How To Deal With “Presenteeism” In The Office

While everyone might be familiar with the great corporate work place menace that is absenteeism, not so many are even aware that there is such a term as presenteeism and that it is actually rising in prominence, as absenteeism appears to be becoming much less common.

In case you’re one of the many that are not very familiar with this term, presenteeism is the practice of being present for work when one is ill or otherwise unfit to perform ones duties, and thereby being much less productive.

Clearly, one reason for the drop in absenteeism rates is the rise of presenteeism and while you might think it is better to have a half-productive employee at work than to not have them at work at all, pause for a moment and consider the fact that staff who report to work with a contagious illness run the risk of infecting others, and often force themselves to show up for work simply because they feel compelled to do so which could foster resentment.

Remarkably, even though studies have shown that absenteeism is on the wane, studies also confirm that employees engaged in presenteeism are likely to end up in absenteeism when their conditions inevitably become aggravated. So what can you do to make sure that presenteeism does not become a thing in your business?

#1. Company culture

If people are coming to work when they should be staying home instead, then there is probably a problem with your business’s corporate culture. Staff probably feel compelled to come to work or run the risk of being seen as unproductive, which is something no one wants.

Are you or other senior staff making employees feel compelled to keep up some measure of eye service in order to preserve their jobs or careers? Of course It is only natural that you should seek to maximize the potential of your work force, however, this approach may be counter-productive.

#2. Be open

Staff should be encouraged to speak freely with managers and other senior staff about any issues they might be having. It might be that perhaps staff are victims of this practice simply because of a misconception or misperception about how you would react if they did the right thing by staying home, and you will need to be very loud and clear about how you might be willing to help out if people are struggling with stress or illness through no fault of their own.

Also, you should make sure your managers and other senior staff are trained to spot the signs of presenteeism early enough to permit you to make proactive intervention. The most typical of these signs is consistent absent-mindedness and an inexplicable drop-off in productivity.

#3. Promote wellness

Prevention is still better than cure and you can act fast and save the day by implementing wellness policies that will proactively protect the health and fitness of your staff. Even if you’re not yet having presenteeism issues, you can effectively minimize the chances of its occurrence simply by implementing wellness policies for your staff.

Effective corporate wellness strategies have been proven to save organizations significant amounts of money both n terms of health insurance and medical bills, and manpower hours. Some statistics even indicate that up to 55% of workers believe corporate wellness to have improved their overall productivity.

#4. Review policies

Chances are, even if you might consider yourself open and flexible, there is a chance that your formal policies do not reflect this sentiment. You might need to review your policies to ensure that staff are not mandatorily punished for taking time off due to illness or if they need some time to deal with a traumatic family event.

Some of the advice given here might seem perfectly designed to foster unproductivity but that doesn’t have to be the case. If you apply all the tips discussed here, you will likely find that instead of seeing productivity drop because people are being encouraged to take days off when they need them, your productivity is likely to rise as your staff will be better placed to give their best work.