Rise in presenteeism

Recent figures suggest that presenteeism — the phenomenon of ill and disabled people coming into work when they would otherwise be off sick — has increased, as have rates of stress and mental health problems.

A 2013 survey by risk insurance group Canada Life suggests presenteeism had reached epidemic proportions, with nine out of 10 employees coming into work despite being ill. Among more than 1,000 workers, over a third would rather use annual leave to recover because they didn’t want to rack up sick days on their employment record.

The most common reason that people came into work sick was they didn’t think it was “serious enough to take time off” (76%). But other responses are more worrying: “My workload is too great for me to have time off, even if I’m unwell” (31%); “I worry about the financial implications of taking time off” (20%); “other colleagues make me feel guilty for taking sick leave” (19%); and “I feel too threatened by the risk of redundancy to take time off when ill” (13%).

More than a third of staff told the survey they felt they had no one to turn to when they were ill, as they are not aware of employer support around sickness absence. In addition, 13% said their employer definitely did not have support for ill workers in place, making this a priority issue for safety reps and union organisers.

www.covermagazine.co.uk/cover/news/2266382/presenteeism-since-recession-an-employee-welfare-issue-canada-life