Don’t feel like going to work today?
You may not feel like going to work today - is it because of your mental and physical health? Absenteeism is often a consequence of having low levels of wellbeing.
It is well-known that absenteeism is often a consequence of employees having low levels of wellbeing. When lots of people take frequent and extended amounts of sick leave, it is a good indicator that something isn’t quite right. It really doesn’t matter if the illness is legitimate or not, this is a key sign of problems with workplace wellness. Effectively, if employees are actually getting ill in higher numbers than average, or if they don’t want to come to work, chances are that something in the environment is causing issues.
It is less well-known that presenteeism, or coming into work but not fully functioning because of poor physical or mental health, is also a key indicator of low levels of workplace wellbeing. Presenteeism has actually been estimated the cost employers between three and four times that of absenteeism due to on-the-job productivity losses. This is because feeling unwell affects both the quantity and quality of one’s work. But, unlike absenteeism, presenteeism isn’t always apparent. You know when someone doesn’t show up for work, but you often can’t tell how much an illness is negatively influencing someone’s performance. This is particularly true for mental health issues such as depression or anxiety, because they are often invisible and can manifest in a variety of symptoms that mask the real problem. For instance, depression can impede concentration as well as cause fatigue and irritability, which may be incorrectly interpreted as signs of an individual who doesn’t work well with others, who is demotivated, or lazy.
We often associate persistent work attendance despite ill-health as a form of dedication, yet it is much more likely to happen because of workplace pressure. Unhealthy social norms that are embedded into workplace cultures may lead individuals to believe there will be negative consequences of taking leave, that asking for help when ill shows weakness, or that their personal wellbeing is not a priority in their workplace. However, research has found that less time is lost from people staying home than from them showing up but not performing at full capacity.
However, it’s one thing to know that there’s a problem, and another to demonstrate that there’s something that can be done about it. A lot of recent research has shown that if we focus on wellness at work and introduce programmatic prevention and intervention efforts, we can reduce both absenteeism and presenteeism while also increasing job satisfaction, retention, and mental health. But not all wellness programs work, the most effective programs address factors at both the individual and organisational level, creating a culture of wellbeing where individual health promotion efforts are intertwined with the overall company goals and objectives.
Health and wellbeing management must begin by changing attitudes, advancing our understanding of mental health problems and providing training and education at all levels. Employers are best placed to address challenges of both absenteeism and presenteeism when they begin to focus their efforts on health management. This is where wellness programs come in to play, as they can help individuals understand and tackle contributing factors for ill-health such as stress, negative coping strategies, and lack of meaning.
Cultures of wellness don’t have to start with a huge amount of resources, they can actually grow in many small ways. In fact, Alsco have developed an extensive list of 146 things that can be done to increase workplace wellness by both employers and employees. These all represent achievable steps towards creating a mentally and physically healthy environment.
Have a different perspective towards wellness at work.
- Jaimee