The average number of days employees are absent over the course of a year has been steadily rising. At 10.3 days per employee per year, Montreal has the dubious honour of topping the Canadian charts. The hidden cost is substantially greater than the apparent cost of the sick pay. While this phenomenon is well known, proactive business leaders are beginning to recognize that "presenteeism" (employees who show up, but do not contribute their fullest as a result of a medical problem) is generally overlooked. What should you know and what can you do? Depending on the duration, an employee's absence has both direct and indirect costs, including salary, the replacement's salary and training, overburdened colleagues, and under-managed subordinates.
One measure of a corporation's success is its profitability. Every employee of a company contributes to the bottom line as a function of his or her productivity. While an absent employee represents 100% lost productivity, the loss attributed to a present, yet distracted, employee is harder to quantify.
Medical problems and their resulting distractions can be addressed early at a cost that is relatively low compared to lost productivity and profitability. These may take the form of musculo-skeletal problems, poorly managed chronic illnesses, life-threatening diseases such as cancer, metabolic disorders, and unaddressed mental health issues. Injuries, both personal and work-related, also impact an employer through reduced ability to function, not to mention the increased insurance and worker's compensation costs.
The aging baby boomer generation, coupled with delays within our healthcare system, cause medical problems within an employee's family to be increasingly likely to lead to reduced performance.
In some cases people are able to soldier on in spite of a distracting problem. Clearly, though, it is to the advantage of the employer to take steps to reduce the impact that illness may have on an employee.
Solutions to reduce the personal and corporate impact of a medical problem can be as simple as providing information to address unanswered questions, thereby relieving the stress and worry of not knowing what is going on. Medical services such as a diagnostic workup, local or remote medical consult to elucidate a diagnosis or treatment alternative will bring peace of mind.
An employer who takes an active role in assisting employees with personal or medical problems is more than a good corporate citizen. While employee health should not be considered a P&L item, corporations must find new ways to pay attention to protecting their vital human resources. In addition to getting back to peak productivity, there is significant positive impact on the relationship with the employee.
When an employer is seen as enabling a solution for something so personal and pivotal as a family medical emergency, the gratitude can be immeasurable. Presenteeism is often not apparent or addressable simply because people choose not to share their problem with their employer.
The key for an employer looking to help employees overcome medical issues and related distractions is to foster a culture of caring in the workplace. It is imperative to provide a third party trusted by both employee and employer and experienced in resolving the complete range of healthcare issues. There are many initiatives that accomplish this, such as on-site medical clinics, or specialized employee benefit plans.
These will put the resources in the hands of the employees on a programmatic basis to equip them on two important levels: (1) the front of mind awareness that they have tools available to them in the event they face a medical problem; and (2) the knowledge that their employer cares about their wellbeing.
Together as a team, employer and employee are side by side in the fight against absenteeism, presenteeism, and the effects of both on productivity.
