Presenteeism is reducing productivity
Fri 25 Apr 2008
24/04/2008
A culture of presenteeism, where workers feel they must work longer hours is damaging the UK's productivity, a new study has found. Research by employee well-being company, RightCore, has revealed 40 per cent of respondents work additional hours and one-fifth did so because they felt their superiors expected them to. Adrienne Heeley, director of work-life services, explained this "'jacket-on-the-back-of-the-chair' approach is counter-productive". "It has a detrimental effect on the employee's wellbeing, the productivity of the business and the UK's economy as a whole." If the economy slows, workers may try to demonstrate their worth by starting earlier and finishing later, she observed. The research also revealed 16 per cent of employees admitted going online and using social networking sites (SNSs) in company time. Nielsen Online's research into SNS use found YouTube, the video portal, was the UK's most popular.
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