New research finds employees feel pressure to work while sick, which has been shown to cost companies billions | Outcomes can also include theft, mistreatment of coworkers and intent to leave the organization

From the article: Employees often feel pressure to work while sick, leading to lost productivity, deviant behaviors such as theft and mistreatment of coworkers and intent to leave the organization, according to new research led by University of South Florida Assistant Professor of Psychology Claire Smith. The cost of such behavior, known as “presenteeism,” can be staggering – as much as $150 billion annually, according to Harvard Business Review.

The findings will [be published](https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joop.12542) in the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology on Friday, Sept. 13, at 9 a.m. ET, and the embargo will lift at that time.

Here are key takeaways from the research, which included separate studies of four groups of individuals:

* While missing work, known as absenteeism, can hurt productivity, going to work while sick, or presentism, costs even more. The research introduces the concept of presentism pressure, which is when workplaces expect employees to always come in. It also creates a new tool – the Presentism Pressure Scale — to measure this expectation.

* Employees often go to work while sick because they feel pressure from their workplace. In a study of 764 workers, many said they worked while unwell not solely due to personal motivations but because their organization made it seem normal or expected. This shows how much workplace rules and culture can influence attendance behavior.

* When employees feel presentism pressure, they evaluate their organization negatively – interpreting it as a lack of care for employee well-being, leading to lower satisfaction and commitment. This finding was backed by data from over 800 workers from a diverse set of industries.

* The study also found that pressure to work while sick was linked to negative effects, like more unproductive and even deviant behavior, and a greater chance of employees wanting to quit. This was backed by data from 350 workers followed over three months, showing the staggering costs of pushing people to work when they’re unwell.

Not to mention the risk of getting other co-workers sick, as well.

For the average enterprise company with salaried employees it’s a bad culture and poor management that leads to this…. especially after covid.

Your average salaried employee can miss a day or two without things falling apart. Managers in these organizations should stress not coming into the office when people are sick.

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For being organizatons that are supposedly about earning money, I find it extremely fascinating that so many companies and their CEOs seem to value their own egos and power trips more than actual sustainable long term profit.