Employees taking their jobs on holiday with them

‘Leavism’ is the new ‘presenteeism’ as increasing numbers of employees take work on holiday to avoid being seen as lazy or shirkers by their bosses. According to a report in The Daily Telegraph, the phenomenon has been identified by psychologist researchers at Manchester Business School who estimate up to half of workers have claimed they are on leave when they are actually using it to catch up on unfinished work. It is also being used by workers who would rather use up allocated holiday time than claim sick leave and risk being seen as an irregular worker who might become a target for redundancy. Cary Cooper, professor at Manchester University, said: ‘We are in an era where people are much more afraid of losing their jobs than in the past. Companies have been operating in a low-growth environment for the past decade, which has meant more focus on profitability – including labour costs. People want to be perceived as being on top of their work and job. The way to do that is to cover all the bases and use their leave for work or sickness.’

Full report in The Daily Telegraph

Meanwhile, a survey has found that the majority of UK business leaders have witnessed presenteeism at their workplaces in the past year. People Management reports that nearly three-quarters (71%) of senior managers polled by recruitment firm Robert Half said they saw people come into work when they were ill, risking a delay to their own recovery or, in some cases, infecting other colleagues. Kelly Feehan, service director at the Chartered Accountants Benevolent Association, said levels of presenteeism had risen due to modern societal pressures. ‘People have the tendency to believe that to achieve personal success and happiness they need to be busy at all times – often at the expense of their health and relationships,’ she said. ‘Sometimes referred to as “hustle porn”, this toxic mentality has a profound impact on our physical and mental health, to the detriment of both the employee and employer,’ she added.

Full People Management report