With the swine flu fears on the rise, I thought it would be a good time to reprint a post I first wrote way back in 2007. It's about the cost of presenteeism in the workplace. Seems like the potential costs of showing up to work when you're sick have just gone up.
If you feel sick, please do your friends and colleagues a favor and stay home.
Workforce Developments
January 26, 2007
Word of the day: presenteeism. That's when people show up for work even when they feel too sick, stressed, depressed or otherwise distracted to be productive. Think of those people who show up to work sneezing, coughing and sharing germs with the rest of us. Or the ones who are there in body, but are so busy dealing with a family problem that they can't get any work done. It's the opposite of absenteeism, and it's driven by fear and job insecurity. Sometimes people work long hours just to show they're working, even when there isn't that much work to do.
The term appears to have been coined by British prof Cary Cooper in the late 1990s. Several studies have tried to quantify the impact on businesses. A 2004 Cornell study estimated that "on-the-job productivity losses from presenteeism" could make up as much as 60% of the total cost of worker illness, "exceeding the costs of absenteeism and medical and disability benefits."
In other words, when your boss orders you in to work even though you're sick, he or she could be causing the company to lose money. Many don't see it that way, though, which means it's difficult to solve the presenteeism problem. American workplaces encourage and sometimes require workers to "get over it" rather than find the help or just the rest they need. Downsizing and layoffs make things worse, as more people have more real reason to fear losing their jobs.
Harvard Business School offers advice to help employers address presenteeism. Among their recommendations: investing in employees' health care, medication, mental health coverage and health education could save your company money in the long run. Interesting, in light of ongoing political debates about health care coverage.
As for workers, how do you know if you're too sick to work? How can you protect yourself if a co-worker comes in sick? This sensible CBC article offers some advice.
For more advice on how to protect yourself and others from this swine flu outbreak and other illnesses, check out this flu fact sheet from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Recommendation #2: Stay home when you are sick.
CDC's advice on Stopping Germs at Work is available in PDF format, suitable for printing and posting at work. It's also available in
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