Here's a scenario that I'd like you to consider... see if there's any part of it that you recognise:
There's a company (call it "A Ltd") that has decided that there are far too many meetings and that the meetings that do happen are prone to over running, they lack structure and often leave people feeling frustrated and deflated... and there's a training company (call it "H2 Training") that is invited by A Ltd to run some in-house "Effective Meetings" training, with an emphasis on chairing skills. (So far so good?)
During the morning session, the trainer (let's call her "Tina Halperin") asks the group of learners to consider the various reasons for having a meeting, and whether considering the time and expense of having people attend a face-to-face event, there might on reflection be some better alternatives. It was generally agreed that calling people into a room just to present them with information that they could receive via email, a newsletter or view on an intranet in their own time, seemed not to be a great idea - particularly given how busy people are. In a similar way, it was agreed that calling a team meeting to delegate out work to individuals when there's no requirement for collaboration or discussion is also not a great use of time, as it leaves others sitting observing conversations that are irrelevant to them. (With me so far?)
So, having decided that there are often more efficient ways to distribute information and to delegate tasks, leaving meetings for the creative, dynamic conversations that require collaboration and consensus, Tina asked the learners to think about how they could apply this principle in practice. (The idea being that it would reduce the number of meetings and shorten the meetings that do take place). That's where the problem came... "Oh no, we can't possibly send people information by email or post it on the intranet, because they don't read emails and they never look at the intranet!" and "Yes... but when we ask people to do something without having it witnessed by the whole team and put in writing in the minutes, they often don't bother doing it!"... so that's why A Ltd has continued to arrange countless meetings at great expense, leaving participants bored and frustrated, because people don't bother reading emails and don't do what they're asked unless threatened by the humiliation of having to be accountable at the next meeting? "Yes, that's right."
So... did you recognise anything in that scenario? I have a feeling you probably did, although I really hope that you will have been as surprised by it as me! It just seems completely nonsensical and convoluted to allow a culture to develop around the unprofessional behaviour of an unaccountable few. My questions are: Why aren't the managers within this (or any other organisation experiencing the same thing) willing, able or enabled to call people to account? And why don't people feel obliged to read internal emails in preparation for attending meetings with their colleagues, or obliged to take responsibility for completing tasks that they agree to?
My feelings are that it is a complex combination of increasing workloads, ineffective time/task management, information overload, lack of decisive performance management and lack of personal accountability. Put that lot together and it's a wonder that anything gets done! Thankfully lots of things do get done and there are hundreds of thousands of conscientious, efficient and effective people getting on and doing their best. I just hope that there are enough people out there to stop for a moment and question the logic behind certain habitual processes and methods, to make sure that they are done for the right reasons - not just as a work-around to compensate for the behaviour of the few unaccountable individuals who end up calling the shots.
Do let me know your thoughts on the matter!
We have all heard of the term "Absenteeism" (used to describe the problems associated with employees being unnecessarily absent from work) but there's a new term on the block called: "Presenteeism". It may be a catchy term, but it’s more than just a gimmick.
Presenteeism is a complex issue. The most common use of the term is to highlight the problems caused by the growing number of people who feel compelled to turn up when they are actually too ill to work. It seems that the requirement for an unblemished sickness record has become more critical than the need for people to be fit for the job. Indeed, survey data from 39,000 UK workers presented by business psychology company Robertson Cooper, showed that a quarter of the people sampled struggle into work, despite feeling ill.
There are always going to be people who chance their luck and who 'play the system' at work. They'll know exactly how many days they can get away with taking off, and which ‘illnesses’ are relatively difficult to confirm (such as back pain and migraine). However, it is troubling if the minority have gradually been allowed to tarnish the rest of the workplace to the extent that those who are genuinely unfit for work are actually afraid they will lose their jobs if they ‘go off-sick'. So there's our modern-day dilemma: If you're genuinely not feeling well (through illness or stress) then you're both criticised for "taking a sickie" and criticised for dragging yourself into work. You just can't win!
Professor Ivan Robertson, managing director at Robertson Cooper, has said: "Presenteeism in the workplace has a number of causes, one of which is related to feelings of job insecurity. Recently, this is likely to have been inflamed as a result of the recession." The problem of presenteeism, it seems to me, is partly to do with job insecurity (as suggested by Prof. Robertson), but also to do with a fundamental lack of trust, honesty, accountability, and motivation in the workplace...
Where there's a general lack of trust between management and 'the workers', even the honest, hardworking employees find the decision to take a day off work extremely difficult. Any health or stress management expert will agree that being brave and keeping going until the weekend or until our next holiday is more often than not, a poor health choice. When we work through an illness we're not only jeopardising our own recovery and long-term health, but we're also potentially spreading germs to our colleagues and we are at higher risk of making costly mistakes.
So what about the issues of 'accountability' and 'motivation'? To me, there's another more worrying form of presenteeism which is about those people who feel entitled to their pay packet, no matter how much effort they put in, or what results they achieve. It's simply about turning up to work and doing the bare minimum or not being caught falling short of the mark. I have concluded, both as a trainer/coach who hears hundreds of stories from managers and from front-line staff, as well as a discerning consumer, that this is an issue that's on the increase. How many times have you had an interaction with a service company, a shop or a business, and have been left feeling that the employee doesn't care at all about how you feel, what your experience has been, or whether or not you will remain a customer? And how many times have you been shocked by people in service roles, who see nothing wrong in chatting to each other whilst serving you, or in covering their own backs rather than offering you a little empathy? I don't think it's just me noticing it more as I get older! It really feels that increasing numbers of people simply don't care less anymore.
My answer to this is that we need to help people in these roles to care more. We need to stop rewarding people with a guaranteed salary just as long as they turn up. We need more constructive, proactive management that spells out the expectations and that shares the responsibility for creating and maintaining their team's motivation to a good job. Ultimately, we need managers to enable individuals to feel truly accountable for their own performance.
Can you imagine the uproar if everyone overnight only got paid what they were worth? Now there's a thought! Some people would probably end up having to reimburse their employers... This may be a crazy daydream by one disgruntled consumer, but as Professor Ivan Robertson suggests: "To prevent presenteeism, managers should reward people for the work they deliver, not the hours they put in. Investing in the health and wellbeing of workers pays dividends in terms of improved employee engagement and productivity. And it delivers considerable savings over and above those caused by driving down absenteeism." I couldn’t agree more, Professor Robertson!
So, have you got any examples of how presenteeism in any of its forms has affected you or your business? Or perhaps you recognise some of your own behaviour leaning towards presenteeism. I’d love to hear your stories. Why does presenteeism exist, and is it getting worse? And if you have any sensible suggestions about how to tackle it, do let me know!
