Surface Ripples

The Pain of “Presenteeism”

An article that recently appeared in BBC work, life commented on something of which I had never heard:  the phenomenon of “presenteeism”.

This is described as “a compulsion, often performative, to work long hours and be available around the clock, even when unwell or unproductive”. Certainly, before COVID, this was rife in companies, particularly those in the financial, consulting, and technical sectors.  These are known for long working hours, and the fact that workers feel they need to be seen.

Although COVID resulted in a considerable change in work practices in many sectors with employers offering Working From Home (WFH) as part of their package, it appears that some employees still feel under some compulsion (perhaps largely self-inflicted?)  to be seen at work.  One reason for this may be that they prefer the actual process of going to work because it helps them separate work and home life, whereas more discipline is required to achieve this if WFH (guilty).

Unfortunately, some managers may not be entirely confident that they can rely on their teams to be as productive at home as they are in the office. This is counterbalanced by employees’ trust in their leaders weakening owing to poor communications and lack of direction in terms of company, plans and strategy for the future.

Clearly, if there is a lack of trust, presenteeism is likely to be the result to make sure that one is rewarded for one’s efforts at work.

Another concept raised by the article is that of “digital presenteeism” - employees ensuring that they are seen to be logging on (note the sudden “tsunami” of emails and text messages). 

Now that we are “back to normal”, in organisations which focused on adapting to WFH to ensure business continuity we see that presenteeism may now be rearing its head as a result.

The answer? Understand what’s driving the presenteeism phenomenon if we see it in our organisations and implement policies to define working hours and stick to them so that employees can “disconnect” from work in all senses of the word. 

I’ve spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With a wealth of international experience in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management.  I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email. My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services.  

Labels: Career, Leadership, Productivity, Teamwork

posted by William Martin @ 09:31