The Latest HR Buzzword - Presenteeism
I love words but I hate buzzwords. Buzzwords put a new spin on an old issue but don't generally add any significant value except to help consultants and vendors sell more services. Now that I am in the vendor seat, I should value buzzwords but I just can't do it. The most recent buzzword that annoys me is "Presenteeism". Do we really need a 12 letter word for people who come to work sick? And since that really isn't all that useful the buzzword makers have expanded the definition of presenteeism to include people coming to work sick of work.
If we cut through the bull we have two very basic issues.
1) Employees coming in to work sick. Well, let's think about that for a minute. Why would people come to work sick? The answer is pretty simple. They either feel that:
- their employer will not trust that they are really sick
- they will somehow be penalized by their employer for staying home
- they have too much work that is mission critical or will pile up
- they will not get paid and they need the money
What to do if we don't want employees to come to work when they are sick? We need to develop a corporate culture where supervisors show concern for employee's personal wellness, respect and trust employees without hesitation when they say they are sick and have back up employees cross trained to assist during times when an employee is out. This is really Management 101. Which again brings up the need for better training and mentoring in basic managerial skills.
2) Employees who aren't productive because they are not happy with their jobs. I don't like the word presenteeism for this. It's much more useful to look at the reasons they are not productive. I have my own 11 letter word for those reasons: Irritations. I would much prefer to see a company focusing on identifying and removing the irritations that cause employees to be less productive. Using the word presenteeism simply shifts the blame to the employees.
These two areas are both important managerial issues but do we really need the term presenteeism in order to think about them?
Beth C.
If we cut through the bull we have two very basic issues.
1) Employees coming in to work sick. Well, let's think about that for a minute. Why would people come to work sick? The answer is pretty simple. They either feel that:
- their employer will not trust that they are really sick
- they will somehow be penalized by their employer for staying home
- they have too much work that is mission critical or will pile up
- they will not get paid and they need the money
What to do if we don't want employees to come to work when they are sick? We need to develop a corporate culture where supervisors show concern for employee's personal wellness, respect and trust employees without hesitation when they say they are sick and have back up employees cross trained to assist during times when an employee is out. This is really Management 101. Which again brings up the need for better training and mentoring in basic managerial skills.
2) Employees who aren't productive because they are not happy with their jobs. I don't like the word presenteeism for this. It's much more useful to look at the reasons they are not productive. I have my own 11 letter word for those reasons: Irritations. I would much prefer to see a company focusing on identifying and removing the irritations that cause employees to be less productive. Using the word presenteeism simply shifts the blame to the employees.
These two areas are both important managerial issues but do we really need the term presenteeism in order to think about them?
Beth C.
posted by Beth N. Carvin at 1:29 PM
42 Comments:
Irritation - I have my own irritation, it's a ten letter word - Supervisor. If I am sick, I call in - and they do not believe me. Nobody cares, as long as I have the 'sick hours' available to me.
Employees calling in sick when they are not sick is a real pet peeve of mine. One of the things that I always do when I have new employees is let them know this. I make it very clear that I won't tolerate people calling in when they are not sick. I also let them know that if they are sick, not to feel bad about staying home. I rather have them resting and getting well.
I also let employees know that since I don't want them calling in sick when they are not sick to please feel free to let me know if they need a mental health day or just feel too lousy to come in -- even if they are not technically sick. We all have those days don't we? As long as my employees are honest about it I'm happy to give them the time when they need it.
I have found that when everyone is open and upfront that few people take advantage of it. There really needs to be some mutual trust there.
Beth C.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Good writing. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed my Google News Reader..
HR Software
A fantastic read….very literate and informative. Many thanks inbound call center
I think most people would do the same when they are headed with the situation. payday loans
i love this blog! keep up good works...its to be nice if we can know each other, do you think so?
Personal Injury Attorney Houston
Yes, but can you afford the massive financial and technical outlays implicit in the iPhone studio system?
i love this blog! keep up good works...its to be nice if we can know each other, do you think so?
We added your article to our auto glass directory. You’ll find there is link to this blog.
It was such a good article and so much related to our directory.
