Presenteeism Absenteeism and Work Engagement

Presenteeism is the aspect of an employee availing him or herself at their respective places of work even for more working hours which has been brought about by the pressure of losing one’s job due increased demand for securing jobs. Absenteeism can be defined as the habitual pattern exhibited by an individual to stay off duty or some obligation without any significant reason. On a general scale, absenteeism is often unplanned and is always viewed as a direct indicator of poor performance at the individual level. Absenteeism is regarded as a contract breach between the employer and the employee. Work engagement on the other hand involves the entire process of harnessing all the work roles of every individual in an organization.

Therefore, a positive motivation from the management coupled with an individual goodwill to work always ensures that the goals are achieved appropriately. A recent study posted in the journal of occupational health psychology revealed that positive motivation is a major cause of presenteeism. This trend is effective when evaluating the overall employee satisfaction with their working environments and the management. The constant presence of employees at work also increases the amount of time these employees spend together with each other. This improves their bonding with each other which so leads to teamwork. There are several reasons why someone can develop the habit of absenteeism. Common examples include unremitting sickness       which keeps employees out of work. Others reasons include a personal decisions to stay off work.

Most employees cite lack of motivation, inadequate support and poor employer-employee relationship as the main reason for their absenteeism at work. Absenteeism has many negative effects than positive effects. It is a very effective tool because it focuses mainly on mental health rather than mental illness. This paradigm shift in psychology helps individuals make positive work related outcomes. It is beyond any reasonable doubt that employees with characteristically high levels of work engagement exhibit more energy and dedication toward the work that they are doing. The benefits of a work engagement are dependent on two factors, namely: personal engagement and employee engagement. Personal engagement is best explained in terms of behavior at individual level. Employees who are more engaged in their work do what they do because they love their work and are more enthusiastic and more passionate about their work.

Workaholics otherwise do not exhibit any characteristics depicting work engagement. They essentially feel an excessive compulsion to work hard because they cannot detach themselves from the work that they are doing. Enterprises can attest to the fact that work engagement significantly increases productivity, while the relationship between increased productivity and alcohol consumption is still equivocal. Another difference is that excessive alcohol can lead to ill health while a positive work engagement is associated with good mental health due the satisfaction it brings to the employees. Singapore: Macmillan, 2003. Print.       Poms, Laura Wheeler, and Lois E.  Tetrick.  Presenteeism: the Dark Side of Employee Attendance. , and Michael P.  Leiter.  Work Engagement: a Handbook of Essential Theory and Research. Psychology Press, Taylor Et Frances Group, 2015.