HR Professional - February/March 2009 - (Page 31) PRESENTEEISM At work and out of touch BY DUFF MCCUTCHEON NYONE WHO’S BARTERED THEIR LABOUR for a wage understands the concept of presenteeism: being on the job but not fully productive for physical or mental reasons. You’re at work, but not firing on all cylinders. Maybe it’s a cold, more likely it’s a chronic condition like arthritis, depression or allergies, but whatever the cause, you’re not getting anything done. P resente eism’s a lways be en a problem, but it’s just recently attracted notice after studies have concluded that the lost productivity costs of presenteeism outstrip actual absenteeism by two to three times. A 2004 Cornell study estimated that U.S. companies lose between $150 to $250 billion per year due to presenteeism; and a 2007 Canadian Watson Wyatt study found that nearly a quarter of respondents lacked the physical and mental energy to do their job “most of the time,” while 44 per cent reported to work when they were sick. INFECTIOUS DISEASE “The cost of presenteeism may be hidden, but it is extremely high,” said CCH employment law analyst Brett Gorovsky. “The upward spiral begins with lost productivity and climbs from there—with increased safety and quality risks, and the risk of infecting others. Those people either miss work or come to work sick where they are a risk to others and their diminished productivity, quality and attention to safety continue the costly cycle.” In his work as an occupational health physician, Toronto’s Dr. John Keogh stresses that workplace health—and, by extension, presenteeism—is a business issue. “Many organizations focus completely on absenteeism and the costs around salary and lost time,” says Keogh, but a sounder policy would be to train managers to identify presenteeism and provide programs that help employees take better care of their health. “Then they’re going to be more productive at work,” he says. TAKE CUES FROM THE U.S. American organizations are on the cutting-edge of presenteeism prevention, largely because reliance on employer-supported health insurance requires stringent tracking of health care costs. A w w w.H RThought L ea der. c om F e b r u a r y / M a r c h 2 0 0 9 31 http://www.hrthoughtLeader.com
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