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Labor presentism: causes and consequences of this phenomenon

Labor presentism: causes and consequences of this phenomenon

March 25, 2024

The labor presentism It is one of the most important problems that companies have to face today. There are many factors that can affect the performance of an organization, and the socio-economic and social environment is extremely important in this regard.

Since the economic crisis began in Spain, the working conditions of many employees have changed , and the fear to lose the work can take to many workers to hold on in their position in spite of not being totally motivated or to dislike.

Labor presenteeism or "empty chair syndrome": causes and consequences

In our article "The Survivor Syndrome: working in times of crisis can harm health" we talk about the negative consequences of the crisis for the welfare of the worker. The presentism, on the other hand, it negatively affects the organization since the productivity and the performance of the employees decreases.


Occupational presence or absenteeism: what is it?

The absenteeism or labor presentism, refers to go and be present in the workplace, but dedicating part of the workday to other functions that are not specific to work . Among these functions we can find: connect to social networks, consult web pages, make calls, and so on.

Although presenteeism is the opposite of absenteeism, its consequences for the organization are equally harmful.

Negative consequences of occupational presenteeism

In the past, the main problem for organizations was the absenteeism , but as it has been declining due to the economic crisis, the percentage of employees suffering labor presentism has increased. According to Adecco, one of every two Spanish companies admits having up to 10% of presentist workers . On the other hand, a study of Harvard Business Review it seems to indicate that presenteeism costs US companies around $ 150 billion a year.


Despite the reduction in absenteeism, there has been no improvement in productivity and labor performance of companies, since what has happened is that the phenomenon of absenteeism has given way to the presenteeism. Employees seem to know the difficult situation of the labor market and do not want to risk losing their jobs. Then, they go to the place of work so that they can not be accused of having committed absenteeism, but nevertheless his dedication in those hours is not as efficient as it should be .

Negative effects for the company

Knowing this, it is necessary to mention that the occupational presenteeism affects the organization in different ways:

  • Descending the productivity of the worker and the organization
  • Making employee health worse : the presenteeism eventually causes fatigue and boredom (also called 'Boreout Syndrome')
  • Promoting the transmission of diseases : when the person is sick but decides to go to the workplace so as not to lose their job, it may favor the transmission of diseases

Factors that influence labor presentism

If these are the consequences of having people present at work, we should ask ourselves what reasons lead employees to perform behaviors related to occupational presenteeism . Here is a list of the most common causes:


  • The lack of job security can cause that individual does not want to absent himself from his job despite being sick or unmotivated, because the uncertainty about being able to get a job again, can cause you not want to lose your job under any circumstances.
  • Individuals who work in certain jobs may be more prone to presenteeism. The investigations seem to indicate that the teachers and health professionals they are more vulnerable to suffer it.
  • Jobs with greater workload are associated with more cases of presenteeism, as workers may want to avoid the accumulation of tasks if they are absent from their position.
  • Excessive pressure on the part of superiors is also a factor that causes occupational presenteeism.
  • The lack of motivation is behind many cases presenteeism. In addition, other possible causes can be: the lack of promotion and the performance of monotonous tasks in their jobs

How to Detect Extra Dimensions | Space Time (March 2024).


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