Why are we obsessed with presenteeism?
Thanks for asking! The trend of workplace presenteeism has increased in recent years, especially during the Covid -19 crisis.
A September 2020 report by Rand Europe suggested that presenteeism is mainly driven by stress, suboptimal mental health, lack of sleep and poor financial well -being, all of which intensified during the pandemic.
Presenteeism is the practice of being present at one's place of work for more hours than is required, especially as a manifestation of insecurity about one's job.
It can also refer to the practice of coming to work despite illness, injury or anxiety, which often results in reduced productivity.
The term was coined by Manchester University professor Kerry Cooper in the 1990s.
According to agendrix .com, there are three types of presenteeism.
Contemplative, strategic and sickness.
Contemplative presenteeism is when workers are present in the workplace but don't complete many or any of the tasks assigned to them.
Strategic presenteeism involves doing long hours with the specific aim of being seen as a hard worker, by one's manager for example.
Often the amount of work done isn't higher than with someone doing standard hours and the quality isn't necessarily better either.
Finally, sickness presenteeism is when employees show up to work despite being either mentally or physically unfit to do so.
Several factors can explain presenteeism and its intensity varies depending on working conditions.
Paradoxically, the more demanding and encroaching work becomes on one's personal life, the more inclined individuals are to show how hard they're working.
The obsession with presenteeism can be linked to personal reasons such as a tendency towards perfectionism.
The fear of losing one's job may also come into play, leading to anxiety.
If there's a company culture of pressure and micromanagement, that's all the more likely.
As a general rule, the smaller the organisation, the more present or monitored employees are.
It's interesting to note that gender plays a significant role as well.
Women tend to exhibit more presenteeism than men.
There's fine presenteeism and the causes of burnout, so it's important to be cautious and conscious that obsessing over attendance doesn't usually go hand in hand with increased productivity.
There you have it. Now you know what presenteeism is.
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