First, I'll come clean, 'my name is Caroline and I have been a Member of the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development for 11 years'. I say this because I was at a conference the other day and someone referred to the 'HR Busies' while we were chatting - so I kept this information to myself. My profession isn't really a guilty secret but I am aware that it can have a mixed reception. I am fascinated by how people behave at work and as a past HR Manager have seen the good, the bad and the funny at first hand. I changed my career in 2000 to a career focused on the 'people' side of work because I felt that what I was doing wasn't right for me and I wanted to play a part in helping people to have better experiences in the work place, and still do.
Like you I have seen people work very hard in cultures where working very hard is a minimum expectation. I've also seen that when a person was too drained, distracted or downright resentful to do any more the jacket was placed on the back of the chair to give the impression of being present when they weren't. Sometimes absent physically but often just absent mentally. So where am I headed with this blog? Simply to say that it all came back to me when I read the link below. Statistics and facts on what we have all seen and experienced for ourselves. Brings it home. Presenteeism hurts businesses and more importantly it hurts the people in them.
http://www.cipd.co.uk/Membership/benefits/in-a-nutshell/articles/Presenteeism-here-but-not-there.htm?wa_src=email&wa_pub=cipd&wa_crt=170811_na_textlink_item1.link&wa_cmp=mem_nutshell
I'd love to know, what are your tips for turning this around - personally or as an organisation?