Empowering Employee Health

An event synthesis report produced by FP Analytics, in partnership with Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, which is known as MSD outside the United States (U.S.) and Canada

Cancer is straining health systems around the world. The total cost of hospitalization due to cancer in the United States increased by 38 percent between 2008 and 2019, and global spending on cancer medicines is expected to nearly double between 2023 and 2028. In recognition of this burden and its disproportionate impact on low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), Target 3.4 of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aims to reduce premature mortality attributed to chronic diseases, including cancer, by one-third by 2030—a complex effort that will require engagement from stakeholders across governments, healthcare organizations, and the medical field to drive early detection of cancer and preventive measures.

Within this stakeholder ecosystem, employers have a crucial but underleveraged role. Sixty-one percent of the global population is employed, and as individuals live longer, employees are expected to spend about 45 years of their lives working. Employers, therefore, have an opportunity to support interventions that strengthen the health of their workforce, employees’ families, and the population more broadly. Many employers offer benefits for health and well-being, but they miss key opportunities to support cancer prevention, which in turn would reduce long-term costs of treatment and mortality and contribute to a healthier, more productive workforce overall. To identify solutions and opportunities for empowering employee health, Foreign Policy convened a panel of experts for a discussion during FP’s Health Forum, held on the sidelines of the 80th U.N. General Assembly. The conversation illuminated how employers have an essential role in supporting a healthy workforce, the barriers employees face when seeking healthcare, especially preventive care for cancer, and why collaborative and concerted action across organizations and sectors is needed.

Participants

Dr. Diana Han, Chief Health & Wellbeing Officer at Unilever

Betty Larson, Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at Merck & Co., Inc Rahway, N.J., USA (NYSE:MRK), known as MSD outside the U.S. and Canada.

Stephanie Penner, CEO, U.S. and Canada Career Leader at Mercer.

Moderated by Stacey Samuel, Founder and Executive Producer at GTS Media

Employers can play a critical role in cancer prevention and early detection through supportive employment policies and work cultures

Cancer prevention and early detection are critical to employee and business health, with early interventions not only instrumental in improving health outcomes but also in reducing costs to employees and employers associated with later-stage cancer treatment, absenteeism, and lost productivity. The global economic cost of cancer is staggering: Between 2020 and 2025, cancer cost the world economy an estimated USD 25.2 trillion, or .55 percent of global GDP annually. The cost of cancer care in the U.S. alone is expected to reach USD 240 billion by 2030—up from USD 183 billion in 2015.

Employers recognize the growing burden of cancer: A 2024 survey of 125 U.S. employers found that 80 percent rate cancer as the top driver of healthcare costs. In addition to placing a financial strain on employers and the healthcare system more broadly, cancer diminishes the workforce. In a 2021 survey of over 1,200 cancer patients and survivors in the U.S., 74 percent said they had missed multiple days of work. In addition to working fewer hours, many need to take temporary leave from the workforce, while a significant number of survivors leave the workforce altogether.

Preventive care, in the form of cancer screenings, vaccinations, or lifestyle interventions, plays an important role in minimizing the prevalence of cancer and reducing costs to employers and the overall health system. In this context, employers can drive preventive care within their organizations and benefit the broader health system: according to the OECD, workplace-based programs on health and wellness can reach 610 million employees worldwide in the formal sector. Employers, therefore, can play an outsized role in fostering work cultures and developing policies that prioritize health and enable employees to seek preventive care and timely treatment. As Betty Larson, noted during the panel discussion, “Creating an ecosystem that values wellness and encourages people to take the time they need to engage in preventive care pays dividends.” These dividends are manifold, not only benefiting the long-term health of employees but also strengthening the sustainability of organizations and businesses.

Workplace barriers to accessing preventive care persist despite growing recognition of associated benefits

Despite the clear benefits of prevention, many employees face significant barriers to accessing care. The most significant is simply lack of resources: Sixty percent of the global workforce is composed of informal workers, the overwhelming majority of whom, in addition to being low-wage, do not have access to health and wellness benefits or other social protections. One obstacle among all employees, however, is stigma. A study of women in Indonesia, for example, found that fear and shame surrounding breast cancer contributed to delayed screening and detection. Workers also may be hesitant to ask for time off for proactive health measures, fearing that doing so could be detrimental to their employment. Practical challenges also exist: Limited access to healthcare providers, navigating complex systems, or not having enough time to prioritize preventive visits undermine health outcomes. These barriers lead to delays in care: Nearly half of employees with chronic conditions said they had delayed care in the past year due to concerns about taking time off of work—a figure that underscores the scale of the problem and opportunity for employers to facilitate access.

