Counting the cost of ‘presenteeism’ in the office
Source:  http://www.deskdemon.com


Several recent studies suggest the pressure to be at our desks is doing more harm than good. Researchers use the term ‘presenteeism’ not only to refer to sick employees who come to work instead of staying at home, but more in general to employees who are at work but performing at less than full capacity.

‘Presenteeism’ is estimated to cost the economy $180 billion annually in the US alone. Absenteeism, where the employee does not report to work, costs $118 billion annually in medical expenses and lost productivity. In other words, the cost of presenteeism has now surpassed the cost of absenteeism, if the surveys are to be believed.

In a UK study, Professor Cary Cooper, an expert on organisation, psychology and health at Lancaster University, said of the culture of presenteeism: "We now have the longest working hours in Europe, yet for many people only some of this time is productive. People feel they have to stay at their desks for longer to stay in work."

Professor Cooper's study of 1,000 office workers found most spent almost an hour a day surfing the internet, while problems with computers swallowed up more than three-quarters of an hour. Chatting with colleagues, making calls to friends and tea and toilet breaks also took office workers away from the task in hand, adding up to an average of almost three hours a day spent on "unproductive" tasks.

According to a recent article in The New York Times, 56 percent of 326 human resources professionals told a research firm that presenteeism had become a problem in their companies, up from 39 percent two years ago.

Professor Cooper believes that more flexible working practices are the answer and that employers would benefit from allowing more people to work from home or to vary their hours to suit their families. He said: "Working longer hours can adversely affect your health and interfere with your family life and private time as well as undermining productivity. With so many distractions in the modern office, it is not surprising that our minds wander. However, we don't have to make drastic changes to enjoy a more efficient - and shorter - working day."

Even when we are genuinely trying to get some work done, we may have be simply too tired to concentrate. In a report published in the January journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM), researchers analyzed data from a nationwide study of the relationship between health and productivity at work. Of the nearly 29,000 employed adults interviewed, 38 percent said they had experienced “low levels of energy, poor sleep, or a feeling of fatigue” during the past two weeks.

Almost one in 10 (nine per cent) of workers with fatigue reported such unproductive work time. Fatigue reduced work performance mainly by interfering with their concentration and increasing the time needed to accomplish tasks.

The rate of lost productivity for all health-related reasons was also much higher for workers with fatigue: some 66 per cent, compared with 26 per cent for workers without fatigue. Total lost productive time averaged 5.6 hours per week for workers with fatigue, compared to 3.3 hours for their counterparts without fatigue.

In some cases presenteeism contributes to the cost of absenteeism. This occurs when a ‘brave’ employee soldiering with flu spreads germs to other employees in the workplace. These newly infected employees will elect to deal with their illness through either absenteeism or presenteeism.

Some employees admitted that being sick at home was simply too boring and that they felt better surrounded by the support of colleagues. As often as two-thirds of the time, sick people go to work because they feel they have too much work to do. The second-most common reason is workers believe no one else is available to cover their workload. With corporate downsizings of the past creating a leaner workforce, employees often feel they have to show up for work, whether it's out of guilt over staying home or concerns over job security.

According to Multicultural Business Council (MBC), a cultural empowerment organization based near Detroit, Michigan, absenteeism policies are creating specific cultures within the larger corporate culture. When an employee changes jobs from a company that has a restrictive absenteeism policy to a company with a less restrictive absenteeism policy, they will quickly learn to adapt to the new culture. However, employees moving in the opposite direction, from less restrictive to more restrictive absenteeism policies will take longer to adopt to the culture of the company.

“It seems an entitlement mentality is a key player as employees look at sick pay policies at their company versus the policies at companies have previously worked with or have friends or family working for,” according to MBC spokesman Rick Weaver. “Understanding the motivational factors of a team of employees can reduce the negative impact from presenteeism and absenteeism.”

Presenteeism occurs when, for example, an employee has family issues to deal with however they do not feel the entire day needs to be taken off of work. They will make the necessary phone calls to resolve the family issues on company time. In the case of the entitlement mentality, when employees see other employees taking long lunches or breaks or making personal phone calls on company time they feel they are also entitled to do the same.

Researchers suggest that companies could offer “work-life programs” to help employees balance their work and personal responsibilities, and take steps to improve assessment and treatment for the large subgroup of workers who have fatigue co-occurring with other health conditions.

DeskDemon would like to hear your thoughts on working longer hours, coming in sick or colleagues who pretend to be busier than they really are. How does your organisation cope with 'work-life balance' issues? Do you feel guilty about sorting out personal matters in the boss's time? Or do you feel it's the least they can do in return for your efforts? Please share your thoughts with us.

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