Good morning, everyone! While I am sneezing away due to my allergies, I imagine I’m still in a far better physical state than a fair number of individuals across the nation this day-after-Halloween morning.
Whether your employees were up late watching horror movies (and avoiding that now-really-creepy television in the break room), or out partying later than they probably should have, they may be feeling especially “out of it” this morning.
The term “presenteeism” applies to individuals who show up to work not physically or mentally prepared to handle the day ahead of them. They may be sick, hungover, tired, etc. They tend to take more intermittent breaks than they should, become especially irritable when interacting co-workers, fail to follow up, and produce low-quality work.
Below are some tips to work against presenteeism.
- Be proactive. Consider the facts at hand if it’s the day after Halloween, Cinco de Mayo, etc. Walk by and ask how their night was.
- Offer your employees the ability to work from home or take the day off if they clearly look like they could use the rest. It’s better that they use their PTO or sick leave than work below their potential. Ex. “Hey, you look really tired. Why don’t you head home after lunch? You can make up the hours next week.”
- Offer free vaccinations for employees so that they can more likely avoid certain bouts of sickness altogether.
- Encourage general health in the workplace with a wellness program.
- If an individual is regularly engaging in preseentism, consult your HR professional and engage in a conversation with the individual as you would regarding any other performance issues.