As employee absenteeism improves, 'Presenteeism' is on the increase

It appears that few of us are suffering from Monday Morning-itus or from the equally common complaint of Friday Morning Amnesia - forgetting to set the alarm and sleeping in. Fewer people it seems are blaming the fact that there was a spider in the bathroom so they couldn't get dressed to come to work or that they had to wash their hair. No longer, it seem are we looking for plausible and creative excuses to stay away from work, but instead we are just turning up in greater numbers than ever before. How boring!

Although 131 million days work were lost last year due to employee absence, this is down from 178 million a decade ago. Employers however are not rejoicing because absenteeism is fast being replaced by 'presenteeism' - which is worse!

'Presenteeism' is when people turn up for work but are there in body only - and simply do not engage with the job in hand. The 'zombie work force' is upon us and it's increasing! Productivity is decreasing and now costing more than when we simply didn't turn up!

So what's the root cause of Presenteeism? Adam Strong, author of 'Move it or Lose it' believes that trends toward unhealthy diets and a lack of fitness is the culprit "There is a saying the 'Fatigue makes cowards of us all'. If you are lacking in energy, stressed or physically challenged in some way, you are never going to give your best to your job. You will always be looking for the easy option. If you mind is set on how little you can get away with doing at work, you are never going to get the promotion or the long term prospects that you may well deserve."

For employers, simply looking at the disciplinary route to force people to perform better, is not the answer. Companies that have corporate wellness programmes that address the work life balance and the underlying causes of presenteeism, are now reaping the benefits.

" Marks and Spencer run an industry-leading wellbeing programme placing their employees first." said Adam " They have reduced their staff turnover rates whilst supporting over 13,000 employees in their efforts to improve employee health. They strongly believe that there is a strong correlation between employee engagement and business success by introducing components specifically requested by them to maximise participation, this was supported by a decrease in absenteeism by 7% in just one month, 0.50% fall in turnover in the month of February 2013 and a reduction of 18% in referrals to occupational health respectively."

PRESS RELEASE - for immediate releasefrom Chris Day Filament Publishing Ltdemail: chris@filamentpublishing.com 020 8688 2598To contact author Adam Strong - 07738 276169

Companies are beginning to take workplace wellness more seriously now. However many are trying to implement a wellness program with little or no experience or strategy for success. In most circumstances, these programs fail. The key is to understand, educate and get employees involved in the solution rather than force a solution. If employees are not involved in this process, participation will be affected and ultimately fail. The long-term outcomes are a lifestyle holistic approach to wellness is supporting long term behaviour change and healthy habits both at work and home.

Adams Strong is the Founder of Xclusive Corporate Fitness. His book 'Move it or Lose it', published by Filament Publishing Ltd is available in all good books shop or from Amazon.