Workforce Health Across the Value Chain 2025

Foreword How resilient can a system be if its workers remain vulnerable? This question is at the heart of a new moment of convergence. Global health inequity, climate volatility and geopolitical instability all suggest the same conclusion: operational resilience starts with people. While organizations are reassessing supply-chain strategies through diversification and reshoring, the health and well- being of the workers who keep these systems running remain overlooked. This represents not just a people risk, but a business one. Heat stress alone costs $100 billion annually, a figure projected to quintuple by 2050.1 This report explores how proactive investment in labour health and climate adaptation can strengthen supply-chain resilience and business outcomes. It builds upon discussions from the 2025 World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos and more than 60 hours of in-depth interviews with leaders in industry, finance, policy and civil society. Momentum is building. Across sectors and geographies, leading organizations are reframing worker health as essential to continuity, competitiveness and long-term value creation. It is also increasingly seen as an organizational asset – one that is exposed to the same climate volatility and systemic shocks as physical infrastructure. As highlighted during a Mercer-hosted session at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2025 in Davos titled “Mitigating Climate-Driven Health Risks Through Innovation”, climate impacts on worker health directly affect labour productivity, supply reliability and long-term growth.2 This report provides a framework for shared action by companies, governments and communities to strengthen population health and create more equitable access, resilient workforces and sustainable growth. It highlights the insights and innovations already emerging from global businesses responding to these converging risks. The findings are clear: addressing labour health, especially in areas prone to climate risk, is no longer a niche concern; it is a strategic imperative. Resilience is strengthened through more comprehensive risk management that spans a company’s entire value chain. Organizations that invest now will not just future-proof operations; they will help build a more resilient society and a stable, equitable global economy.Shyam Bishen Head, Centre for Health and Healthcare; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic ForumHervé Balzano President, Health, Mercer and Mercer Marsh Benefits Workforce Health Across the Value Chain: Organizational Insights to Mitigate Risk and Create Sustainable GrowthNovember 2025 Workforce Health Across the Value Chain: Organizational Insights to Mitigate Risk and Create Sustainable Growth 3