Presenteeism: the broader issues and factors

Tanya, 38, works for a downtown Toronto tech company. The employees are creative and driven. They all wear jeans to work. It's company policy that no one drives a car to the office. There isn't an HR department. Instead there's a glass jar that sits in the middle of the open concept room. You pay into it if you mess up. The employees find it a pretty cool place to work in many respects. But the problem is, they never go home.

Tanya was explaining this to me with some despair in her voice over our phone call. I tried to understand her in between her insistent cough. She had been feeling achy and lethargic for about two weeks, and that morning she had turned for the worse. "I can't stay home," she said. "No one here even takes lunch. It's very intense. But I need breaks, you know? I need to get a walk or something. I can't go all day. One of my coworkers took a lunch break once and he got called on it. I don't feel I can be the only person who goes out at lunch!"

What my friend needed was a day or two of rest. "It's presenteeism," she muttered. "Even when it's not good for you, you just stay there working. Even when you're sick, you go in."

Presenteeism is the term commonly used to describe showing up at work when sick, but its true meaning as a construct is more complex. Presenteeism also encompasses staying longer than is effective to get one's job done, or 'showing up' to provide face time but actually performing at a diminished rate. It may be more common amongst those who feel less job security, and conversely, amongst those who believe they are not easily replaceable.

Presenteeism is a concern both for employee wellness and the corporate bottom line. Originally seen as absenteeism's 'other side,' it is now being recognized as a more unique phenomenon and a growing problem in corporate culture. The Montreal Gazette recently reported on a cross-section of studies, which illustrate that presenteeism's negative effects in the workplace might actually trump those of absenteeism's. A Concordia University report summarizes that "instances of attending work while ill likely cost the economy more and do more damage to the aggregate quality of working life."

Simply put, going to work while sick spreads the illness to others who must then take time off; it extends the life of the illness; and it hampers the 'presenter's' productivity. The same Concordia University study showed that its participants averaged twice as many days in presenteeism as absenteeism.

Likewise, a Queen's University study showed it costs employers twice as much when people show up sick than when they stay home. The researchers cite a Thomas Bramley study, which notes "the common cold results in an economic loss of $16.7 billion for presenteeism, while half that amount -- $8 billion -- is attributed to absenteeism … [and] there are 214 million lost workday equivalents because of the common cold each year in the U.S., of which 69 million are attributed to absenteeism and the remaining 145 million from on-the-job work loss." (link).

If presenteeism is so bad for the individual, for their coworkers, and for the company's bottom line, and if management understands that evidence, then why is it such a phenomenon?

The antecedents of presenteeism are diverse, and range from feelings of job insecurity and instability to workaholism. The same day I spoke with my friend from the city, I spoke to another friend, a manager at a large company. He was complaining about his workload. He works an average of thirty percent or more than his coworkers in other departments.

His staff also work longer hours than their counterparts outside the department, and this is something he is both proud of and begrudges. His day begins at 7am and ends around 7pm, but lately, he says, he stays as late as 9pm. His complaints centre on the fact that he has too much work, too little leisure time, and that others leave early, which is actually the workday's official end.

The conversation that followed regarding his long hours provides insight that judging presenteeism as a wholly negative phenomenon may not account for the complexities of why people attend and stay at work past what others may deem healthy. There may be a workplace culture that lends itself to a corporate-citizenship identity. Or perhaps the worker's own identity is directly related to a performance-based type of self-esteem that is acquired through the job. There is also a sense of belonging that people get from being connected to a workplace culture.

Within this structure, employees can feel internally and externally rewarded by others when they receive the praise and admiration of colleagues or managers for their 'organizational citizenship.' This recognition may provide a sense of validation that enhances their feelings of personal belonging and connection to purpose.

What, also, of the innate satisfaction a person gleans from the specific tasks involved in the job itself? Many people feel a flow when engaged in their work. It is conceivable that the flow they get from work outweighs the satisfaction they get in some other parts of their lives. Is that right, or is that wrong, and should we judge it as either in the first place?

And just who, or what, is it that defines what is healthy and not healthy when an employee works long hours, and feels satisfaction from a meaningful day of work? If the employee begrudges his 60-hour workweek consistently, perhaps it's time for a change. However, what if the employee feels burnt out occasionally, but after taking a vacation or a weekend off, looks forward to the engaging that following Monday with the same degree of time and intensity as he has in the past?

These questions illustrate that presenteeism as a construct is not simplistic and easily defined as wholly negative or positive. While it may be clear that we need to support a workplace culture that that encourages employees to stay home when they are sick or contagious, dictating precisely what is right for every person in a homogenous manner does not account for the unique ways each of us are motivated and find satisfaction.

My tech company friend should feel that she can take a break in the day, or a day off, when her body needs it, without worry of being penalized by the dominant culture. Likewise, my manager friend may need to listen to his inner voice when his long hours are no longer joyful or fulfilling. Too, as managers, we should be careful not to apply our own standards to our employees and those who work around us. If we choose to work 12 or 15-hour days, we need to accept this as choice and not expect the same from others, because for each of us, the meaning of balance and health is unique. And that is something to truly be present for.

Carla Marshall, Principal, Marshall & Associates
Marshall and Associates provides inspiring, transformational, individual and group development experiences tailored to your personal, team, and unique human resource needs. Carla Marshall is an Individual and Group Development Consultant, Certified Life Coach, and experienced workshop facilitator, vocational counsellor, and communications professional.

Carla can be reached at 250-513-0044, carla@marshallandassociates.ca or through www.facebook.com/marshallandassociates

Posted by: danica on 2012-03-20 13:18:57

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