Sickness presence (also known as presenteeism) is a term used for when an employee attends work, even though judging their health as such means that they could justify taking time off work.
However, even though it is generally viewed as positive thing when an employee comes to work when they are sick, there is also an argument to be made that sickness presence should actually be discouraged as it is unsafe for the employee and employer.
A recent study by AXA PP Healthcare found that sickness presence was more widespread than sickness absence; 45% of employees detailed one or more days of sickness presence compared with 18% of workers reporting sickness absence over the same period.
The same study found that a greater amount of sickness days at work when unwell has been linked to a lower level of performance.
There are many reasons why an employee may come to work when they are ill.
These include experiencing financial difficulties, feeling under stress at work and perceived workplace pressure by manager and colleagues to come to work when unwell.
In regards to workplace pressure by colleagues and managers, employees may feel they need to prove their sickness by coming into work, or they may be unable to gauge whether they feel they are sick enough to take time off work.
Some employees have negative views of how sickness absence is dealt with by management, with periods of sickness being limited to a certain amount (such as two periods of sickness in a six month period).
It is a widely held view that being sick isn't acceptable.
Such negative views of attendance management are driven by the idea that the organisation does not care about an employee's health or well-being and management of absence is based on the financial demands of the company.
Employees may also feel they have to work when sick as they desired not to let their team down.
This could especially be the case when there is no replacement to do the work.
However, this could be viewed in a positive light as it shows colleagues' commitment to one another.
Financial reasons may be another reason an employee comes to work when they are sick.
Employees make themselves work when they are not well enough simply because they need the money and are losing out on pay.
Also, a lot of workers do not view themselves as being "sickness present" as they feel their affliction does not affect their working ability.
The reasons against sickness presence are manifold.
When an employee comes to work sick, they heighten the chance of their colleagues also getting sick by spreading germs.
In this way, several employees could end up taking quite a lot of time off work instead of just an individual taking one day off work.
This could cost the company quite a lot more money.
Some companies in the United States have started an initiative in which employees are not allowed to come to work, if they are even the slightest bit sick.
This is in order to protect against the entire workforce being affected by illness.
An employee may be present at work even when sick; however, this does not necessarily mean they are performing to the best of the ability.
When an employee is suffering from an affliction, then it could mean that their judgement and ability to do their job is impaired, resulting in errors.
Therefore, sickness presence does seem to be a major occupational issue and one that needs to be addressed by employers.
However, it is unlikely that this will be done until organisations recognise that sickness presence amongst employees is an issue.