When ‘presenteeism’ rises, productivity falls

Ensuring that there is plenty of light in the workplace is just one of several things that employers can do to make working conditions more pleasant, ensuring greater worker commitment and productivity. Picture: Supplied

Ensuring that there is plenty of light in the workplace is just one of several things that employers can do to make working conditions more pleasant, ensuring greater worker commitment and productivity. Picture: Supplied

Published Oct 4, 2015

Share

Johannesburg - Due to poor workplace well-being, “presenteeism” is a phenomenon spreading across the globe.

It describes the existence of disengaged employees who physically present themselves at work, but do not actually complete or achieve anything.

Combined with presenteeism, depression and anxiety are now the leading causes of long-term sickness absence from today’s modern workplace.

The direct health-care costs and the costs of productivity lost to presenteeism can total up to 35 percent of salaries.

Research shows that engaged employees produce more and cost less. Eight different studies by organisations, including Harvard Business Review and the World Economic Forum, show a return on investment of wellness programmes of between 144 percent and 3 000 percent.

Wellness programmes should be seen as holistic approaches to creating high-performance organisations through establishing the right workplace environments and surroundings. Employee engagement and workplace well-being relates to all aspects of the work life.

So, the question is: if we know that good health requires more than just physical wellness and that employee well-being can have a big impact on business outcomes, why do so few organisations make a serious investment in it?

Travis Imbralio, operations director at workspace specialist firm Giant Leap, believes local corporates are now waking up to employee well-being and are beginning to see the benefits.

“The reason for this is that unlike other resources such as buildings, technology, investments etc, people have a choice about who they work for, how much they give to their job and how they influence the staff and employees around them,” he says.

“There’s still a lot of work to be done, though our research arm, Know More SA, has local statistics that support this.

“In the end, what is good for people is good for the company.

“Top talent is not only becoming harder to recruit, it is also getting harder to retain.

“LinkedIn recently found that 85 percent of the global workforce is actively, or passively, looking for a new employer. With this in mind, organisations need to place efforts on retaining their people.

When one looks at implementing workplace well-being, employees’ physiological and safety needs should serve as the foundation, Imbralio believes.

“These are primarily related to the physical aspects of work and wellness: adequate lighting, temperature, acoustics, privacy and so on.

“Far too often we see employees extremely dissatisfied and irritated when these simple yet basic needs are not addressed.”

From indoor gyms to laundry services, catering and yoga rooms, the list for workplace well-being is endless, and it doesn’t always have to come with an expensive price tag, Imbralio points out.

He suggests the following quick and easy solutions for companies to consider when implementing well-being programmes for their staff. Best of all, they won’t break the bank balance:

* Let there be light – Ensure that your office has plenty of windows to provide natural light.

* Allow for flexible working hours – Employees with flexible work schedules report greater satisfaction, less absenteeism and overall higher productivity.

* Add colour – Colours can easily change our moods and impact productivity. Colours such as blue or green can lead to higher contentment and productivity, while red increases alertness and attention to detail.

* Keep the noise down – It seems obvious but scientists have discovered just how damaging excess noise can be to workplace productivity.

* Keep moving – Stimulating movement at work helps to make employees healthier, happier and more alert. This can be anything that gets people out of a typical seated position to breaks and standing desks.

* Promote healthy eating – Supplying the right snacks can improve mental state and help staff to be more productive.

When companies improve employee well-being, they create more engaging places to work and greater returns for the company as a whole.

Imbralio sums up: “As corporates wake up and smell the workplace benefits, it’s evident they realise that well-being is fast gaining attention, and for good reasons.

“Looking forward, in order to beat competitors, companies will need to focus their efforts on ensuring the sustainability of their most important assets, their staff.”

* See www.giantleap.co.za for more information.

STAR WORKPLACE

Related Topics: