O workplace presenteeism is one of the most important issues facing companies today. Many factors can affect an organization's performance, and the socioeconomic and social environment is extremely important in this regard.
Since the beginning of the economic crisis in Spain, the working conditions of many employees have changed , and the fear of losing their jobs can lead many workers to stay, despite not being fully motivated or upset.
Presenteeism at work or “empty chair syndrome”: causes and consequences
In our article "Survivor Syndrome: Working in Times of Crisis Can Harm Your Health," we discuss the negative consequences of the crisis on workers' well-being. presenteeism , on the other hand, negatively affects the organization as employee productivity and performance decrease.
Presenteeism at work or face-to-face absenteeism: what is it?
O absenteeism presence ou presenteeism work , refers to participate and be present in the workplace, but dedicating part of the working day to other functions that are not characteristic of the work . Among these functions, we can find: connecting to social networks, browsing web pages, making calls, and so on.
Although presentism is the opposite of absenteeism at work , its consequences for the organization are equally harmful.
Negative consequences of workplace presenteeism
In the past, the main problem for organizations was absenteeism at work , but as it has been decreasing due to the economic crisis, the percentage of employees suffering from presenteeism has increased. According to Adecco, one in two Spanish companies admits to having up to 10% of its workers present . On the other hand, a Harvard Business Review study seems to indicate that presenteeism costs American companies about $150 billion a year.
Despite the reduction in absenteeism, there was no improvement in companies' productivity and labor performance, as absenteeism gave way to presenteeism. Employees seem aware of the difficult labor market and don't want to risk losing their jobs. They then go to work to avoid being blamed for their absenteeism, but even so, your dedication at these times is not as efficient as it should be .
Negative effects for the company
Knowing this, it should be mentioned that workplace presenteeism affects the organization in different ways:
- Descending worker and organizational productivity
- Worsening employee health : Long-term presenteeism causes fatigue and boredom (also called 'Boreout Syndrome')
- Promotion of disease transmission : when a person is sick but decides to go to work to avoid losing their job, this can encourage the transmission of diseases.
Factors that influence presenteeism at work
If these are the consequences of having people present at work, we must ask ourselves why what reasons lead employees to conduct behaviors related to presence at work Here is a list of the most common causes:
- Lack of job security can cause individuals to not take time off from their job despite being sick or unmotivated, because the uncertainty of being able to get a job again can make you not want to lose your job under any circumstances.
- Individuals who work in certain jobs may be more prone to presenteeism. Research seems to indicate that teachers and health professionals are more vulnerable to suffering from it.
- Jobs with higher workloads are associated with more cases of presenteeism, as workers may want to avoid accumulating tasks if they are absent from their job.
- Excessive pressure from superiors is also a causal factor in workplace presenteeism.
- Lack of motivation is behind many cases of presenteeism. Other possible causes include lack of promotion and performance of monotonous tasks at work.