Closing Yorkshire & the Humber's health gap starts with people in work.
Better Health. Better Work. Better Together.
Living Better at Work is an independently governed Community Interest Company. Our mission is to close the health gap that holds Yorkshire and the Humber back, so everyone shares in a healthier, more prosperous region.
Founded on a shared concern about the scale and cost of health inequalities across Yorkshire and the Humber, and a belief that the workplace offers a unique way to hear from employees and gather the insight needed to act earlier.
Leaders from business, occupational health, academia, the public sector and workforce health intelligence came together to turn that belief into practice, with the secure data infrastructure to deliver it at regional scale.
The people behind Living Better at Work
- Niamh SullivanCEO & Co-Founder Parachute Intelligence
- Cormac O’SullivanCCO & Co-Founder Parachute Intelligence
- Tracy Stones (Chair)Founder & CEO, Myndtime | NED, Angel & VC Investor
- Nick PahlCEO, Society of Occupational Medicine
- Kersten England CBE DLCharity & Public Sector Leader
- Prof Sir Cary CooperProfessor of Organizational Psychology & Health, Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester
- Kiran TrehanPro-VC Enterprise Partnerships & Engagement, University of York
- Susan GeeHead of OH, Yorkshire Water
- Prof Sara ConnollyProf of Work & Employment, University of Leicester; Evolve, PrOPEL, WISHES
- Prof Joe FirthProf of Psychology & Mental Health, University of Manchester
- Catherine ShuttleworthCEO & Founder, Savvy Marketing
Yorkshire & Humber has a health gap we cannot afford to ignore. It is holding back people, workplaces and our region.
Work is where changes in health can be understood early, while people are still active, contributing and connected to support. Living Better at Work helps employers and the region act while it can make the greatest difference.
people are in work across Yorkshire & Humber.
Workplaces therefore provide a significant opportunity to understand changing health earlier, whilst people are still in work and before ill health leads to absence or people leaving employment.
could be added to the North's economy each year if its health matched the England average.
Poor health isn't only a health issue. It affects people's ability to participate in work, employers' workforces and the economic prosperity of the wider region.
Yorkshire & Humber has the 3rd lowest life expectancy of the English regions.
Behind the regional average are significant inequalities between communities — reinforcing the need to better understand where poor health is affecting people and where earlier action could make the greatest difference.
What we know separately, the region can act on together.
By bringing workforce health insight together across the region, we can see patterns and inequalities that no single organization can see alone. That shared understanding helps employers and partners act earlier, focus on the factors driving poor health, and learn what makes the greatest difference over time.
Living Better at Work
- What happens
- Anonymised workforce health data from participating employers is brought together to build a clearer picture of health across the region, showing where inequalities exist and helping us understand what may be driving them.
- Who's involved
- 50+ participating organisations contributing to an independently governed regional evidence base.
- The scale / challenge we need to address
- 100,000 employees in the founding cohort, creating a picture of workforce health that no single organisation could build alone.
Who benefits, and how
- 01
Employers
- What they get
- A bespoke report on the cost, drivers, priorities and risks in their own workforce
- What it enables them to do
- Spend on health where it pays back, and act before people go off sick or leave
- 02
ICBs and the NHS
- What they get
- A yearly picture of working-age health, early warning of health-driven exits, and unmet need
- What it enables them to do
- Target prevention and work-and-health support earlier, and evidence employment outcomes
- 03
Mayoral strategic authorities
- What they get
- The health of working people and its cost to the local economy, by place and sector
- What it enables them to do
- Meet the new health duty and build workforce health into Local Growth Plans
- 04
Local authorities and public health
- What they get
- Working-age health, risk factors and unmet need by council area and neighbourhood
- What it enables them to do
- Reach working-age adults and target prevention where it matters most
- 05
Skills and labour market bodies
- What they get
- Which sectors, roles and age groups are losing people to ill health
- What it enables them to do
- Protect skills investment and support people who are struggling in work
- 06
Keep Britain Working, research and evidence
- What they get
- Real-world regional evidence on workforce health, from an independently governed cohort of 100,000 employees
- What it enables them to do
- Learning from a regional model to inform their national rollout
- 07
Sponsors and funders
- What they get
- Measurable reach and change in the organisations they support
- What it enables them to do
- Extend support to SMEs and voluntary organisations and show real social value
- 08
Employees and communities
- What they get
- A confidential voice and better-targeted support
- What it enables them to do
- Earlier help, fairer access, and work that protects health
There are three ways to be part of Living Better at Work.
Participate
Take part to better understand the health of your workforce, identify where action could make the greatest difference and contribute to the regional workforce health evidence base.
Support
Explore sponsorship and funding to grow the Alliance and extend its reach, so the evidence base reflects the region's true demographics and inequalities.
Champion
Lead the mission, champion the Alliance and connect us to those we can't reach alone.