Britain marked ‘sick man of Europe’ as Brits are working too hard

British life expectancy is trailing behind the rest of Europe, with the gap only expected to get wider according to expert statements. Writing in The Times, public health specialist Sir Michael Marmot is warning that action needs to be taken to ensure the health of Brits as he declared the UK the ‘sick man and woman of Europe’.

Nationwide, life expectancy in women is the lowest in Europe, while male expectancy growth is the second lowest, both of which are disappointing results for the specialist. Having written a government report on health inequality, Sir Marmot urges authority figures to speak out and investigate the dip in British life expectancy.

The report comes following news that employers are becoming more understanding of mental health problems, and bosses are changing the way they approach worker health. Despite younger generations revealing they’re more conscious of their health than older workers, burnout is still a major threat to business, but people may not be gearing themselves up for retirement.

“This is a new and worrying trend,” commented Sir Michael Marmot in the The Times, believing the health service has played a significant role in the decline, adding “austerity is an obvious candidate.”

Although women are still living longer than men, their pension plans aren’t reflecting this, with many female workers retiring into poverty. The public health service is in the spotlight to take drastic measures, but are businesses doing enough to look after their workers?

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