Dr. Diana Han, Chief Health & Wellbeing Officer at Unilever, described how part of addressing barriers to healthcare means removing common access issues. She said that her organization works to prioritize high-value services, such as health screenings, assists employees with navigating the healthcare system, and, in some locations, offers on-site health services, not only to facilitate employee access but also to relieve overburdened health systems. Examples of this kind of support include workplace vaccinations, mobile mammogram screenings, and trainings that promote health literacy. Betty Larson also emphasized the role of employer communication, as organizations have a responsibility to create a culture where seeking preventive care is normalized. This could resemble small shifts in the workplace, such as leaders speaking openly about taking time for preventive care, or larger ones, like organizational support for initiatives to destigmatize cancer in the workplace. There are also organizations like the Business Group on Health that work with employers to optimize benefits and link employee health and well-being with overall workforce strategy.

Trust and personalization are key to strengthening workplace health and employee retention

Trust is the foundation for any effective workplace well-being initiative. Research shows that employees often trust their employers more than governments or private insurance providers when it comes to facilitating access to affordable, high-quality healthcare: In a survey of 17,531 employees across 16 countries, 66 percent agreed that their employer cares about their health and well-being. This creates an opportunity for companies and organizations to take on a greater role in advancing preventive care.

Trust alone, however, is not enough; programs must also be personalized to meet the diverse needs of employees. Generational and cultural differences as well as individual health priorities all shape how employees engage with wellness benefits. Stephanie Penner, CEO, U.S. and Canada Career Leader at Mercer, shared, “There’s a huge opportunity to step into the early stage of that journey,” as employees are eager for their employers to do more to support their wellness. Mercer interviewed 14,400 employees and managers and learned that 46 percent of employees worldwide would trade a 10 percent pay increase for more well-being benefits. Many employers, then, are well-positioned to design flexible, tailored wellness benefits that address the full spectrum of employee needs, ranging from preventive screenings to overall healthy lifestyle support.

Looking ahead

Cancer prevention in the workplace cannot be the responsibility of employers alone; it requires shared commitment across employers, employees, families, healthcare providers, as well as stakeholders across the health ecosystem. The stakes are high: Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, and employee illness affects not only individuals and their families but also organizational stability and economic growth. Despite the scale of the challenge, Betty Larson underscored that with 40 percent of cancers linked to modifiable risk factors: “This is a very concrete, actionable space in which we can make a meaningful difference in the lives of so many others.” This means that employers are well-positioned to support their employees’ health through workplace initiatives to support access to preventive care, design benefits that promote active, healthy lifestyles, and create an organizational culture that values well-being.

At the same time, no single stakeholder has all the answers. Dr. Diana Han stressed that “Prevention is something employers of any size can do, including small businesses. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel: There is an incredibly rich evidence base readily and freely available” to employers. The most impactful strategies will come from collaboration in the form of exchanging data, best practices, and lessons learned across industries and geographies. The participants in this discussion on empowering employee health underlined the importance of sharing insights and tools to help employers identify effective models and adapt them for their unique workforces. This collective learning not only drives efficiency but also amplifies impact, ensuring that efforts reach as many people as possible. In the end, preventive healthcare is not only about protecting individuals but also about sustaining a vibrant, productive global workforce. According to the featured speakers, employers have an opportunity and shared responsibility to support cancer prevention and improve health outcomes for their employees in the U.S. and worldwide.

By Jack Ronan (Policy and Research Analyst).

This synthesis report from FP Analytics, the independent research division of The FP Group, was produced with support from Merck & Co., Inc Rahway, N.J., USA (NYSE:MRK), known as MSD outside the U.S. and Canada. FP Analytics retained control of the findings of this report. Foreign Policy’s editorial team was not involved in the creation of this content.