Presenteeism refers to the situation in which employees are at work, but they are not as productive as they could be because they’re not feeling well—but they’re not feeling sick enough to take a day off, or they don’t have days off to take.
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This can be a problem for employers and employees alike. The employees may resent feeling as though they have no choice but to work—such as if they’re out of sick days or feel as though they would be penalized for being absent. Their presence at work while not feeling well may also cause frustration among other employees who are now faced with the possibility of becoming ill, too. It could even cause a loss of revenue if customers leave due to seeing a sick employee—and this is true even if the employee isn’t actually contagious (it’s the perception that matters).
Presenteeism can be hard to measure, not the least of which is because, unlike absences, it may not be obvious when an employee is not focusing well due to some illness or injury. For example, employees may have allergies or a headache but otherwise appear well. But even if it’s difficult to measure, it still causes a loss of productivity. Here are some ideas to reduce presenteeism:
- Ensure employees know what leave is available to them. This includes not only sick days and vacation days, but also FMLA leave and any other leave that you may have available that the employee may be able to utilize in lieu of coming into work when feeling unwell.
- Ensure that the organizational culture values employee health and does not inadvertently harbor expectations that employees should work when under the weather.
- Review your sick leave and vacation policies to see if they’re adequate for most cases.
- Consider implementing an employee wellness program. Such a program can proactively address some types of health issues, resulting in fewer illnesses overall. It can also have the indirect effect of promoting a culture of wellness, which may result in employees being more encouraged to take care of themselves when ill.
- Consider allowing remote work in isolated cases if possible, even if your standard policy does not allow remote working. By allowing occasional remote work, an employee who feels a bit under the weather may be able to work from home that day, thus at least reducing the potential for spreading illness to other employees. While the employee will still likely not be fully productive, the indirect problems are minimized.
- Consider conducting voluntary, anonymous surveys of employees asking about times they’ve been at work but are not feeling up to par. This might give insights into benefits that could be offered for employees, such as access to chronic care specialists for whatever conditions might be prevalent, like allergies, migraines, depression, anxiety, or back pain.
- Provide benefits that have a positive impact on employee health, such as discounted or free gym memberships, nutritional consultations, on-site fitness options, free vaccinations, health insurance, etc. By reducing the times employees fall ill, both absenteeism and presenteeism will be improved.
- Ensure that the workplace offers adequate opportunities to take breaks—a simple act that can have a big impact on how well someone can concentrate, especially if he or she is already not feeling well.
- Review employee workload. Presenteeism may occur when employees do not want to come to work but feel they have no choice due to work demands.
- Conduct ergonomic assessments and improvements to minimize workplace and repetitive injuries.
What other methods have you tried to minimize the occurrence of presenteeism?