How many times have you barely slept an hour because your cough kept you up all night but you say to yourself “Ughhh, I better get up and go to work”. You feel like your head is a bowling ball, your nose is Niagara Falls, and you’re not sure if you are coming down with the flu or you just ran a marathon, considering how exhausted you feel. We’ve all been there struggling to make it through the day not realizing that calling out would have been better. In the meantime your productivity wasn’t there, you helped spread around the office whatever it is that is bringing you down, and your absence would have actually been better than your presence.
Presenteeism is essentially the act of showing up for work while feeling unwell or unable to function effectively. Whilst employees are ‘physically’ present in the workplace, they’re unable to operate at their full capacity – due to one or more reasons including illness, stress, a long-term condition, or wider relationship issues.
Unlike absenteeism, which is easily quantifiable, presenteeism is harder to track and therefore not as apparent. However, there are real threats to office productivity and moral when people come to work ill. You might look at coming to work while sick as an act of devotion to your job, but in reality, you are potentially causing more harm than good, including infecting co-workers. Some signs of presenteeism are:
Why Do Employees Come To Work Sick?
Some driving factors of Presenteeism would be:
- Economic Necessity
- High Job Demands
- Perceptions of Need and Irreplaceability
If you do come to work sick, here are some tips to minimize your risk to others:
- Cough and sneeze into your elbow, not your hand
- Limit interaction with other people as much as possible
- Avoid contact with other people
- Wipe surfaces down with disinfecting wipes
- Use hand sanitizer or wash your hands after coughing or sneezing (see our post about Ecolab’s NEXA Total Hand Hygiene System)
Milhench Supply carries a wide range of facial tissue, hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes and soaps to help get you through cold season! We serve New Bedford, Cape Cod, the Islands, greater Providence, Boston and the suburbs. We have locations in New Bedford and Medford, MA. Please contact the Milhench Supply Company to discuss any of your janitorial supply needs.