health and wellbeing, identify the key drivers of health-related productivity loss and their relative magnitude, calculate the economic impact of poor health on productivity across all five markets, and explore employer support interventions that deliver the best health and productivity outcomes.

The research comprised a bespoke survey of the workforce across 5 key markets to understand workers’ attitudes towards health and wellbeing in the workplace and employee perception of employer support. The research involved a poll of 9,206 workers in full- or part-time employment in the UK (2,009), US (2,079), Germany (2,031), Japan (2,080), and Singapore (1,007). Fieldwork took place between 21st February and 16th March 2026².

The sample has been weighted to be representative of working populations on the basis of gender, region, ethnicity, and education. All respondents work in organizations with at least 10+ employees, and those who work less than 8 hours per week, are self-employed, or are doing voluntary work have been excluded from the sample.

Additionally, 24 stakeholder depth interviews were conducted with experts, including a spread of business leaders, government and policy experts, public health experts, industry bodies and specialists in academia, think tanks or NGOs. Interviews were recruited from the five key markets. These conversations lasted 45 minutes each and took place between February and May 2026. The interviews resulted in over 800 minutes of expert insight on health, productivity and effective support interventions in the workplace.

About Vitality

Vitality is a global company operating in the insurance market, with a presence in over 36 markets and impacting more than 65 million lives. Vitality transforms insurance markets by integrating technology, actuarial science, and behavioral insights to make people healthier and create shared value for clients, insurers, and society. They have a simple yet powerful core purpose: to make people healthier and enhance and protect their lives, and this is done through a pioneering Shared Value Insurance model, which aligns the interests of individuals, insurers, and society: when people become healthier, everyone benefits.