While many organizations may be worried about absenteeism and its impact on the workplace, research has found that presenteeism is having a greater impact on the workplace (King 2012). Sickness presenteeism is a concept that refers to employees who attend work despite their ill health, or other factors that may distract them from being productive (Hansen and Andersen 2008).
According to a survey report by the Work Foundation, more than 40% of employees go to work when ill as a result of pressure from managers and co-workers (King 2012). Thus, though some employees may choose to come to work when ill, this may prove detrimental to a firm in the long run in terms of lower worker productivity, and increasing firm’s costs. This paper will look into the underlying factors that cause employees to go to work despite their ill health, and what employers should do to manage sickness presenteeism.
Individual and organizational factors have an impact on why employees may choose to go to work even when sick. To begin with, organizational culture barriers which may be in the form of norms, workplace ethics, and workplace culture play a key role in sickness presenteeism (Bratton and Gold 2012).
In some firms, bosses may penalise their employees for taking any sick days off, or may in general discourage this even if the employees are entitled to these privileges. As a result, this puts pressure on employees to attend work in order to protect their jobs (Dew, Keefe and Small 2005). Low sickness pay is another policy that organizations apply, so as to decrease sickness absenteeism which give employees more reasons to go to work even when they are sick.
One’s responsibility towards the team is also a key reason why employees may choose to go to work even when they are sick. Some employees take it upon themselves to ensure that they do not fail their team members on any assigned task (Collins and Cartwright 2012).
As a result, they put upon themselves the self-pressure to show up at work so as to fulfill their responsibilities. Thus, the fear of letting down their team members, and receiving negative reactions from them puts pressure on employees to go to work even though they are sick (Aronsson and Gustafsson 2005).
Fear of replaceability also contributes to employees going to work when they are sick. Many people get their source of income from their various jobs, and the thought of losing these jobs to someone else as a result of taking sick leave prevents them from just staying at home (Wynne-Jones et al. 2009). As a result, majority opt to work, regardless of their ailment in order to avoid being replaced which ultimately translates to job loss.
Employer expectations also contribute to the reason why employees still go to work even though they are sick. In many cases, employees do not want to appear less committed to their jobs, and thus, work to keep up with the employer’s expectations. In other cases, employers place a lot of pressure and expectations on their employees, and therefore, employees fear failing their superiors, and also fear receiving disciplinary action (Pauly et al. 2008).
In addition, due to the expectations placed on them, employees place pressure on themselves even when there is little work to be done. This is meant to build a good impression in order to secure chances of retaining their jobs, if ever layoffs arise. Self denial is also another reason why employees go to work despite being sick. Some employees convince themselves that even though they are not feeling very well, they are still well enough to go to work, and to carry out their responsibilities (How to deal with presenteeism in the workplace 2013.)
The impact of sickness presenteeism cannot be ignored as it leads to low work productivity. This may result in businesses incurring huge losses, which should be effectively dealt with to avoid such losses.
Sickness presenteeism has various negative effects in an organization; apart from low quality performance, one is also exposed to the danger of injuring themselves as one is not always in the right state of mind (Hansen and Andersen 2008). This, in the long run, may lower employee motivation as the organization does not create an environment of satisfaction and commitment (Hansen and Andersen 2009).
Organizational culture plays a very crucial role on how sickness presenteeism is managed in the workplace. Culture, in this case, pertains to the set norms, or the behavioral rules which are a reflection of the organization’s values. Managers should address the cultural issues of the organization, which may have an impact on sickness presenteeism.
By redefining certain rules and norms, this may dispel any fears that employees have if they go against certain norms, and they may be more at ease (Kessler and Stang 2006). Additionally, creating a more open culture will also enhance communication between the employer and the employees. As such, employees will be more at ease to discuss their health problems with their employers, and this may prevent sickness presenteeism which has negative impacts on workplace productivity.
Managers should also work on promoting a healthy work-life in order to reduce cases of presenteeism. Employees should be encouraged not to over-work so as to reduce incidences of stress during working periods (Kessler and Stang 2006). Through this, they will be able to pay full concentration on their work, and consequently, yield positive results.
Another strategy that managers should implement is monitoring presenteeism in the workplace. Usually, it is much easier to identify absence in the workplace rather than presenteeism. Managers should be more aware of the negative impact of presenteeism, and should lay keen emphasis on monitoring it. This can be done by carrying out regular performance reviews, and employee satisfaction surveys in order to identify any problems facing the employees.
Organizational policies that punish employees for being absent due to illnesses, for example, by not giving them their full pay are the causes of presenteeism. Thus, employees prefer going to work even when sick to losing their full pay. Hence, managers should come up with fair and flexible policies, which will be lenient to employees, and which will in the long run minimize cases of sickness presenteeism (Pickett 2012). By implementing these effective policies, employees will not face too much pressure to come to work when they are sick.
Conclusion
Sickness presenteeism is a concept that can lead to disastrous effects on organizations, if left unattended. Managers should put in place effective HR policies which may deal with this issue, and ensure productivity on the part of the employees.
Through this, organizations will cut on losses incurred as a result of sickness presenteeism, because presenteeism eventually leads to absenteeism. This robs the organization off key players in the workplace translating to losses. Thus, to ensure success, managers should focus on working with a healthy workforce.
Reference List
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