Dear Allan,
I’ve heard the term « presenteeism » lately. What exactly does it mean?
– Just Curious
Dear Curious,
Great question. We all know how much absenteeism affects the workplace, but there’s an often overlooked syndrome that can be just as serious. The word “presenteeism” was originally coined to describe when an employee shows up for work while they are actually sick, but now encompasses a larger definition. Read on:
We can tell people not to come to work and infect everyone else with their cold or flu, but that’s easier said than done. If an employee has used up their sick days and can’t afford any more time off, they often feel compelled to drag themselves to the office. The obvious disadvantages are passing on their illness to others, lower productivity due to decreased energy, lack of concentration and decision making ability, and the likelihood their condition will last longer.
Presenteeism can be a real dilemma for a manager to handle. A 2011 study by Cornell University reported the consequences of presenteeism actually outweigh those of absenteeism, with an estimated cost of $150 billion dollars a year and an average of 6.5 working days of annual productivity lost per employee, due to presenteeism, in North America. In other words, just because someone crawls into work does not mean they operate at their full capacity.
Employees may feel that time away from work puts their job at risk, and if they have a chronic condition or recurring illness, might not be able to stay home financially when their paid sick days have been exhausted. A strong motivator to show up while sick is an outdated attendance policy, where no flexibility or personal days are made available for extenuating circumstances. Unfortunately, no one wins in this case.
This brings me to mention a different form of presenteeism – one where personal illness is not involved. If an employee is struggling with worry or a life challenge such as divorce, death, family illness or other concerns, they might be present physically, but mentally focused on their dilemma, versus the task at hand. Again, a decent policy to account for unexpected life challenges can help alleviate this situation. This could include introducing flex time, personal days, and the possibility of working from home when appropriate.
While a good place to start, building a more reasonable approach to managing presenteeism is just the beginning. The introduction of a comprehensive workplace health and wellness program gets closer to the core of the issue – improving employee physical and mental health for long term benefit. The healthier the employee, the stronger their resistance to illness, and the more they can contribute at work. And the better they learn to deal with stress, the more likely they can handle life’s emergencies.
We’ll be addressing a third type of presenteeism – wasting time at work – in a separate post later this month. Watch for it!
Allan