Further to our recent article, Perkbox has predicted that the problem of presenteeism will become an even bigger issue in 2019.
The Problem Of Presenteeism
Presenteeism is where employees are working despite being ill, not only in relation to fears about job security, but also because of concerns about long term career progression. Other factors include feelings of being irreplaceable, an excessively high workload and a desire to keep on top of it, and the fact that technology such as smart phones (and the ready access to emails through them) makes employees more accessible and effectively on call out of hours. The problem of presenteeism arising out of all this, is that over time, such employees become more and more worn down and exhausted. Consequently, they become less productive, and are often left with long term ill health problems which would not otherwise have occurred had they simply taken the time off to recover from their health problems when they originally should have done.
Perkbox Predictions
Perkbox predict that the problem of presenteeism "will become a key issue in the 2019 workplace." They say that: "In the UK, CIPD reports that 86 percent of employees have observed presenteeism in their organisation over the last twelve months. Along with absenteeism, this costs the UK economy an average of £77bn/year. With reduced productivity and [the] spreading of illnesses to others in the office being some of the most obvious effects, an effort to change attitudes will be required this 2019 to tackle this issue. Attempts were already made last year with policies such as flexible working and unlimited holiday aiming to improve work life balance, but these alone aren’t enough. Investing heavily in mental health initiatives such as EAPs, mental health first aiders, counselling and online GPs for staff will be a priority in 2019, as will be the need to set [an] example to employees, encouraging them to seek help when needed."
