Do falling staff sickness levels signal rise in presenteeism?

In the UK, employees are now taking fewer sick days off work than at any time since records began, new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have revealed.

However, while absenteeism rates appear to be falling, experts have warned that this could be creating another workforce management problem for employers - a rise in presenteeism – where staff come in to work even when they in ill health, which can ultimately affect their own and their organisation's performance. 

In Australia, the latest estimates put the price of absenteeism at $6bn annually, while the cost of presenteeism could be as high as $34bn, according to a new report by Medibank.

"Sickness absence is in the spotlight because it is something management can measure, putting individual managers under pressure to reduce the level of absenteeism among staff - but it leads to increased presenteeism, especially during a recession," Ksenia Zheltoukhova, a spokesperson for the Work Foundation, told the UK’s Guardian newspaper.

“Employers have the ability to reduce presenteeism rates, thereby improving productivity and, in the long-term, generate a positive impact on their business bottom line,” Dr Matthew Cullen from Medibank Health Solutions said. 

As such, to minimise negative effects to businesses, employers should take steps to make staff feel comfortable about taking time off when they are ill as part of their absence management strategies.

Medibank advise that investments need to be made in the health of staff, so that employers can reduce presenteeism rates, productivity and, in the long term, generate an overall positive impact on business.

For more info see “Time to get serious about presenteeism, it’s costing you $34bn” on HC Online.

Presenteeism believed to cost Aussie business more than Absenteeism, how might a Time and Attendance system help reduce the effects?

A couple of weeks back we reported that 1 in 3 employees have admitted to chucking a sickie, but what about the flip side of the coin – those who show up for work when the aren’t feeling 100%?

Presenteeism refers to productivity that is lost when employees come to work but are not working at full capacity due to sickness and other medical conditions, or distraction due to personal non-work issues i.e. caring for a sick relative, financial or marital problems.

And it may surprise you to find that the cost of presenteeism to businesses and the economy is estimated to be far greater than absenteeism - with research released by Medibank this week revealing that “presenteeism” burdens the Australian economy with an annual cost of $34bn, with an average of 6.5 working days of annual productivity lost per employee.

Which does make a lot of sense, as employees who work when sick or distracted are generally less productive than if they took a day off. In addition, staff who work when they are ill are more prone to injury and, if contagious, increase the risk of passing on an illness to colleagues.

As such, organisations need to be aware that low absenteeism rates may not be telling the whole story.

See: http://www.hcamag.com/newsletter/content/116953/ for more info on the study

So what deters us from for taking time off?

Perhaps the fear of putting our job at risk, the notion that the work won’t get done in our absence, or the fear of letting our colleagues down?

Employees may also feel pressured to go to work when ill due to strict attendance policies, possibly resulting from abuse of the company's sick pay system by colleagues who 'chuck sickies'.

What can be done to help address presenteeism?

While combating presenteeism can be difficult, Medibank advises that investments need to be made in the health of staff, so that employers can reduce presenteeism rates, boost productivity and, in the long term, generate an overall positive impact on business.

The introduction flexible working initiatives can be beneficial. In particular for employees who have a long-running medical condition or have responsibilities for the care of children or other sick relatives.

The introduction of flexi-work arrangements and working from home initiatives are made easy via web-based Time and Attendance, which enables employees to record their start and finish times, as well as allocate time to specific jobs/projects regardless of their location.

In addition, by rebranding “sick leave” as “personal leave” employees may be more likely to use a Personal Day when they aren’t up to coming into work. With Employee Self-Service functionality, a Time and Attendance system would allow employees to request personal leave without having to speak to their manager directly, side-stepping any embarrassment that may be associated with a particular illness or personal issue.

Continue to our website to find out more information about web-based time and attendance systems, absence management and Employee Self-Service as well as other workforce management alternatives that may help you address presenteeism within your organisation.

Alternatively feel free to call us on 1300 884 831 (Australia) or 09 363 9557 (NZ)