Working Ourselves Sick | How Employers Can Reduce Presenteeism
As the seasons change, many UK residents will be experiencing colds, coughs and flu over the next few weeks.
Working while sick, otherwise known as presenteeism, costs employers around £24bn annually, according to Deloitte, due to reduced productivity, prolonged illnesses and leaving employees to work at a reduced capacity.
Too many employees still feel pressured to push through illnesses, whether that’s a generic winter cold or something more serious. The problem is that presenteeism isn’t just harming the individual; employers are also paying far more than if the employee were to take a few days off to rest and recover. Changing the culture around sick leave is still one of the simplest tasks an employer can do, yet one of the most effective.
There are five key things that employers must focus on in order to reduce presenteeism.
Review Sick Leave Policies
You need to ensure that any absence policies are supportive and flexible, and make it clear that short-term sickness is preferable to long-term reduced performance. It’s worth redistributing the policy to staff members so that they know where to find it, what it says and what your company’s stance is on sickness.
It’s also important to remind people who work from home that, just because they’re at home and not infecting the rest of the office, doesn’t mean they aren’t entitled to a few days' rest to ensure they come back fighting fit. A lot of people see ‘working from home’ and ‘working from bed’ as their time to rest, when they really need to shut off.”
Senior Staff Must Lead by Example
Managers and senior staff should model healthy workplace behaviour by taking time off when they’re unwell. This will give employees, particularly those with less seniority, confidence that they will be able to do the same when they’re unwell without the fear of judgment.
Encourage Open Conversations About Mental Health
Training line managers to recognise early signs of stress, anxiety, and burnout can help stop any issues before they escalate further. There are many mental health training resources available online, and it’s worth sharing a few of these with employees, and reminding them that leaders are there to help with workload and stress.
Develop Better Cultural Attitudes to Rest and Breaks
Remind employees to prioritise good rest and vital screen breaks during work hours. You can, and should, implement small cultural shifts such as encouraging lunch breaks away from desks, digital switch-off after hours, and not feeling obliged to respond to emails once they’ve closed their laptop for the day. All of these can make huge differences to someone’s work life.
Invest in Workplace Wellbeing Programs
From mental health first aid training to employee assistance programs, proactive support reduces stigma and shows its staff that wellbeing matters. If your HR professional has had mental health training, they could also provide it to other employees. It doesn’t all have to be external and paid for; sharing knowledge in a group setting is also valuable.
For more information on mental health in the workplace, we have analysed Mental Health UK’s annual Burnout Report for 2025. For more expert insights, you can subscribe to our quarterly newsletter.
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