Feeling run down?

Hi folks,

As you probably know, I’m really interested in combating elements such as absenteeism in the workplace so that it reduces the drain on both the employee & the employer, however the one thing that is worse is Presentee’ism! This is were an employee is sick / injured but soldiers on without taking the necessary action.

Many of us can relate to this as we may think that we are far to busy to lose time to sickness, that we are the only person to do the job, that its’ only a sniffle / niggle & that its not really affecting our performance, that we cant afford time off, or that it will show us in a negative light. Sound familiar??? In our fast paced & high pressured culture we put pressure on ourselves that weakens our immune system, & then don’t allow ourselves to recover. In many cases this presentee’ism actually ends up having a greater impact (productivity, colleague stress, relationships, & safety) on ourselves & work than if we took a little time off.

Those dreaded words ‘time off’ don’t have to be so drastic, seen the Fit-Note? This was designed to replace the sick-note in order to offer more flexibility in the workplace & combat the spiralling dangers of being off work. Your GP can use it to say what you CAN do & works with the temporary choices listed below:

1. Altered hours                 (e.g 6hr shifts)

2. Part time                        (3 full days per week)

3. Altered duties               (admin instead of physical)

4. Workplace adaptations (ergonomic assessment / equipment)

Why not use these options next time you find yourself in presentee’ism? They are valuable short term solutions which will probably be the best course of action for you personally & your employer.

Thanks,

James