“Presenteeism”

The RCN survey Beyond breaking point? also revealed high levels of “presenteeism”, with nurses feeling that they had to go into work despite being ill. Thirty one per cent reported that over the last year, they had gone into work despite feeling that they should take sick leave on one occasion, 42% reported doing this between two and five times, and nearly one in 10 said that they gone into work while feeling unwell more than five times over the previous 12 months.

Only around one in six (18%) reported that they had not gone into work while feeling ill over the previous year.

A study by the Work Foundation in April 2010 was the first to suggest a link between presenteeism and poor performance, raising the spectre of a vicious circle for workers who feel that they have no choice but to come to work when ill and who are then penalised for underperforming as a result. The three reasons offered most frequently for presenteeism in the Work Foundation study were work-related stress, perceived pressures from colleagues and managers to come to work, and personal financial difficulties.

Mind’s recent report suggests that millions of British workers feel forced to lie to their bosses about having to take stress-induced sick leave. One in five workers (19%) take a day off sick because of stress, but 90% of those people cited a different reason for their absence and the same proportion felt they couldn’t tell their boss if they were overly stressed. Of the 22% who have a diagnosed mental health problem, less than half had actually told their boss about their diagnosis.

Presenteeism is, by its very nature, hard to monitor, but trained union reps can play a crucial role. Reps who understand the causes of presenteeism are able to notice its signs, can have open and supportive conversations with sufferers and can help access appropriate support. The TUC’s learning and skills organisation Unionlearn offers regular courses for reps on tackling stress in the workplace.