Improving workplace culture and productivity requires tackling presenteeism, absenteeism, and leavism, says Jon Munnery, Partner at Begbies Traynor Group.
A common outcome unites the trio – loss of employee productivity in the workplace and a lack of transparency and openness to approach the employer. While presenteeism, absenteeism, and leavism bite into company profits and communicate a clear message about workplace culture, what measures must be adopted to eliminate these unhealthy workplace practices and turn the dial-up on employer-employee transparency?
Presenteeism: A Pain Point for Workplaces
A combination of presenteeism, absenteeism, and leavism are known offenders that disrupt company operations due to reduced employee output, satisfaction, and well-being. They cost businesses thousands of pounds every year, not to mention resulting in a growing disgruntled employee base.Â
According to Office for National Statistics (ONS) data, an estimated 149.3 million working days were lost because of sickness or injury in the UK in 2021, equivalent to 4.6 days per worker. The sickness absence rate in the UK in 2021 rose to 2.2%, from a record low of 1.8% in 2020; this is the highest since 2010 when it was also 2.2%.
The most common reason for sickness absence in 2021 was ‘other’ conditions, including accidents, poisonings, diabetes, and coronavirus. However, Covid-19 accounted for nearly one in four of all occurrences of sickness absence in 2021.
The reduction to the furlough scheme and its eventual end in September 2021, coupled with the decline in homeworking, shielding, social distancing policies, and new Covid-19 variants, could have contributed to a rise in sickness absence in 2021 to pre-pandemic levels.
See More: Key Benefits Strategies To Boost Employee Wellbeing
Moving on to Vitality’s annual Britain’s Healthiest Workplace studyOpens a new window , 38 working days were lost due to a combination of presenteeism and ill-health-related absence in 2019, equating to almost £92 billion. Almost three-quarters (£68 billion) of the £92 billion productivity loss can be attributed to poor mental well-being and unhealthy lifestyle choices.Â
Addressing the rise in presenteeism, just under half (45%) of UK workers admitted to suffering from presenteeism pre-pandemic, up almost a third from 2014 (29%). This is where employees cannot perform to the best of their ability due to mental and physical health concerns.Â
Young workers (18 to 25-year-olds) were shown to be particularly vulnerable, with 55% admitting to turning up for work but feeling unable to perform at their peak productivity, compared to just 38% of employees aged 45 or over.Â
“Despite this, many businesses ignore the role of health and wellbeing and its intrinsic links to productivity. It’s no longer enough to create a health and well-being program for employees, and I hope they’ll use it. The businesses that prioritize it and properly consider how they engage their employees to improve their mental and physical health can see productivity increase in their workforce.â€
The research calls for workplaces to act responsibly and address the crisis to prevent a loss in productivity and create a workforce that’s swept by work-induced stress. Mental and physical health must be valued in the workplace to encourage staff to protect themselves, their health, and their well-being. We look at ways to eradicate presenteeism, absenteeism, and leavism to build a brighter and more profitable workplace. Â
1. Presenteeism
Presenteeism is when workers are physically present in the workplace, although their minds are elsewhere. There could be countless reasons they may be withdrawn, from work-related stress, personal problems, poor health, or a lack of motivation. Address the root of the problem from the get-go to build a transparent place of work where openness and confidentiality are at the heart of its foundation.Â
- Monitor behavior: If there’s a pattern for out-of-ordinary behavior, track this as it may coincide with certain days of the week when mitigating factors at home or in the workplace are heightened. A lack of focus, a withdrawn mood, poor productivity, and a drop in quality standards may be evident when presenteeism is in play.Â
- Discourage working while ill: A form of presenteeism is working while ill. If there’s a culture of working while ill, break this down, as it only feeds presenteeism. Take the lead by ensuring management staff abides by the same rules, as when leadership takes control of the narrative and sets expectations, employees are more likely to mirror it.Â
- Education on physical health and emotional well-being: Launch internal campaigns and provide formal training on the importance of physical, emotional, and mental health and well-being in the workplace.Â
This can help aid the £68 billion productivity loss and present a platform through which employers can address the vulnerable state of young workers regarding presenteeism. Â
Absenteeism follows suit as a pain point when workers seek unauthorized time off work to cope with work-induced stress or catch up with work.
2. AbsenteeismÂ
If employees are off work to tackle their workload, question why they must take this route rather than complete their designated work within contracted hours.Â
- Monitor absence record – Are there any patterns that show what type of work or responsibilities the worker is trying to distance themselves from? This may indicate why absenteeism is a problem in the workplace for employees.Â
- Review workload – If there’s an imbalance in how work is distributed, redistribute work so that workloads are fair and not too much to handle.Â
Overexertion can result in leaves when workers use their designated leave days to catch up with the demands of work life.Â
3. Leavism
- Workload and stress review: If employees work outside their contracted hours, it may be time to review their workload, which can have a domino effect on their stress levels.Â
- Recruit more staff – To recruit more staff can provide a solution to the overdistribution of work and provide cover when staff is on leave.Â
- Policy – Do you have a policy to restrict work outside social hours? You may implement this by providing access to software and systems during set hours.Â
To collectively eradicate presenteeism, absenteeism, and leavism, a competitive employee package is a powerful tool to motivate staff. Based on performance, it can keep everyday workings in check and inspire workers to keep their eye on the prize.
Tracking Employee Productivity With Intuitive Technology
Implementing intuitive time-tracking software can support employees in their endeavor to track how employee time is utilized, measure capacity, plan project staffing, and pinpoint gaps in efficiency. Employees must input how they spend their time and the total number of minutes or hours dedicated to any project through time tracking tools, such as Harvest, Toggl, and Timely.
Employers can generate a report illustrating a discrepancy between the time spent on a project and employee productivity. This data can be used as a starting point to better establish how employees work or fail. Such data points can be useful to spot potential signs of presenteeism and whether employee disinterest is a running theme across different projects.Â
Intuitive time-tracking software provides insight into the structural working day of employees, which would otherwise be inaccessible without time-tracking capabilities. Time-tracking platforms vary in functionality and straddle between allowing users to log their time manually and/or automatically. Here are common ways employees can track their time:Â Â
- Manually input hours through an appÂ
- Track working hours by automatically assigning tasks to employeesÂ
- Integrating time-tracking facilities by using an API
- Using a widget to flick time-tracking timers on and offÂ
- Installing a desktop shortcut to flit between tasks and time trackingÂ
- Installing integrations designed for popular apps, such as Chrome, Edge, Slack, and TrelloÂ
Time-tracking software can crack down on presenteeism and give management a window into how employees operate, including when they’re prone to presenteeism.
See More: Redefining Productivity for the Digital Age
Clamping Down on Unhealthy Workplace Practices
Presenteeism, absenteeism, and leavism often indicate a work environment that lacks transparency and openness, and therefore, workplaces must do more to break the ice between their employees. This can encourage honest and open conversations, which help address the matter at hand and drive down the loss of productivity.Â
Which best practices have you followed to tackle presenteeism and create a transparent work environment? Please share your thoughts with us on FacebookOpens a new window , TwitterOpens a new window , and LinkedInOpens a new window . We’d love to hear from you!
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