Missing at Work: Are Your Employees all There?

Billions of dollars in lost productivity is a result of a new phenomenon called presenteeism, according to the Harvard Business Review.  Is your business losing out too? Presenteeism refers to  employees who go to work ill when suffering from the flu, cold, depression or other ailments.  Those employees impact productivity and actually spread illness.  They sense, whether from their employer or from the tough economy, they will suffer a personal loss to their perceived reputation if they don’t come to work.  Call it the ‘good trouper’ mentality. Missing at Work Workers also try to be good troupers when workplace conflict arises.  Troubled by a harsh word or misunderstanding, your employee will be distracted and fairly unproductive until he or she can figure out the next step, which often involves avoiding contact or creating elaborate ‘work-arounds’ that slow progress.  It’s common for employees to avoid conflict until it escalates to a level that seems unmanageable.  Feelings of frustration and helplessness grow so large employees become what I call MAW- Missing at Work.  Their bodies are present but their minds are gone, obsessed with what to do or say next to get out of the conflict.  No real work can be done. Missing at Work carries similar financial losses as presenteeism.  Discontent and mistrust spread as readily as the flu when a team is infected by a lingering disagreement.  Calculate those sick days, schedule delays, and time spent in meetings (and the water cooler) discussing the issue and the costs are significant.  And, that doesn’t include the potential costs of losing a valued employee and hiring/training a new one.  Wise business owners strive to manage, not avoid, conflict and prevent it when possible. What Can a Business Owner Do? What’s the solution to MAW?  Take action.  Employees expect their employer to manage the work environment.   Here are a few suggestions to keep your workplace healthy. <ul> <li>Understand your own comfort level with disagreement</li> </ul> You know the old expression that the ‘fish rots from the head down’.  The way you handle disputes (or not) will inform your managers and employee’s behavior.  Getting a conflict coach will help you be effective with your employees and sharpen your negotiation skills. <ul> <li>Set expectations and guidelines around conflict</li> </ul> Set the expectation that you want your folks to address conflict early and resolve it collaboratively, preferably without your input.  In small businesses where ‘everyone’s family,’ there’s a temptation for employees to go to ‘mom or dad’ for the solution.  Don’t take the bait.  <ul> <li>Eliminate blame.  </li> </ul> Typically, the focus is on who did what when trying to resolve issues, however, that generally leads to an unending game of  finger-pointing, not real change.  Create an informal debriefing process where your folks collaboratively determine what happened and how to restructure communication, systems, and responsibilities so it doesn’t happen again.  Get skilled up. Provide coaching and training so employees have the language and skills needed to communicate clearly, listen well and find workable solutions. Find a coach who specializes in business disputes and communication to share tactics that fit your company culture. (Try your local mediation program if you're on a budget) When your employees feel heard, safe and in control of their work life, you get the prize: a much more pleasant and innovative workplace.  And that’s nothing to sneeze at. 2009-06-21T18:39:32Z