By Heidi Croot
Jackie woke up to a buzzing alarm clock, feeling worse than she had the day before. Fever. Chest cough. Exhaustion. And this was only Wednesday. Three more interminable shifts before she could take a couple of days off work to rest and try and beat back this brutal bug, whatever it was. She closed her eyes again. If only there weren’t bills to pay.
This employee is about to become a case of workplace presenteeism—again. She’ll be present in body, alright, but not in mind. And over time, she’ll cost her employer big bucks, not just from her own lost productivity as she tries, but fails, to provide an expected standard of customer service, but when four of her colleagues become infected with the virus she’s carrying.
Presenteeism trumps absenteeism
If you believe the productivity hit would have been worse had Jackie stayed home, think again. Studies have found that productivity lost through presenteeism— when “workplace warriors,” as some call them, show up for work suffering from the flu, chronic medical conditions, stress or burnout—is seven and a half times greater than through absenteeism, the more familiar culprit.
Other studies suggests that presenteeism cuts a worker’s productivity by a third or more, and costs the American economy up to $150 billion US a year, as struggling workers perform well below capacity and pass their germs to others, including customers. The fallout? Reduced quality of products and services, breakdowns in customer service, and a greater likelihood of workplace injuries leading to medical expense.
Chances are, you have a few Jackies in your midst this very minute.
What drives “workplace warriors ”?
According to a national survey on health conducted in 2006 by Desjardins Financial Security, more than two-thirds of Canadian workers drag themselves into work feeling unwell, in pain, stressed and depressed. Why do they do it? Money problems are the number one reason. Nearly half of the survey respondents (44 per cent) said they couldn’t afford to lose pay. Other reasons include feeling driven to complete a project, support co-workers, and please the boss (18 to 24-year-olds, in particular). Then there’s technology, where wireless phone and e-mail devices have blurred the boundaries of the traditional work day. More than 80 per cent of Desjardins respondents say wireless technology maintains or increases stress levels.
It’s a cycle. Family financial pressures, corporate cultures that emphasize “do more with less,” longer commutes, and other factors, all contribute to skewing work-life balance, leading to less time for family and relationships, more stress and depression, and a greater risk of illness
and injury.
What can be done? Lots of things, say the pundits. Here’s a three-part plan to help managers get started.
1. Introduce presenteeism at the strategy table
2. Give presenteeism a face
3. Show presenteeism the door
“I’ve worked places where to take a sick day, you were treated as if you’d just committed a felony. Fortunately, my current boss is extremely understanding about such things and, in fact, will chide people for working when they’re sick and not taking better care of themselves.”- A reader’s response to a blog entry, “The Problem With Perfect Attendance,” at mycropht.wordpress.com.
Remember what it means to be sick
According to a Decima Research poll, 79 per cent of the Canadians surveyed say they had gone to work feeling ill in the past year. Have we forgotten what it means to be sick? While the flu is just one factor of many contributing to presenteeism, it can be a heavy hitter, especially during winter. Consider posting these guidelines* on the company bulletin board.
Stay at home (and call your doctor) when you have:
Go to work—but avoid contact with others—if you have:
Avoid co-workers who are exhibiting symptoms by:
*Canadian Broadcasting Company, January 4, 2007
Who’s most at risk for presenteeism? Statscan reports that such job-related factors as those readily found in the service sector—e.g. hours of work, shift work and work stress—are associated with depression, and that depression is higher among evening and night workers than among those with a regular day schedule. In 2002, almost four per cent of workers aged 25 to 64—nearly half a million— have had an episode of depression in the past year. Depressed workers average nearly two hours of unproductive time in an eight-hour day.
Another way presenteeism affects the service sector is through the additional risks it poses for customers. Ill workers in service sector workplaces, could, for example, transmit germs when preparing food or handling towels and bed linens.
For more information
1. “Presenteeism: At Work—But Out of It,” Harvard Business Review, October 2004.
2. Visit the Statistics Canada, website at www.statcan.ca, and search on “Depression and work impairment.”
3. Google on “Desjardins Financial Security Health Survey.”
4. Google on “Canadian HR Reporter ‘Here in body, absent in productivity.”
Excerpted from Safety Mosaic, Fall 2007, Vol. 10, No. 3
It's time to change your dust mask when the filter is clogged and breathing is difficult.
