Commonwealth Financial Network® - Independent Broker/Dealer

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE: Six Ways to Combat “Presenteeism”
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Author: Angela Cappello

We all can get distracted at various times—perhaps a roommate plays the radio too loud while you’re trying to read, or another person’s too-loud conversation interferes with your ability to conduct an important phone call. But some distractions have a much larger impact than others.

WHEN YOU’RE NOT REALLY “PRESENT”
A phenomenon known as presenteeism—basically, the opposite of absenteeism—describes those times when employees (and you?) arrive at the office with their minds on everything but work. This state of mind can have a significant impact on productivity levels, resulting in processing errors, lack of follow-through on critical tasks, and more.

A number of factors contribute to presenteeism, including health—both the treatment of existing conditions and the prevention of new, emerging ones. You may have seen articles on the importance of wellness programs that take a proactive approach to staying healthy. Many medical insurance providers include wellness programs, which stress the importance of exercise, weight control, smoking cessation, and the like, as part of the benefit.

But presenteeism can be a problem even when no overt health issues present themselves. Employees who are distracted by financial concerns, for example, or by caregiving responsibilities for aging parents, young children, or both, can experience elevated stress levels.

Stress causes physiological changes in the body that can have a negative impact on health and focus. Many employees who experience stress as they try to find the right work/life balance may have trouble maintaining their focus and productivity.

COMBATING THE ISSUE
The culture you foster in your office can help diminish the stress employees may be experiencing, resulting in fewer instances of presenteeism. Successful companies embrace values that engage employees and demonstrate that they care about their employees as people, not just as workers. When you demonstrate that you care about your staff members as individuals, you provide a foundation on which to build a culture that strives to accommodate the demands that life presents.

More often than not, as members of a work community, we don’t intentionally create an environment that discourages well-being or balance; it is an accidental development. For example, tax season is a busy time that may require employees to work overtime to meet critical deadlines. The more hours employees work, however, the less time they have for personal responsibilities, which, in turn, can create an imbalance between work and life. A work environment that does not appear to permit a balance between an employee’s professional and personal lives—whether it was intentionally created or whether it unintentionally evolved—has the same impact in reducing productivity.

Here are some practical approaches you can use to help avoid the instance of presenteeism among your employees:

Engage in open communication with your employees. If you are approachable and foster a culture built on mutual respect, you provide an opportunity for employees to freely express themselves, and they are more likely to keep you in the loop when things are happening on a personal level.
Encourage your employees to take a lunch break rather than eat at their desks. This provides time for them to make personal calls or take care of other personal business while also giving them time to refresh themselves before returning to work.
Prohibit smoking in the workplace, and encourage employees to join smoking cessation programs.
Engage in physical activity as a team by taking a walk at lunch. This will build team cohesion, sharpen your minds, and increase your energy.
Ask your employees for their ideas on enhancing productivity.The more we can involve them in developing solutions and ideas, the more engaged they are likely to be.
Encourage regular work hours. If employees are working excessively long hours of their own volition, thank them for their commitment, but encourage them to work more standardized hours to avoid burnout.

Understanding the mind/body connection is critical as you develop policies and standards for addressing employee issues. Presenteeism can be mitigated if you create a culture that embraces open communication and provides mechanisms to help employees cope with the unexpected things life can throw at us. When employees feel that their employer is doing all that can reasonably be done to help them balance their life issues, they are more likely to be engaged—and an engaged employee will be present in both body and mind.

Angela Cappello is a staffing consultant in Practice Management. She is available at x9873 or at acappello@commonwealth.com.