Presenteeism is inadvisable & bad practice for businesses during the Coronavirus outbreak

Opinions on working from home and antiquated perceptions of presenteeism could finally be changing as a result of coronavirus. Leadership expert, equality campaigner and author Hira Ali believes that the culture of presenteeism is rightly under the spotlight. Countries are going on lockdown to slow the spread of coronavirus while some schools in places such as Spain and Greece are now shut for the next fortnight (forcing people to quickly make arrangements to work from home or take annual leave to be able to care for their children), and many workers are being encouraged to work from home where possible.

We asked Hira Ali to explain more about presenteeism amidst the coronavirus outbreak in this Q&A, which is available for extract and media use:

1. Why do some people suffer from presenteeism more than others?
Being absent or working from home is traditionally associated with laziness. There is also a long standing office culture where the expectation is to not just to show up but also be available after office hours. On paper, there is flexibility, but the reality is different, and working from home or leaving early often has negative connotations attached to it. Hence, the practice of being present at work for more hours than is actually required and even in illness has become common. This is not surprising given how redundancies are prevalent and how highly unpredictable the job market is. Brexit makes it worse. Expats and immigrants especially feel the pressure to over perform and be seen. People feel threatened and insecure about their job all the time so they want to be perceived as someone who is always there and working hard above and beyond the call of duty. Coronavirus is also adding an additional layer of stress and worry for many workers.

2. Is presenteeism an issue that affects more women than men?
The increasing prevalence of long working hours has had a negative impact on women more than men. The imbalance in the design of the work-life balance policies between men and women reinforce gender stereotypes and differences between paid work and care. While research has shown that the gender pay gap is narrowing for young workers, it is widening among working mothers as they are effectively suffering a pay penalty for taking time off or working fewer hours than men. When women are at home or leave early, they feel guilty and fear that they are missing out on important assignments at work. Also, technology that facilitates answering emails at all hours in the evening, puts working mums at a disadvantage as they already bear the disproportionate burden of domestic responsibilities. Organisations need to stop valuing presenteeism and on-call availability, if they wish to level playing field for women with children.

3. What do you think about presenteeism?
Organisations must realise that an employee physically working within an office doesn’t necessarily guarantee improved results or productivity. Flexible work hours, work from home opportunities, job sharing, and part-time jobs (when appropriate), are options that organisations can evaluate to ensure they retain talented employees. Presenteeism, including people coming into work when they are ill, has more than tripled since 2010, according to the latest CIPD/Simplyhealth Health and Wellbeing at Work survey and the trend seems to be growing.

Despite the alarming figures, only a handful of organisations are taking steps to challenge these unhealthy workplace practices. The work-life balance has massively deteriorated in the past few years with constant pressure to perform and deliver over and above the expectations. In the commercial environment we are living in, very little value is placed on self-prioritising and taking breaks for rest and recuperation. The other day my husband and I were discussing how rarely he takes a sick day from work. This might be a good sign, though I refuse to believe that out of 365 days there isn’t a single day he can take off to rejuvenate and re-energise (after all, prevention of sickness is important too, right)? What’s more, how about annual holidays? I know many people who are afraid to take the days that are rightfully theirs to take to rest and not work because they will have too much work to do upon their return!

I hate to say this, but perhaps it had to take a global emergency of this kind with little choice available for some businesses and leaders to seriously start evaluating and considering viable work from home options. Sometimes we don’t value or appreciate certain options until it is the last one. Yes, the economic impact could be enormous but according to the theory of relativity, taking precautions and working from home instead is a better option than being sick and not working at all.
4. What will be the impact of leaders telling people to work from home on a bigger scale than seen in recent years? Could this end up being the biggest number of people working from home in recorded history?

It will definitely be more valuable and effective if such a mandate comes from the leadership. Anything coming from the top is seen as an endorsement to take that action with less hesitation. Yes, this could potentially be the biggest number of people working from home and it might be good in the long run. We would be in a position of such a practice having already been initiated and implemented on a global level, so it won’t be such a novice practice after all. It could even get to be more socially acceptable.

5. What do you think the impact of coronavirus will be on businesses in the medium-term (next few months)?
There is definitely a lot of fear and anxiety at all levels. I am not an economist so can’t comment on the economic and financial impact other than the global financial markets seem to indicate that the world economy is on a path to recession. However, from a diversity, inclusion and belonging point of view, I fear that the escalating panic could also lead to an increase in racism and xenophobia with people developing a prejudice/bias against certain communities.

Since I train and coach people from diverse communities, I have already sensed the immense pressure in people from certain communities and how vulnerable and cautious they already feel. Taking precautions is sensible but it could help to do that while being sensitive to other people’s feelings and without making them feel awkward. Stereotype threat, a situational predicament in which people are, or feel themselves to be, at risk of conforming to stereotypes about their social group is a real threat, which could negatively impact the mental wellbeing of people belonging to marginalised/victimised communities.

6. What advice do you give to any business leader considering how to respond in the face of the current coronavirus advice?
I believe that businesses should think critically, act sensibly and avoid creating panic. We require new strategies of mitigation rather than containment and businesses need to be informed about the change in trend not just on a daily basis but an hourly basis. Since we live in an online world where information is disseminated quickly, businesses shouldn’t assume that there is information available externally so they don’t need to do anything internally for their organisation. Instead, they should create as much awareness as possible so that people are well apprised of the risks involved. Efficiency, resilience and flexibility in the current coronavirus situation will go a long way. This should also be taken as a learning experience and opportunity to prepare for future situations of this scale.

7. For women who are suffering from fear of failure, imposter syndrome, fear of missing out (FOMO), concerns about how they’re perceived in work – as so many women are according to your survey that informs your book Her Way To The Top – what do you think coronavirus anxiety is going to do to them and what advice do you give women who are worrying about it at the moment?
I think global emergencies show all the more that we live in an extremely unpredictable world and that such challenges can affect every person equally irrespective of their colour, background, qualification or experience. It’s a humbling feeling; difficulties such as these don’t discriminate.

Any person, any time can be affected anywhere. So, what is there to worry about? I often ask women who experience fear and anxiety: ‘What’s the worst that can happen?’ And coronavirus is presenting a worst case scenario in many ways, isn’t it? So if we can successfully battle this and come out of a global crisis such as this, over which have little or no control, then what’s stopping us from progressing at work and overcoming our own personal obstacles which we have full control of? I believe these women will come out stronger – they just need to reframe their perspective in viewing the whole situation.