Marketing

Presenteeism is Bad for Business

In the February 6, 2014 issue of The Wall Street Journal, the article entitled, “Lawson Paid Sick Leave Divide Businesses” reports on the positive impact of laws requiring mandatory sick leave for employees in some cities and states.

The article fails to mention the benefit to the employer is actually the avoidance of infection spread when sick workers are forced to stay home.  An infected worker allowed to work will spread their germs to others and the company will suffer a drastic drop in productivity.  Presenteeism is the term used to describe employees who show up to work sick.   A study published on “The Problem of Absenteeism and Presenteeism in the Workplace” in the Handbook of Occupational Health and Wellness concludes that 63% of a company’s total health care cost is due to presenteeism as compared to 6% for absenteeism.

Workers showing up to work with a fever are 10-100 times more likely to share their infection with their co-workers.  According to a study conducted by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, only 40% of employers identify presenteeism as a problem in the workplace.  Many do not realize a sick worker is likely to spread their germs and thus infect 20% of their co-workers they come in contact with.  The numbers begin to increase exponentially once these workers infect others.  Many business owners and managers only consider the short term impact of being short staffed for the day rather the overall impact sick workers have on productivity and profit.  It is not all about economics.  Health care workers who show up sick risk infecting their co-workers and patients who already have a comprised immune system.

Employers must begin to understand that their overall sick leave expense and health care costs will decrease when sick workers are required to stay home.

Bad for Business


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