We’ve all probably heard of presenteeism, but have you heard of e-Presenteeism? 

What is e-presenteeism?

Presenteeism, simply put, is the act of working whilst sick (or perhaps mentally exhausted) which causes productivity loss, poor mental health and exhaustion.

Since the pandemic, many of us have been transitioning from an office environment to working from home. What this has caused is a mutation of presenteeism into e-Presenteeism. We might be switching on our laptops and sitting in our home offices, but are we working effectively? Are we still working when ill?

Working from home seems to have muddied the waters. Individuals are struggling with separating home life from work life, there needs to be a balance. 

Signs of e-Presenteeism: 

  • Working when unwell. 
  • Working longer hours than needed/ more than your paid hours. 
  • Responding to emails and calls outside of working hours. 
  • Feeling disengaged and unmotivated. 
  • Making more mistakes than usual. 
  • Low levels of productivity. 
  • Poor time-keeping. 
  • Ongoing feelings of exhaustion. 
  • A deterioration in work relationships. 

According to the CIPD’s Health and Wellbeing at Work Report published in 2021, 77% of employees have experienced and/or witnessed their colleagues experiencing presenteeism whilst working from home, this is in comparison to 75% experiencing or viewing presenteeism in the workplace. 

Now that many of us are working online from the comforts of our own homes, a certain amount of pressure is mounting on individuals to constantly be switched on and logged into their computers, even if they’re unwell and unable to work effectively. 

The pandemic is only intensifying this stress, as the months go by, working from home is becoming the ‘new’ normal, however, this can be disorientating for those who were accustomed to office working, who may feel their levels of productivity plummeting due to a lack of in-person contact with their colleagues. 

What effect is working from home having on employees?

In 2020, The Mental Health Foundation and Linkedin polled over 1,000 HR professionals with staff working from home due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

The results showed that 79% of respondents believed the prolonged period of working from home due to lockdown is encouraging e-Presenteeism at work. 

54% of managers have noticed that burnout, anxiety, isolation and loneliness have escalated in their organisation due to the impact that Covid has had on working conditions. 

The study also questioned HR professionals that worked from home about their experience of home working during lockdown, 86% of respondents said that remote working was having an adverse effect on their overall health. 

This study suggests that working from home has posed issues surrounding stress, anxiety, loneliness, isolation and insecurities in reference to level of working, as many feel the need to work additional hours to prove to their managers that they deserve the role they have. 

This needs to be rectified before we reach a point of no return of e-Presenteeism. 

How can organisations better support their remote workers to avoid e-Presenteeism?

It is important that wherever your employees are working, that they’re happy and comfortable, and able to work effectively. The way to ensure this is to: 

  • Open up the conversation – If you’re suspecting that a colleague or colleagues are being affected by e-Presenteeism, you should start an open conversation with them, whether that is via phone call, email or video chat. To maintain regular contact with that employee, to ensure that they feel valued and aren’t overworking themselves because they feel they have to, is important. When working from home, it is very easy to form your own bubble, therefore, you must engage your employees to ensure they don’t get consumed with stress and anxiety due to the working from home conditions. 
  • Encourage positive time management – Being able to manage your time effectively is key to a healthy work life balance. The lines are blurred when working from home, you relax in the same place that you work, leading the individual to unconsciously overwork themselves. It is also important to remind employees that they’re able to manage their own time according to their needs, for example, if they need to take some time out of their working day to tutor their children, this is completely fine. Relay to them the message that they could make this time up in the evening, but they shouldn’t feel the need to work longer than their hours because they took some time out in the day. 
  • Lead by example – Leaders of organisations must lead by example, as the head of an organisation, it is up to them to be the role model for all of their employees. Therefore, leaders shouldn’t overwork themselves, as this might encourage their employees to do the same. Being mindful of employee wellbeing and presenteeism is important, so is being conscious of your own wellbeing and capabilities. 

What does the future of work look like?

As of July 19th when the lifting of all remaining restrictions was implemented, employers are now permitted to send staff back to working from the office. 

What does this mean for e-Presenteeism? 

Whilst working from home is no longer the only option available, this may mean e-Presenteeism is slightly diminished within businesses. However, if an individual is struggling with their motivation, performance and wellbeing at work, this will not disappear once they return to the office. E-Presenteeism will be replaced with presenteeism, businesses must understand that a change in working environment will not have a drastic effect on the overall health of their employees. 

There are many variables to an individual’s mental and physical health. 

That is why altering the way in which you approach presenteeism and supporting your staff will make all the difference. 

Through showing support and accommodating an individual, especially through this difficult transition period, you will be rewarded with happier and healthier staff. 

Want to find out more about how to better improve your employee wellbeing? Please do not hesitate to contact us. We’re always here for a friendly, transparent chat. 

Here at Wellbeing with Cari, we believe that everyone should be psychologically safe and feel the joy of peak performance at work. Our mission is to use neuroscience and AI technology to solve the problem of presenteeism by seeing behind a brave face. 

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