Presenteeism Trumps Absenteeism in Businesses

"80 percent of success is showing up", said Woody Allen.

Not true!

The problem of workers’ being at work but not functioning properly because of illness or life’s challenges, can reduce their productivity by a third or more.

What is ‘presenteeism’?

Known as ‘presenteeism’ or ‘sickness presence’, it is typically caused by chronic or repeated illnesses such as seasonal allergies, asthma, migraines, headaches, back pain, arthritis, gastrointestinal disorders, and depression.

Many of life’s challenges - family issues, money troubles, job insecurity, perceived pressure from managers - can contribute to presenteeism. An employee may come to work because they need the money and cannot afford to take time off due to illness, have large workloads, or, perhaps because they love their job.  

It’s a fact that presenteeism appears to be an even costlier problem than its much maligned relation, absenteeism.

But, unlike absenteeism, presenteeism isn’t always apparent: you know when someone doesn’t show up for work, but you often can’t tell how much illness or a medical condition is hindering someone’s performance.

The real cost of presenteeism to business

The Centre for Mental Health calculated that presenteeism from mental ill health alone costs the UK economy ￡15.1 billion per annum, while absenteeism costs ￡8.4 billion.

The American Productivity Audit (by Walter Stewart) found that presenteeism in the United States costs the economy more than $150 billion per year. This also confirmed what most studies show, that presenteeism is far costlier than illness-related absenteeism.

Read the full article on Presenteeism.