Work/Life Balance
Workplace wellnessMost bosses in most workplaces track absenteeism carefully to ensure that employees are being as productive as possible. |
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But you certainly don't hear the same thing being said about presenteeism -- in fact, I'd never heard the term until I read Desjardins Financial Security's national health survey, which was released last week -- just ahead of national mental health week, which runs all this week.
The presenteeism survey found that 42% of Canadian workers went to work sick or exhausted at least once in 2007. And of those workers, 29% admitted to working while ill three to five times, 11% from six to 10 times and 12% admitted to going to work sick more than 10 times.
The reasons most often mentioned by respondents include:
- Looming deadlines, 61%
- Preventing workload pileup, 55%
- Not wanting colleagues to be overloaded, 49%
- Concern about missing work being frowned upon, 41%
- Simply not being able to miss the income, 40%
The survey also found that nine of 10 workers believe that the incidences of stress-related mental health problems, such as burnout, depression and anxiety, have been increasing over the years.
"Even if each person is responsible for his or her own health, these results should prompt employers to take a closer look at the reality of their own workplaces and its impact on their employees' health," says Alain Thauvette, a senior v-p at Desjardins.
"In the long run, employers cannot be entirely sure of the strength of their businesses if their workforce is not in good health."
The survey also contained a nugget of good employment news. When asked to name the top stressors in their lives, respondents mentioned work pressures third, after money problems and personal health issues.
"In reality, we see just a small percentage of mental health absences that are solely related to workplace issues," says Michele Nowski, director of disability income claims and disability management at Desjardins.
"Obviously, stress management is still an everyday struggle for many people, but the main responsibility of the workplace is to provide healthy conditions to help workers face their daily challenges. The rest is up to the individual."
The survey also found that workplaces appear to be gradually adapting to mental health challenges in their businesses. Nearly two-thirds of workers think that their employer's senior management is concerned about employee wellness and four of 10 believe that management is showing that they are ready to listen or are open to discussing issues with their employees.
"What struck me was the sense of compassion that workers have for their colleagues who are suffering from mental health problems," says Dr. Taylor Alexander, CEO of the Canadian Mental Health Association. "Increasingly, businesses are implementing policies and adopting behaviours that promote mental health that are becoming an integral part of the organization's culture."
He says that that practice is crucial to everyone's well-being and also as a means to combat looming labour shortages and to improve business profitability.
"Clearly, more needs to be done to create mentally healthier workplaces, as this survey shows," Alexander says.
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