Wellness Coach Blog

In the News: The rise of 'presenteeism' in the workplace

Written by Madison Elkin | May 3, 2019 6:09:47 PM Z

This article was originally published on BBC.

How many times have you gone in to work when you're really not up to it?

It's called presenteeism and it's on the rise.

A study by health insurer Vitality has found that more than 40% of employees said their work was being affected by health problems - a figure that's risen by a third over the last five years.

It found that people are putting aside both mental and physical health problems to attend work.

And in its recent annual Health and Well-Being at Work Survey Report the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) also found evidence of unhealthy trends in the workplace.

The CIPD said more than four-fifths (83%) of its respondents had observed presenteeism in their organisation, and a quarter (25%) said the problem had got worse since the previous year.

Depression

Sarah Mitchell-Hume didn't know anything about mental health when she had a panic attack at her desk.

She was two years into her career in engineering recruitment, a job she absolutely loved, when she suddenly became unwell. Sarah was diagnosed with depression.

"I felt pressured to go back to work, even though I was signed off sick," she recalls.

Read the full article here: https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/business-47911210