Presenteeism is a workplace phenomenon where employees attend work despite being unwell. This means that even though the employee is physically present, they are less productive.

In the past, absenteeism has been recognised as a significant drain on the bottom line. But the number of employees working through illness is thought to be much larger than those missing work for health reasons. As a result, the cost of presenteeism to organisations may be almost 10 times higher than that of absenteeism.

Currently, there is no single accepted method of valuing presenteeism, but it is estimated it costs UK businesses £29 billion per year in lost productivity. Despite many employers implementing flexible work schedules and wellness programs, presenteeism persists.

Reasons vary and include fear of employees losing their jobs, missing out on career progression opportunities, and worries about falling behind on workload. These concerns are often more prevalent during periods of restructuring and job losses, and the reduction in the size of teams can often place a heavy burden on employees left behind.

Even worse, some companies create an expectation that work is more important than well-being. These toxic work cultures can pressure employees to perform at high levels with limited resources regardless of how they feel physically or mentally.

Despite all this, not all instances of working while unwell are problematic. Let’s now consider some examples and think about the positives and negatives of each scenario. Sometimes employees will want to continue working in some capacity despite not feeling their best. They may feel able to do some work but not performing all of their normal duties or all their working hours, and this type of scenario is where workplace adjustments, potentially with advice from Occupational Health are likely to help both managers and employees.

Some employees will get a therapeutic benefit from returning to work in some capacity. They may have recovered sufficiently to return to some work activity and be keen to return to the office, for example for social connection. This is a further scenario where workplace adjustments with support from Occupational Health are likely to be of benefit.

More problematic presenteeism is when an employee remains at, or returns to, work when they are too unwell to complete work activities and there is no therapeutic benefit.

So how can employers and managers reduced problematic presenteeism and its negative benefits?

One way to reduce presenteeism is to support managers to identify the early signs of presenteeism so that can intervene as early as possible. Employer should encourage managers to have honest conversations and empower their team to make good choices. By promoting open communication, employees will be more likely to confide in their managers rather than suffer in silence. With this type of culture, managers can address the situation head-on by providing their staff with what they need to thrive.

Consider whether your current sickness absence and pay arrangements encourage presenteeism. Employees are much more likely to work when unwell if their illnesses are not covered by sick pay arrangements. It is worth periodically considering whether your current arrangements remain appropriate and whether the initial financial outlay caused by changing arrangements might actually lead to financial gain from reducing productivity loss further down the line. Arrangements available to all staff, such as flexible working, might also help people manage the competing demands of their health and work.

The evidence suggests that reducing work-related Stress also helps to reduce presenteeism. managers can use the tools available free of charge from the Health and Safety Executive website to manage the demands of work placed on employees in a way that is less likely to be problematic to their health.

Leading by example is also important. Managers create workplace cultures and if policy states that work-life balance is a priority, but managers are heard to comment negatively on an employee’s absence, or regularly send emails late in the evening, this sends out inconsistent messages and can contribute to culture of present he is in.

Focusing on results, rather than the finer details of when and where people work, can also create a culture which reduces the need for presenteeism. Employees can still be held accountable for delivering measurable results, but the focus can be shifted from measuring how many hours someone works or how many days a week they are in the office, which can take the pressure off employees who feel they need to be physically present when feeling too unwell to work.

So, you can see that, while not all instances of working unwell are necessarily problematic, inappropriate presenteeism is a problem which leads to reduced productivity and, as a consequence, often increased absenteeism. By boosting awareness and prevention, companies can improve the overall well-being of their workforce. Only then will employees be in a position to perform at their best and be more satisfied with their jobs.

Asclepius Occupational Health would be delighted to support you to consider how changes to your organisational culture might be of benefit, including evidence-based recommendations to support employers to reduce presenteeism.

We also provide expert support to employees and employers during periods of illness, whether an employee is absent or not, to support employees to remain at work with appropriate adjustments, or to return to work at an appropriate time in an appropriate way.

Please contact Asclepius Occupational Health if you have any questions.