Presenteeism

The definition of presenteeism is lost productivity that occurs when employees come to work but function below capacity because of ill health. The interesting fact is that people with mental and emotional health problems are more likely to show up for work than those with physical conditions.

The reason for this is simple - stigma. Many employees turn up for work when they're not well enough because they're concerned about being labelled as mentally ill. And so while they're at work, they're trying to hide the fact they're not well.

The picture is becoming worrying:

• presenteeism is becoming widespread - half of the UK's white collar employees work in an environment where long hours and battling on when ill or stressed is expected
• the recession is making the situation worse because increasingly people are concerned about their jobs causing them to feel stressed or anxious and so, unless they can't possibly go to work, they turn up - in such situations they're less productive because they don't have their minds completely on the job
• Qwell is a specialist EAP service focused on the problem of presenteeism associated with mental health issues. The nature of the Qwell service enables it to play a key role in reducing this type of presenteeism.
• Many senior managers, HR executives, Finance Directors and line managers are not aware of the scale of the problem. This is often because it's not always easy to spot the signs of presenteeism caused by mental and emotional health issues.

"… physical symptoms often provide concrete and visible evidence of impairment, mental symptoms are often hard to distinguish from ordinary 'off-days …"
Dewa & Lin, 2000

Behaviours to watch for include people finding it difficult to:

• work the required number of hours
• get going easily at the start of the day
• stick to a routine
• keep their mind on the job
• think clearly
• work carefully
• concentrate
• work without losing their train of thought
• speak with people in person, in meetings on the telephone
• control their temper
• help others
• handle their workloads

So the true extent of this problem within your organisation may be going unnoticed. At a line manager level, even if they suspect there is a problem, just knowing how to start a discussion about the subject with an employee can be difficult. Never mind knowing how to improve the situation for the employee and the employer alike.

So if you're interested in finding out how Qwell can provide your organisation with productivity improvements by reducing the problem of presenteeism associated with emotional and psychological health problems, then call us now on 0845 330 7090 or make an enquiry