This week, Small Business editor Caitlin Sykes talks to business owners about absenteeism and presenteeism.
Dr Frances Pitsilis is a medical doctor specialising in holistic and integrated medicine. She holds diplomas in obstetrics and occupational medicine and international qualifications in nutritional, preventative and regenerative medicine, and is a Fellow of the Royal New Zealand College of GPs.
Staff absences can make a big difference in a small business team. What are some things employers can do to reduce absenteeism?
I think it's important to be aware of the causes of absenteeism - because there are many of them - so you can keep them on your radar. Things like colds and flu are easy because they're in your face, but absences can also be caused by issues with work, issues with other staff, issues with workload or with workplace culture. Issues related to work life balance, or conflicts between home and work lives can also be factors.
Presenteeism, when staff are physically at work but not working to their potential, is another issue for employers. What are some strategies employers can use to combat that?
I think presenteeism is more hidden than absenteeism and something you need to quite actively manage. Staff generally won't tell you if they have any issues - whether that's with their health, stress, bullying or if they're just not suited to or enjoying their job. I think regular personal development meetings - once every couple of months - are a good way to get those issues out without the employee feeling like you're prying. Some other key questions to ask are if they have adequate resources and training to do their job, and if you're managing your staff well so they're engaged in the workplace.
Dr Frances Pitsillis.
Employees also have responsibilities around looking after themselves to limit absenteeism and presenteeism. What kinds of things should business owners do to communicate those expectations to their employees and help them achieve those?
I'd say identify the need for adequate self-care as a condition of work, and put it in the employment handbook as you would any other policy like no smoking inside. Supplying health information and making vaccination available are a couple of other things you can do to steer employees in that direction.
A difficulty you can have as an employer though is assessing how much resource you put into helping a person with their personal issues. 'Will I pay for this person to see a counsellor?', for example. Certainly in large organisations the research has found counselling and health support and education programmes work. So sending an employee to a counsellor a couple of times may be a worthwhile investment when you can see they're a good worker and that it could be a relevant source of support.
You're a small business owner yourself. What are some things you do within your own business to limit absenteeism and presenteeism?
I try to create a happy, healthy workplace where people look forward to coming to work. That takes so much stress away. Another focus for me is to recruit well. I go to a lot of trouble to identify in detail the job description and list the attributes and skills I'm looking for with the aim of placing a round peg in a round hole. I personality profile all potential new staff so that I know they'll be happy in my environment and so I know how they should be managed. I won't employ someone who won't fit in with the culture of the existing workplace or staff.
I also encourage work life balance. For us that means things like offering flexible times of work, and flexibility with holidays, especially around school holidays and special events. What's really helped with this has been engineering first and second back ups for each job, so that other staff can easily step into a role if someone is sick or away.
And then I think it comes down to managing well. There are a lot of attributes that I'm still learning as a leader, but I think you have to understand yourself first before you can gain the respect of others. So some things I personally do include following up with staff individually every two months to make sure there are no problems, checking workloads are adequate but not excessive, having a problem resolution system that everyone knows about, and just generally allowing employees to see that you care about the business and about them.
