Feeling ill? Well, staying at home would seem to be the sensible course of action. Yet for many, going to work while sick has become the norm, even a necessity in the face of the pressures placed on us by the organisations which employ us.

In many cases, illness is no longer seen as a valid reason for not working. Sick days are for wimps.

Yet, working while ill – or “presenteeism” – impairs the performance of workers and results in lower productivity. Organisations may actually pay a high price in terms of lost productivity by allowing workers to work while they are ill.

The costs to employees are also high. By staying at work, they may be compounding their own ill health. In the extreme, they could even be working themselves to death.

The causes of presenteeism are varied. On the one hand, it stems from fear, the fear that staying off work, even when ill, will be interpreted as a lack of commitment. This induces people to attend work when they shouldn’t.

The latest research suggests that high job demands, stress and job insecurity are key to explaining involuntary presenteeism. Lack of adequate sick pay and other financial difficulties all encourage employees to work while ill.

But while some workers feel pressured to work when ill, others choose to. These workers wish to demonstrate passion and commitment for their jobs even when they’re feeling under the weather.

Work is and can be good, if organised in the right way. But it can also consume us and make us ill. Where it makes us sick, we should reject it. Presenteeism, in short, is a wake-up call for us to think differently about work and to explore how we might live our lives with less work.

bbabo.Net