Presenteeism

Presenteeism is the practice of coming to work despite being sick. It also refers to the practice of working long hours and not taking any holidays because one is afraid of losing his job.

Research shows that presenteeism, apart from the obvious danger of contamination of other workers, can lead to longer absence from work later on.

Organisations that have noticed an increase in presenteeism are nearly twice as likely to report an increase in stress-related absence and more than twice as likely to report an increase in mental health problems among their staff too.

Employers should guarantee sick pay, including for contacts of known cases, and do everything they can to discourage the practice of “presenteeism”.

"This also contributes to 'presenteeism', where people work when they are not at their most productive, and the newer trend of 'leaveism' where employees feel they must work outside of their normal hours."