Presenteeism means that sick employees go to work against their better judgment. They do not take sick leave or stay at home to recuperate, but show up at work. Presenteeism in the workplace therefore poses risks for all employees in a company and should definitely be recognized. Employers should then take action.
What is presenteeism?
The rules in companies are actually clear: in the event of illness, employees stay at home and recuperate or, in cases of long-term illness, go to the doctor and take sick leave. However, not all employees always adhere to these rules. When employees are sick at work, we call this presenteeism. This is the urge to show up for work. The causes and reasons for this vary. Presenteeism is not a phenomenon reserved for workaholics. All employees can suffer from presenteeism. For example, because they are afraid that they will not be able to complete their tasks on time. Or they may even be worried about their job. It is also possible that presenteeism is motivated by a need for help. In this case, for example, colleagues should not be left in the lurch when there is a lot to do. Often, however, the reason for presenteeism is simply that employees do not take an illness seriously. Employees then come to work sick under the motto “It’s just a cold”. Regardless of the reason, presenteeism always harbors risks. On the one hand, the sick employee naturally puts themselves at risk by exposing themselves to the stress at work and making the illness worse. On the other hand, infectious diseases are also a risk for the entire workforce. A flu-like infection that passes through the company can more or less paralyze a business for a few days. Or think back to the coronavirus pandemic, in which entire companies had to temporarily shut down operations because almost the entire workforce was in quarantine. Usually triggered by an employee who brought the disease to work. To counteract this, it is important to recognize presenteeism and take immediate countermeasures.
Recognizing presenteeism with modern working time recording
Recognizing presenteeism is anything but easy. Employees who are always present do not automatically suffer from presenteeism. Nor do we necessarily recognize that people are ill and still show up for work. And the frequency of sickness-related absences is also very individual. There are actually employees in companies who never take sick leave simply because they are never ill. Working time recording provides an approach with which you can recognize presenteeism in advance. The details are crucial here. Keep an eye on your employees’ overtime and absences. This often already reveals tendencies towards presenteeism. For example, if you notice that an employee is working a lot of overtime even though it is not absolutely necessary, this could be a sign of presenteeism. The employee may be working overtime to relieve colleagues who would otherwise have to continue working. Or she is overworked herself and does not want to fall behind with her tasks. If you notice that employees are working excessive or unnecessary overtime, you should keep an eye on this. You can take action long before presenteeism occurs. Measures include sensitizing the workforce to the issue of health and setting a good example yourself. Employers, managers and supervisors should never turn up to work sick, as they act as role models in the company. Employees take their behavior as an example because they assume that it is in line with company behavior. Employers should also always make it clear that employees’ jobs are safe and that no one has to fear for their employment because they have called in sick. Send sick employees home to establish a clear line. Then colleagues will also realize that taking sick leave is reasonable.
Conclusion
Presenteeism is a major health risk for all employees in a company. Not only can the sick employee overdo it and make the illness worse, there is also a risk of infection for all colleagues, depending on the illness. Employers can detect presenteeism with the help of modern working time recording systems such as timeCard. This makes it possible to take measures against presenteeism in good time and protect employees. Incidentally, the opposite of presenteeism is absenteeism, where employees are absent from work without good reason.
