What Is Presenteeism?

Presenteeism refers to the lost productivity that occurs when employees are not fully functioning in the workplace because of an illness, injury, or other condition. Even thoug✅h the employee may be physically at work, they may not be 🔯able to fully perform their duties and are more likely to make mistakes on the job.

Although not tracked like 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:absenteeism, the costs of presenteeism have been estimated to be larger in real terms as employees suffering༺ from longer-term conditions see persistent drops in productivity. It is important to note that emplo🥂yees contributing to presenteeism are, by definition, trying to give their best efforts but are physically or mentally unable to do so.

Understanding Presenteeism

Presenteeism is thought to be common in most workplaces, even though it is a topic that is not often discu♏ssed. Employees frequently show up to work even though they may be feeling ill, experiencing physical or emotional pain, or are going through some stressful situation that is affecting their ability to focus.

In these situations, employees are attempting to work despite their particular problem and the result is a less 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:productive work day than that employee can typically 🦄deliver. As the employee is present and working, it is difficult for managers to see the productivity gap as clearly as when an empl🧸oyee is absent from work.

Consequences of Presenteeism

Simply put, presenteeism costs employers🎶 money. While an employee is contributing by still showing up f🐽or work despite being injured, stressed, or ill, presenteeism can cost the employer in a few different ways.

The obvious one is the productivity gap between the employee struggling through the day compared to when that employee is healthy and happy. Moreover, a struggling and stressed employee is more prone to make mistakes t🃏hat could cost the company m🃏ore than if the same employee was merely absent.

There is also the possibility that an employee is prolonging their illness or condition by attempting💦 to work through it rather than resting or otherwise addressing it. This lengthens the period of time during which the loss of productivity will be a factor.

Lastly, in the case of a physically sick employee who shows up to work, there is a possibility that that employee's illness will spread to other workers resulting in more presenteeism and absenteeism.

A 2016 study (latest information) published in Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology concluded that presenteeism associated with depression costs $5,524 per person annually in the U.S., five to 10 times higher on average than costs associated with absenteeism.

Reasons for Presenteeism

While presenteeism can be difficult to measure, surveys of workers have shown why it is so common in workplaces. Workplace culture plays a large role as many employees fear losing their jobs or missing out on opportunities for career advancement if they take time off when they could still be working.

Beyond having their dedication questioned, many employees find that work cannot be easily transferred or covered in a workplace without some consequences in terms of quality and time to completion, in addition to negative impacts on coworker rel𝄹ationships.

Some workplaces also have structural hurdles that encourage presenteeism such as a lack of paid sick leave. Parents in particular tend to use sick days only when absolutely necessary in order to 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:save sick days for when their children are ill.

Reducing Presenteeism

Companies ultimately thrive or die based on 🎀the productivity of their employees. As presenteeism is a productivity drain, many companies are actively trying to combat this problem.

Many of the solutions are straightforward, such as offering a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:wider range of leave—family, personal, me༒dical, etc.—and more of it. This has the added advantage of signaling that an employee may be struggling with an issue if, for example, the🍸y are frequently taking medical leave and booking appointments.

Companies have also developed 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:wellness programs aimed at raising the level of physical and mental health. This can be done by encouraging employe𒀰es to exercise and adopt habits shown to improve overall well-being, ꦑand some companies go further by incentivizing healthy habits.

In the end, however, evidence shows that workplace culture can play the largest role in reducing presenteeism. Managers not only need to encourage their employees to stay home when they feel unwell, but they must follow that advice themselves.

As this will likely result in more absenteeism, employers have to ensure that♒ workflows are easily transferable and that alternative arrangements lik𝓰e working from home can be rapidly implemented. All these solutions do come with a cost. However, when properly done, they can reduce the larger cost of lost productivity from presenteeism.

The Bottom Line

Presenteeism occurs when employees continue to work despite being ill. This leads to errors, spread of illnౠess, and reduced productivity. Employers can battle presenteeism by supporting taking time off when ill, promoting wellness, providing employees with enough leave and sick days, and generally creating a supportive work environment.