What Is Occupational Presenteeism?
Companies have been suffering from absenteeism due to illness for quite some time. Many employees did not adhere to their work schedules, arrived late or did not arrive at all. It caused alarming losses, but now it has a new shape. A new trend has emerged that is even worse than the previous one: occupational presenteeism.
What is it? Presenteeism is being at work, but spending a lot of time on things that have nothing to do with work. It is a work-life balance problem. Employees have to take their children to school and care for sick relatives and much more.
Lack of motivation, frustration and poor relationships with colleagues are common reasons for both absenteeism and presenteeism. The major difference is that in occupational presenteeism, the employee adheres to the work schedule, although he is not always on the job.
What Causes Occupational Presenteeism?
The economic crisis has contributed to presenteeism. The fear of losing a job causes many unmotivated employees to decide not to skip their jobs, even if that means dull days of frustration and boredom. Many of them extend lunch breaks or smoke, use the Internet for non-work purposes, read or even play video games.
Occupational presenteeism not only affects a company’s productivity, but also employee health. A lack of motivation and goals can cause job dissatisfaction, which in turn can be the cause of depression. The same happens with employees who go to work sick. Exposing your colleagues to illness is not only pointless, but also dangerous.
Unfortunately , some companies force their employees to work unpaid overtime. In return, they are not fired. This behavior is embarrassing and legally very questionable. But the employee accepts it for fear of retaliation. We are then faced with situations where an unethical advantage prevails over the search for alternatives that optimize an employee’s time and performance.
Is there a solution to occupational presenteeism?
Employee presenteeism, or at least a large part of it, has a solution. However, it is difficult to apply sanctions or a strict timetable. On the contrary, that will only create more stress, anxiety and disappointment in employees. They will just keep blowing off work in various ways. In addition, companies that do this run the risk of punishing people who are motivated.
However, concrete measures aimed at employee feedback can have a much more positive effect. We are talking about social recognition, group recognition and individual recognition. When the employees feel that others appreciate their work, they are re-motivated. It’s good for a company to see good performance, not just bad.
Depending on an employee’s position and responsibility, programs that encourage free expression and creativity can also help. In these cases, we seek a change in attitude, not just rule-abiding out of fear. The more pleasant the workplace, the better the results will be.
Making work schedules more flexible is also a good way for employees to reconcile their work life with their family life, which indirectly affects their motivation. A feature that allows for work-life balance, as many jobs do today, is undoubtedly an advantage. Employees will be grateful for it, especially if the company hasn’t offered flexibility before.
If the employee is satisfied with their job (even if only minimally), positive changes will increase. It is much more reasonable to focus on helping ease their situation than on applying an extreme policy. Health and safety at work is also a citizen’s right, according to the World Health Organization. Hazardous work can cause irreparable damage to a person’s mental and physical health.
