Presenteeism at Work?

We have all heard about the impact of absenteeism on productivity and the workplace. But are you familiar with “presenteeism”?

Presenteeism is the loss of productivity when workers are physically at work, but are not performing at their best due to illness, stress, or any other type of distraction. Studies suggest that presenteeism cuts an employee’s productivity by a third or more.

Unlike absenteeism, presenteeism can be difficult to spot. Often, it creeps in over time, with a number of subtle behavioral changes. Presenteeism can include spending additional time on tasks, decreased quality of work, lack of initiative, and decreased motivation. It can be caused by a range of sources from health-related issues like allergies, depression, and the flu, or by non-health-related issues like financial troubles, family issues and workplace concerns. According to Statistics Canada, the average number of days absent per employee per year is 7.5 days or 3% of salary. Studies of some chronic conditions and health risk factors found that lost productivity from presenteeism was 7.5 times greater than productivity loss from absenteeism.

Given its impact on productivity, it’s important to address the issue of presenteeism before it leads to absenteeism. Absenteeism can result in burdening co-workers with extra duties to the immense costs associated with full loss of productivity or the necessity to replace the employee.
An employee assistance program (EAP) is an excellent way to help employers deal with presenteeism. An EAP helps employees deal with personal issues before they take their toll at home or in the workplace by offering short-term counselling services.

This program provides quick and confidential access to appropriate professional resources, helping to resolve problems affecting health, performance and attendance. This can include assistance with financial planning, marital or parenting issues, addictions, stress, eldercare, or any number of issues.

To learn more about how EAPs can create a healthy workplace, and boost your company’s performance and bottom line, contact us for more information.