This is such a great resource that you are providing and you give it away for free. I love seeing websites that understand the value of providing a quality resource for free. It’s the old what goes around comes around routine.
hummer parts
Your article was quite intriguing and the information quite useful. Will check your site often to see other great posts you make! Regards
I suppose that people with diabetes tended to report higher levels of absenteeism as opposed to those without the condition.
Of all the newsletters to which I have been signed in time there was only one - yours! Messages informative material server interesting and useful. Thank you!
Socialkik is the #1 place to buy cheap facebook fans, you can also buy twitter followers, youtube views and subscribers and google +1 votes. Try coupon code: STANDARDKIK for $10 off.
I don't like buzzwords too. But they are used in different professional areas.
P.S. online essay service
Hi there! I'm working at available research paper writing service . And we propose you high-quality essays on any topic you need for a budget price! Visit our resource and check it out! Hope you conect us soon!
Professional essay writing services online!
Our writers are real experts! supreme-essay.net/
Do you think, that essay writing service - it is very coustly, you will be pleasantly surprised by our prices and our high quality. Try to buy an essay now.
Thank you for sharing this post here. I have an interesting information for students who are looking for professional essay service. The aim of this service is to provide customers with an original work of high quality. The professional writers always do their best for affordable price. Best regards.
Nice article of yours about buzzwords!) Buzzword is a word or phrase that becomes very popular for a period of time. It may be a technical term and may have little meaning, being simply used to impress others. So, I suppose, that article of yours really reveals this topic! And can you recommend me any top essay writing service ? I want to order essay online)
Hello! At first you need to develop a corporate culture where supervisors show concern for employee's personal wellness, respect and trust employees without hesitation when they say are sick and have back up employees cross trained to assist during times when an employee is out. Visit alsoacademic online papers.
Hello! Your post is quite interesting. When we work - we forget about anything, especially about our health. But it is wrong. Thanks for your advices. I get to see more interesting helpful things from you in future.Please keep me updated.
Well, the article is understandable and worht the attention of me as a reader. Do not miss the chance to go to this web-site and order the work you need to write by yourself.
Do you need help with your college papers? Feel free to buy research papers online. You can get profesional custom writing services at a reasonable price.
Hello! Hope you are doing well. I wish you good luck in your hard work. Hope it will bring success to you. I like your writing style. Please keep it good posting. I will be waiting for any updates from you in future!
Interesting. It's important to know the meaning of the words that you use, not to be a fool!))) Or in order to properly write your essay, you need to be able good express your thoughts! But not everyone can do this, thats way there is wonderful site essay-mania.com which always help!
Wow! Presenteeism) Really the buzzword of a year) I don't think it is not normal to create such words, it complicates our life) As many people say - don't trouble trouble untill trouble troubles you! That's why I agree with your position concerning buzzwords) Write more interesting information about buzzwords with papers-writings.com
Must say that live modern life and don't use the opportunity of online education it's at least unwise..Nowadays we have a great chance get our education on the next level and I think we must do it http://advanced-writer.com this is the best website to do that.Hope I help you a little))
writing skill is so good.your way of writing is awesome.you teach me how to make a post easier to read.i have an educative website.please visit it.
http://awriter.org/essay-writing-services/
writing skill is so good.your way of writing is awesome.you teach me how to make a post easier to read.
I really like your blog post! keep up good works... http://awriter.org/essay-writing-services is just now easy way for good article writing.
I like your blog post! your work is excellent... awriter.org/essay-writing-services is just now easy way for good article writing.
The data of your site is very useful
Thank you for posting such a great article
گوشی چینی
Do my academic assignment for me!
This comment has been removed by the author.
I love your writings and no wonder I visit it regularly. Keep up the good work. It has enabled us at http://prowriterz.com to develop good skills all the time
Great job there. Keep it up!
Thanks so much for the writing. I have learnt alot!
Keep up »
I am really impressed by your article. I have never thought of that issues before. I agree that the company should trust their employees when they say they are sick. The company will not have any benefits when the workers are less productive because of a sickness. Nice job. Visit grand-essays writing service if you need quality writing help to complete any paper.
Post a Comment
<< Home