New research sheds fresh light on the 'presenteeism'
Date:
April 14, 2022
Source:
Trinity College Dublin
Summary:
Employees who are unwell only engage in 'presenteeism' -- continuing
to work when experiencing ill-health -- when they have not met
their daily work goals, according to new research.
FULL STORY ========================================================================== Employees who are unwell only engage in presenteeism when they have
not met their daily work goals, according to new research from Trinity
College Dublin.
==========================================================================
The study, published in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology
recently, also found that working on a day when you feel ill drains
mental energy which cannot be recovered the next day.
The study seeks to shed further light on the phenomenon of 'presenteeism'
- - defined by the researchers as continuing to work when experiencing
ill- health. The practice has been labelled an '800-pound gorilla' by researchers in occupational health psychology because of the tremendous
costs it inflicts on employees and organisations alike. These costs
include burnout, impaired workability, and productivity loss.
This study led by Dr Wladislaw Rivkin, Associate Professor in
Organisational Behaviour, Trinity, deepens our understanding of the
harmful impact of presenteeism on employee effectiveness by demonstrating
that depletion of mental resources is a key mechanism responsible for
these harmful effects.
The research involved 126 employees logging their daily productivity
across 12 workdays, resulting in 995 daily work observations. It was
conducted during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 when all participants
were working from home.
Dr Rivkin commented: "It is crucial to tackle daily presenteeism,
especially for remote workers.
Managers should openly discourage presenteeism by reassuring team members
that if they feel unwell it is acceptable to reduce their daily work
goals and instead tend to their health. In light of the energy-depleting
nature of presenteeism if employees engage in presenteeism they should
work on tasks that are inherently pleasant rather than tedious tasks
that further drain their energy.
"So, while it may seem a good idea to work despite ill health to deliver
on work goals our research shows that this has a knock-on effect for
remote workers' performance on the next day as presenteeism drains
employees' psychological energy, which cannot be fully recovered after
work." The full paper was entitled "Should I stay or should I go? The
role of daily presenteeism as an adaptive response to perform at work
despite somatic complaints for employee effectiveness." Wlad Rivkin is
an Associate Professor in Organisational Behaviour and Work Psychology
whose research focuses on burnout, stress and other demands that people experience at work as well as what organisations can do to protect
employee wellbeing and maintain their effectiveness. Other recent
research projects include studies on the impact of commuting on employee wellbeing, the role of willpower in overcoming the negative effects of
a bad night's sleep and how smartphone use during non-work time impacts
on sleep quality.
========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Trinity_College_Dublin. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.
========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Wladislaw Rivkin, Stefan Diestel, Fabiola H. Gerpott, Dana
Unger. Should
I stay or should I go? The role of daily presenteeism as an adaptive
response to perform at work despite somatic complaints for employee
effectiveness.. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 2022;
DOI: 10.1037/ocp0000322 ==========================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220414143952.htm
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