For companies, workplace absenteeism is a serious yet frequently disregarded issue.
The Financial Times reports that this idea costs companies about 35 productive days per employee annually when workers show up for work physically but aren’t motivated or able to perform their jobs to the best of their ability. In order to contextualise that statistic, the more well-known phenomenon of “absenteeism,” which refers to a worker’s physical absence from work, accounts for just three.
Although it may appear to be a sign of dedication and loyalty to the company when an employee bravely perseveres through a sickness that is bad for them, doing so can sometimes backfire by delaying the essential recovery period and possibly spreading the illness throughout your workplace. Additionally, a University of Sheffield study found that presenteeism affects 26% of individuals with poor mental health, demonstrating the complexity and destructive nature of the reasons for this professional occurrence.
So, what steps can you take as an employer, then, to stop presenteeism in your company?
One method to lessen the impact of presenteeism is to implement flexible working hours, train mental health first aiders, and disclose an annual leave policy in your employment handbook. We hope to highlight a few of the most potentially beneficial in this blog post.
Prior to exploring each of them individually, it is crucial to acknowledge that presenteeism among your employees can occur for causes other than physical and mental health issues.
What Are the Causes of Presenteeism?
Even if a worker is in excellent physical and mental health and is content in every area of their life, presenteeism at work may still occur. A lack of support, fear of losing their job, a bad work-life balance, ineffective leadership, a stagnated career path, an overwhelming workload, unclear expectations, and burnout are some more reasons besides issues with mental or physical health.
Anything that could cause us to lose concentration, become distracted, become less motivated, or become physically incapable of working can all have an impact on an employee’s presenteeism. Due to the complexity of the situation, a comprehensive approach is needed to solve it.
How to Reduce Presenteeism in Your Workplace?
1. Check-in or check-up with employees regularly
It is challenging to measure presenteeism because it is unlikely that examining the combined or even individual production of your employees would provide a complete picture. If they are employed in sales, for instance, and their monthly numbers are lower than they have been in the past, you may propose that presenteeism is the root of the problem. A variety of outside variables can have contributed to the decrease, including a drop in customer demand for your good or service or even just office-related disturbances from coworkers.
It is crucial to combine productivity data, such as recorded sales, with regular one-on-one meetings to fully understand the situations where presenteeism may be occurring. This will allow employees to provide context and team leaders to identify any signs of demotivation, mental health issues, or other factors that may indicate presenteeism.
Regular anonymous surveys with questions like, “How motivated do you feel while at work? On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest),” are also a good idea. or “Do you agree or disagree with the statement, ‘I feel mentally supported while at work?'” Conducting these surveys can reveal unique presenteeism trends and offer recommendations for remedial actions that you, as the employer, should implement (such as offering a particular reward).
2. Make sick leave a norm
A recent survey revealed that 67% of workers are anxious or feel guilty about missing work while they are dealing with health-related problems. When the survey results are broken down by individual motivation, 40% of respondents say they keep working because they are afraid of falling behind on their work, 24% say they feel pressure from their supervisor, and 22% say they just want to be seen at work; failing to do so could be interpreted as weakness.
There are multiple facets to this issue, necessitating a thorough response from your management teams. They ought to embrace the mentality that puts their health ahead of all other considerations, including deadlines, attendance goals, and results. By doing this, you can lessen the stigma attached to taking sick time and assist ease some of the stress brought on by heavy workloads.
In addition to the cultural adjustments, it would make sense to put the pragmatic measure of routinely assessing workload distribution into practice. This could entail using workload monitoring software to make sure that jobs are assigned to team members fairly and holding frequent check-ins to talk about ongoing projects and difficulties. By incorporating other coworkers in project-related interactions, you can make sure they are informed and prepared to take up tasks at short notice if one employee is away and prevent work from falling through the gaps.
3. Spread the word about your company’s absence policy.
One of the best resources you have for informing your employees of their rights and responsibilities is an employment handbook. A section outlining the compensation an employee is entitled to in the event of a sick leave, along with the protocol for reporting such absences, ought to be included among items like your social media policy, probationary period, and dress code.
Although it may be customary for an employee to report a sickness by calling their line manager before their scheduled work time, it is important to keep in mind that, as reported by The Guardian, 25% of UK adults own a smartphone but do not use it for making calls, possibly due to anxiety. You may, therefore, implement a texting system wherein a brief message is sufficient to incentivise staff members to report illness and take their allotted sick time.
4. Adopting a flexible working policy
Adopting a flexible working policy is a calculated move that recognises the range of demands and preferences among your employees. The policy may cover a range of alternatives that improve employees’ overall well-being, including job-sharing, flextime, shortened workweeks, and telecommuting.
Flexible work schedules have many advantages, but one of the most important ones in terms of presenteeism is the noticeable improvement in an employee’s mental health, which is one of the main causes of the condition. Indeed, according to a recent survey, nearly 40% of respondents under 45 who work flexible hours think their mental health has significantly improved as a result.
However, there are more benefits to flexible working than better mental health. According to 73% of managers, adjusting the working environment (such as location or hours) to meet the demands of the employee can increase productivity and, consequently, profits.
5. Offer assistance for mental health
Approximately one out of every seven workers encounters mental health issues at work. These can affect their concentration, engagement, motivation, and the bonds they develop with their coworkers, as we’ve already discussed. Although psychological problems are common in the workplace, there is a lack of readiness to discuss them. About one in three adults find it difficult to bring up the topic, according to the mental health charity Mind.
Therefore, it is advised that you refrain from pressuring your staff members to have mental health conversations. A better strategy would be to foster a climate that is open, inclusive, and encourages discussion without making anyone feel uncomfortable. Offering mental health first aid training to your employees is a proactive move on your part as an employer. This will enable them to recognise the warning signs of mental stress and provide them with the tools they need to have private conversations with coworkers who may be experiencing difficulties.
6. Invest in employee development
As we previously stated, the perception of job stagnation is a significant—though negligible—factor contributing to presenteeism when considering one’s physical and emotional well-being. An employee’s motivation and productivity are likely to decline if they believe their professional life is stagnating or not progressing. Even if they are physically there, their eyes are probably fixed on the door or just looking out the window. Persistent presenteeism—fulfilling required obligations without going above and beyond—is referred to as “quiet quitting.”
You could think about scheduling regular one-on-one meetings between the employee and their line manager to keep them from becoming stagnant in their careers. These gatherings can aid in defining goals, highlighting areas in which skills need to be developed, and developing a career advancement plan. Putting money into staff development goes beyond solving the short-term issues with absenteeism; it builds the groundwork for a talented and driven team that will always be advancing both the company and its members.
Conclusion
Almost all employers in the UK face the difficulty of presenteeism, which can negatively affect employee morale and overall productivity. Fortunately, several strategies can be used to lessen and stop it from spreading. You may establish a work climate that puts employee welfare first without compromising profitability by offering mental health support, flexible work schedules, open communication about sick leave, or, best of all, a combination of these strategies.