As a business owner, you’ll definitely notice when your employee is absent. But what happens when they are there but not at 100% capacity?

When your employees are working whilst they’re unwell, they’re likely only functioning at a maximum of 50% capacity. Most businesses overlook this as a genuine expense, but the truth is, it can be more costly than when your employee is absent.

Protecting your workforce from absenteeism can be easier than you think. You may be thinking, how does presenteeism whilst being unwell cost your business? Let’s break it down.

The Cost Of Presenteeism:

When your employee is fighting the flu, there is a whole range of symptoms that they’ll be experiencing, including fatigue and brain fog. This limits their ability to produce work of high quality. Presenteeism during illness can cause:

• Productivity Plunges: The flu can take up to 2 weeks to recover from, which in the meantime can severely impact performance and productivity.
• A Domino Effect: When your employees show up sick, they’re more likely to infect the rest of the team, causing a period of increased absenteeism and low productivity. In fact, the flu initially affects 20% of staff on average.
• A Financial Toll: With a decrease in productivity and an increase in sick leave, the flu can cost businesses millions of dollars.

Why Do Employees Show Up Unwell?

So, why do employees show up when they’re unwell? Well, there may be a range of reasons why employees persevere through their sickness even when they’re not fit enough to work, including:

• Workplace Culture: The outdated idea that there is a badge of honour in ‘powering through’ when you’re unwell may play on some employees’ minds.
• Workload Anxiety: When the workload is high, employees may feel that falling behind simply isn’t an option.

What To Do As An Employer:

It’s important to foster a culture where employees feel they have the time and acceptance to prioritise their wellbeing, so if they are feeling unwell, they can be proactive and decide on a sick day.

Making your sick leave accessible and understandable is a great way to ensure and encourage that employees feel empowered to take space for their well-being.

The Flu: Is It The Same As A Cold?

A common misconception is that the flu is the same as a cold, so ‘powering through’ shouldn’t be much of a feat, right? Wrong!

The flu can cause severe complications and symptoms, and accounts for an average of 85 deaths per year in Australia. The only true way to manage and improve flu symptoms is by getting vaccinated ahead of flu season.

In fact, vaccinating your workforce contributes to herd immunity, meaning you can protect the workforce from the flu when it hits. That means fewer absences, increased productivity and better workforce culture and wellbeing.

The Solution To False Presenteeism:

Presenteeism, when employees are unwell, will only cause more long-term damage, sick leave and financial decline. So, as an employer, what steps can you take to solve presenteeism?

• Prevention Over Treatment: Sending your sick employees home can be too little, too late. Instead, you should focus on immunising your workplace before flu season becomes a problem.
• Workplace Vaccinations: With BizHealth, you can ensure that your workplace is protected from the flu. Vaccinations are proven to reduce the risk of contracting the flu by around 70%.

We organise on-site vaccinations that are designed to cause minimal disruption to your workday and immunise your entire business before the risk of the flu strikes. This results in herd immunity, fewer absences, and ensures that your employees feel they are well looked after, which improves company culture and morale.

Control Absenteeism With BizHealth

The best part about letting BizHealth handle your workplace vaccination is that you don’t need to lift a finger; we’ll handle the entire process from start to finish, ensuring that your employees are safe, protected and looked after.

As we set up on-site, your employees only need to take a 20-minute break or use their lunch break to come and get their vaccine. It’s simple and easy.

Contact our team for information on how we can set up a vaccination site for your business.