"Presenteeism" or, employees going to work even when they shouldn't

Some employees are absent from work more than necessary, taking sick days just because they don't feel like going to work. Overall these people cause damage to their company by working less than they should. But then there is another group of employees who, on the contrary, go to work even when they should not. They work a lot of overtime, go to work despite being sick, and in this way try to prove their value to their employer. This often happens with people suffering from workaholism, or if their job is too much for them and they try to make up for it by spending longer at work. Or they are worried about losing their job and they want to get in management's good books. This article will deal with this by no means unique phenomenon, explain how to detect it and what makes it damaging and even dangerous to both employee and employer.

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The root of the problem

According to HR Zone, it is especially workaholics and people who for some reason cannot perform sufficiently at work that suffer from the above-mentioned condition. If the tasks given to a worker are too much for them, but they do not want to leave their position, they often spend longer at work in an effort to compensate for their imperfections. Unfortunately, human labour does not function like this and, if an employee cannot cope with their tasks, staying longer at work than they should seldom solves anything. It also often happens that the employee is worried about their position and so they try to curry favour with management by staying longer at work or turning up to work when sick.

Problems caused by such an attitude

At first sight, an employee who comes to work too much might seem like a  manager's dream. In reality, however, it leads to the following problems:

  • poor quality work, caused by the fact the employee is overworked
  • more sick people who are infected by the employee
  • greater chances of the employee suffering burnout syndrome 
  • toxic impact on other employees

Signs of presenteeism

  • workaholism
  • going to work when sick
  • unused vacations days and remote work even during days off and weekends
  • stress, making numerous mistakes and poor quality work
  • inability to come up with new ideas and innovations
  • burning out

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Article source HR Zone - British website focused on HR
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