What could you do to reduce presenteeism in your workplace?

5 ways to manage presenteeism in your frontline workforce – 1st June 2023

Presenteeism is common among deskless workers but it is manageable. We explain the reasons behind it and the repercussions on employee productivity and wellbeing, with tips to help you tackle it in your workplace.

We’ve known for a long time just how problematic presenteeism can be.

When employees come to work despite being ill or tired and are not functioning at their best, this can cost a nation’s economy billions of dollars through lost productivity and by spreading illness. When staff show up, regardless of health, it can create a pattern of presenteeism that soon spreads throughout the workplace, becoming an ingrained culture that is tricky to turn around. For frontline workers, it can lead to employee disengagement, burnout, poor customer or patient care and higher risk of accidents at work. 

Presenteeism remains prevalent in 2023 with 65% of UK employees observing instances in the workplace according to the latest CIPD Health and Wellbeing at Work report. Although we know that engagement and productivity is much more beneficial to businesses than low absence rates, HR and business leaders are making slow progress when it comes to tackling presenteeism. More organisations are moving to discourage it with 53% taking steps in 2022, compared with 45% in 2021 and 32% in 2020. But is it enough? To truly get to grips with presenteeism, we need to understand why it is so common. 

Reasons for presenteeism

Many people come to work when they’re unwell because of subconscious biases – a deadline, a sense of obligation to a boss or colleagues, staff shortages, a culture of expectation, or the negative connotations of being absent. 

A major reason for presenteeism in frontline or deskless workforces is insecure work. In the UK, frontline workers are more likely to be on non-standard contracts where they won’t be paid if they don’t turn up for work. Research from Resolution Foundation shows that one-in-ten frontline social care staff are on zero-hour contracts. Frontline care staff are also about three times more likely than other workers to be employed through agencies. For these workers, who are typically female with disproportionate Black, Asian and minority ethnic representation, and often with other caring responsibilities, not coming to work simply isn’t an option.

The staffing crisis among many shift workers is putting pressure on employees to self-manage the shortage. The first stage of self-management looks like presenteeism when staff are showing up for shifts or signing up for extra shifts even if they’re not well, physically or mentally. The next stage is more dangerous – leading to disengagement, burnout or highly trained staff leaving the profession completely. The NHS is seeing record numbers of nurses quitting citing exhaustion and health as key reasons, along with concerns about quality of care and workload amid current staffing levels.  

Research by the Centre for Mental Health shows mental ill health is also a big factor in presenteeism, and it’s costly for employers. Deloitte found that the cost of poor mental health of employees had risen from £42bn in 2017 to £45bn in 2020, mainly due to the rising rates of presenteeism. 

How can employers help?

Employers have an essential role to play in discouraging presenteeism for frontline workers. Finding ways to manage it not only saves money but also contributes to employee health, wellbeing and engagement and productivity at work. 

• Identify causes – look at your organisational culture and talk to your employees to build a picture of presenteeism, its prevalence and its causes in your workplace.
• Organisational changes – give employees security with a guarantee on hours per fortnight, rotas shared in advance and sick pay included in their contract. Offer choice and flexibility to your employees by letting them bid on their preferred shifts or with flexible work locations such as changing to a retail store closer to home. Be flexible with start and finish times for employees who need to work around childcare or other responsibilities. 
• Cultural changes – while sickness absence is visible and clearly measurable, presenteeism is not. Make managers aware that presenteeism can be more detrimental to output than absence and encourage them to lead by example, staying home when unwell and asking their team to go home when ill. Create a culture where it is okay to take a sick day or a mental health day.
• Employee wellbeing – prioritise physical, mental and financial health and wellbeing with specialist support and employee benefits. Deloitte makes a positive case for investing in mental health with an average return of £5 for every £1 spent on mental health intervention.
• Training and awareness – Coffee mornings on Mental Health or Stress Awareness days at work can help normalise talking about health in the workplace and reduce stigma around mental health. Specialised training can help managers learn how to help employees who are experiencing stresses such as family issues, financial worries, job insecurity, or illness – which all contribute to presenteeism.