The Cost of Presenteeism

The modern workplace has changed significantly over the past 30 years largely due to the use of technology. It is increasingly common, especially in this current recession, for employees to work so hard they risk burning out. Technology keeps people ever connected and prohibits employees from disengaging from work.

Professor Cary Cooper CBE, an expert in organisational psychology and Health at Lancaster University, speaks about this problem and warns about the risks to employees and employers. Employees who are consumed with appearing committed and indispensible quickly become exhausted and less productive. Cary Cooper has even said that the cost of presenteesim is often more than that of absenteeism.

Another problem of presenteeism arises when an employee has an illness such as an infection, which they bring to work and spread to their colleagues. We’ve all experienced “Wimps” at work, but their presence can be selfish as it causes not only their personal productivity to decrease but that of their colleagues as well.

The Trades Union Congress recently released findings that show 5.24 million people in the UK regularly worked additional time worth up to £27 billion for the UK economy. If this is broken down per employee, each individual would be missing out on £5,000 worth of pay per year.

There are clear costs associated with coming to work for both employees and employers. When considering if your company can reduce the cost of presenteeism reflect on the following areas: lack of paid sick days, workplace culture and policies, overhelmed/overworked employees, no alternatives like working from home, and employee perception of job security.

And if you want advice regarding managing presenteeism within your organisation, just get in touch!