Much has been said over the years on the issue of employee
absenteeism and its impact on a business’s bottom line, but what about the
effect of staff attending work whilst sick?
This issue, known as presenteeism, relates to employees
working despite being ill, rather than staying at home to recover.
There are many reasons for staff choosing to work whilst
sick, including a reluctance to ‘let the team down’ or in order to maintain a
proud attendance record. In addition, workers within certain sectors may be
under pressure to achieve targets and therefore do not feel that they can
afford to be away from work even due to sickness.
While many individuals feel they are demonstrating commitment
by attending work despite illness, presenteeism can in fact negative
implications:
Productivity loss
Research has shown that ill employees are much less
productive than their healthy counterparts, with productivity losses accounting
for around half of all health-related costs faced by employers.
Spreading infections to
other employees
By reporting for work whilst sick, employees risk passing
their illness on to other staff members and setting off a chain of illness
through the workforce. This ultimately leads to greater absenteeism and loss of
productivity than if the employee who was initially ill had recuperated at
home.
Poor future health
A 2009 study found that presenteeism increased the risk of
exhaustion and future sick leave as employees try to ‘work through’ illness
rather than taking time off to convalesce fully.
Along with implementing cultural changes to remove the
stigma of calling in sick, business owners should consider the wider issue of
workplace infection and its links with poor indoor air quality (IAQ).
Indoor air pollution is becoming an increasingly hot topic
following a recent joint study from the Royal College of Physicians and the
Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, which raised concerns over the
quality of air breathed by UK building occupants.
Gibbons
Ultraviolet Solutions provides air handling disinfection systems for
occupied spaces such as offices, healthcare centres and educational facilities.
Our revolutionary CoilCare®
system applies ultraviolet C (UVC) light to the cooling coil of an air handling
unit, destroying ‘biofilm’ – a potentially harmful substance which forms due to
the build-up of contaminants such as bacteria and mould. The system, which
requires minimal maintenance, also prevents biofilm from reforming.
The image to the right is an emphatic demonstration of the
power of CoilCare®
– petri dish samples taken from the same air handling system before and after
the application of our system.
CoilCare could help your business reduce both presenteeism
and absenteeism by protecting the health and wellbeing of staff and visitors
alike.
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