Supply chain resilience depends on worker well-being. Here’s how businesses can protect both

As economic uncertainty mounts and tariffs affect trade around the world, global supply chains continue to face increased pressure. Much attention has been paid to solutions such as diversifying suppliers, revising geographic production capabilities and expanding capacity. But the health and well-being of the workers who run these systems are often overlooked.

As the frequency of disruptions increases – whether due to climate risk, geopolitical dynamics or other issues – the resiliency of supply chains and the people that keep them running must be addressed. After all, how resilient can a system truly be if its workers are vulnerable?

Workforce health and well-being are foundational to business continuity and productivity, but many workers increasingly live amid fragile and stressed health systems, with rising costs exacerbating access and affordability challenges. In particular, the consequences of climate events, including fire, floods and exposure to extreme heat, impact the safety and long-term health of billions of workers, such as the more than 2.4 billion that are estimated to be at risk from extreme heat events.

As leaders gather for the 2025 World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva from 19-27 May, the growing recognition of climate-related health risks signals an important step forward. The WHO’s Fourteenth General Programme of Work (2025–2028) underscores this momentum, prioritizing support for climate-resilient health systems and action on environmental determinants of health.

As these multilateral institutions, governments and public health agencies mobilize around solutions, there is a growing opportunity for private sector leaders to consider how evolving health risks may intersect with their operations and workforce strategies. In response to this opportunity, the Forum will host its inaugural Annual Health Roundtable on the sidelines of the WHA in Geneva this week. The roundtable comes at a critical moment and will bring together leaders from across sectors to focus on the future of global health investment, collaboration and delivery.

The World Economic Forum’s 2025 Global Risks Report, published earlier this year, reveals that, while environmental risks dominate as the most severe risks on a 10-year outlook among private sector stakeholders surveyed, they are ranked lower as short-term business priorities for the next two years. The impact of climate events on workforce health is no longer a distant concern; however, they are already contributing to supply chain disruption, labour productivity loss and rising health-related costs. These dynamics are increasingly relevant to business continuity and warrant deeper consideration within corporate planning and risk management frameworks.

The COVID-19 pandemic offered a clear lesson in this area: Risks to workforce health can quickly cascade into supply chain disruption, operational instability and financial loss. But despite mounting climate threats, health-focused adaptation efforts remain vastly underfunded. According to recent research, less than 6% of adaptation finance has gone to health-related initiatives, leaving critical gaps in preparedness and resilience.

To help close this gap, the World Economic Forum and Mercer are examining how employers can strengthen workforce resilience across global supply chains. The aim is to identify practical, business-aligned strategies that improve access to healthcare and mitigate health risks – especially among worker populations who face heightened exposure to climate stressors.

The full report, to be released later this year through the Forum's Healthy Workforces initiative, will explore how investments in worker health and climate resilience are essential to long-term business continuity. Research has involved more than 30 hours of in-depth interviews with leaders across industry, finance and policy sectors to explore what proactive solutions might look like. Drawing on these expert insights, secondary research and illustrative case studies, some of the early findings are already clear.

First of all, worker health is a foundational pillar of supply chain resilience. Workers in high-exposure roles and regions are disproportionately impacted by health and climate risks that threaten productivity and continuity. This includes limitations in health access and delivery, occupational health standards, heightened heat stress and vector-borne diseases.

But innovative financing and delivery models can close critical care gaps. Organizations are already exploring how ideas like parametric insurance, pooled procurement, subscription-based care and professionalized community health workers can enable more agile, scalable and equitable access to health services.

It is also important to note that proactive investments yield long-term returns. Companies that embed health resilience into workforce and operational planning are better prepared to navigate disruption to their supply chains.

This work complements and builds on a growing evidence base from the Forum, including a publication on the role of insurers in navigating extreme heat and another developed in collaboration with Oliver Wyman on the economic cost of climate-health impacts. Also, at the Annual Meeting 2025 in Davos, a Mercer-hosted health breakfast session highlighted efforts to better understand and mitigate workforce health risks.

While many public health, climate and workforce resilience frameworks have emphasized regulatory reform or external funding mechanisms, this work explores what private sector leaders can do now to protect their workers and the continuity of their operations – from investing in climate-focused benefits programmes to deploying financing tools to address systemic access gaps.

The threat of health to supply chain resilience is clear, but opportunities to act are already emerging. To address this problem, businesses can:

Just as companies prepare for disruptions, cyberattacks or natural disasters, assessing how health vulnerabilities may impact operations can be useful – whether due to climate or general health risks.

Companies can incorporate health-focused climate risk management into HR, operations and supply chain planning.

This could involve shifting away from reactive health spending to proactive resilience measures such as early warning systems, heat stress mitigation and accessible diagnostics for disease prevention.

Companies can explore parametric insurance and climate risk funding mechanisms to support employees and at-risk communities.

By strengthening partnerships with governments, health systems and civil society, it is possible to scale up community-based health solutions, expand access to healthcare and emergency systems and mitigate climate risks.

As the world navigates an increasingly complex mix of trade disruptions, climate risks and healthcare access challenges, employers have a critical role to play in protecting the health and resilience of supply chain workers. Those that act now will be better positioned to protect their people, strengthen their operations and contribute meaningfully to the resilience of the supply chain systems we all rely on.

To achieve lasting impact, however, employer efforts must be supported by enabling infrastructure and underpinned by strong public-private collaboration. This will truly advance health resilience across supply chains.