Why your presenteeism isn’t only hurting you, but the charity too.
We all know we should look after ourselves, that putting our own oxygen mask on first is essential when we work for a charity, and that presenteeism (when we work when we’re sick, or do too much overtime, making us less productive) isn’t good for us. And it seems that this is a big conversation at the moment given the number of social media posts I’ve seen lately telling people to close their laptops, to stop working because their job isn’t that important; they're not saving lives after all. And whilst this is technically true of many charity roles, the impact the work on other people’s lives makes it feel urgent, and makes it feel impossible to close the laptop, and take time off when you really need to. In other words, because of how important the work is, those in the charity sector could be at greater risk of presenteeism, and as a result a greater risk of burning out.
When I think back to my early days in the charity sector (and across all the charities I’ve worked for since), colleagues taking time off sick was always a rarity, everyone seemed to force themselves in and pass the bugs around. It was almost frowned upon to be off with just a little cold, and I soon learnt that sick leave was only there for when you were REALLY sick. As I moved up the management ladder, people taking time off was even rarer, with my SLT colleagues coming in no matter what, and pushing through even when they should be at home in bed. I even remember one colleague coming to work during his paternity leave because the work was so important.
When this is the behaviour of leaders across the sector, it’s no wonder the culture of presenteeism is seen across all levels of staff across the sector, and as a result burnout is almost inevitable at some point for all of us; after all if we won’t choose to stop when we need to, our bodies will make us.
So, what causes presenteeism?
There’s so much to do – when we’re feeling overwhelmed and overloaded, the loss of any time (due to sickness, leave etc) feels like it’s making work harder. I can feel like if you push through you might actually get to the bottom of the to do list, when in fact, keeping on is making you less effective
The work feels urgent & important – I've seen time and time again (and I’ve done it myself), you take on a new project or service that’s not up to scratch. You worry it’s not safe for those using it, and so you stay late day after day to fix everything.
You don’t want someone else to have to pick it up – if you’re off sick, then someone else needs to pick up the pieces, but they’ve all got so much on, you feel guilty about something else landing on their plate
To prove you’ve got what it takes and you’re dedicated – and you don’t want to risk being judged as not committed enough by colleagues
You place greater value on the work, than the rest of your life – when working for a charity or a cause is your only source of purpose in life, it’s easy to put that before you, and your needs
What does it mean for you?
If you’re sick you can’t get better
You trap yourself in a situation of always being available, so you can’t switch off
You’ll be working less efficiently, and so start to doubt your capability
You’re going to find yourself on the path to burn out
What does it mean for your organisation?
You’re contributing to the culture of pushing through – even if you don’t expect or want your teams to do what you’re doing, they will.
If you don’t delegate tasks when you’re not there, you’re disempowering your teams
You’ll stall the organisation’s work
What can we do about it?
Walk the walk by contributing to a culture where boundaries are important, for example making sure emails are not responded to/sent out of hours, saying no, and modelling appropriate working hours, sick leave and annual leave
When you’re off delegate what can be delegated and leave everything else.
Prioritise what energises you inside and outside of work, so you are supporting your physical and emotional health
Don’t reward presenteeism in staff
If staff are coming in sick, staying late, not taking their leave address it proactively
It’s easy to fall into the trap of presenteeism as a leader, you want to make sure your organisation is serving its communities, your to-do list is never ending, and you don’t want to hand more work over to others, so you keep going. But by not modelling self-care & healthy working boundaries, by not looking after your own health you’re working less effectively making it harder for you to make the difference you want to and creating a culture of presenteeism for your teams. By breaking your own cycle of working excessive hours and whilst your ill, you’ll start to create a better working environment for the teams you so desperately want to protect.