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Presenteeism can be defined in a very simple way. For example, staying late in the office to “show that you are productive.” This phenomenon affects many organizations. It is indeed common to want to stand out by being available even outside of working hours.
Nevertheless, staying late and being productive are two concepts that can easily be opposed. Indeed, someone who is truly effective should work less and therefore leave the office earlier.
Against all expectations, the rise of teleworking and hybrid work did not alleviate this problem. The only difference is that employees do not stay physically late in the office. Instead, they claim to be “available” at any time. You can update your Teams status or prevent your computer from going to sleep to stay connected.
So how can we mitigate this false digital presence?
The right to disconnect: a tool set up by the telework agreement
With the rise of hybrid work, employees have the choice between coming to the office or working from home. Nevertheless, it is necessary to supervise the progress of the weeks. Adopting a hybrid model should not create imbalances within teams, on the contrary. The aim of this way of working is to make employees want to meet up a few days a week.
Tips and best practices for organizing your remote work schedule
To manage this flexible way of working, implementing agreements or charters is more than advisable. This makes it possible to specify, as soon as you arrive in the company, what you can and cannot do about teleworking.
Clarifications are provided by the National Interprofessional Agreement of 20 November 2020 relating to the successful implementation of teleworking. Indeed, it is necessary “to make teleworking a subject of dialogue with employees and/or their representatives”.
These teleworking rules make it possible, for example, to segment activities that may or may not be teleworkable.. Indeed, a working day composed of 100% calls or writing does not require going to the office. On the contrary, staying at home, in a quiet place, will increase the productivity of the employee.
Stop hyperconnection
54% of intellectual workers feel pressured to indicate that they are online at certain times of the day. This is the case, for example, at lunchtime (Qatalog and GitLab). They spend an average of 67 minutes a day being connected, simply to show their superiors that they are “working.”
Employees tend to think that there is an equivalence between presence and professional involvement. With teleworking, even if “we are physically not there”, we continue to manifest ourselves through digital tools. We then speak of “signalling presence”.
The The right to disconnect appeared in the Labor Code in 2016. It was put in place as part of the negotiation on the quality of life at work (QWL). The purpose of this right is to “ensure respect for rest and leave periods”.
It therefore allows any employee not to be connected to a professional digital tool outside of their working time.. By respecting this right, and by regulating the hours worked, employees working remotely are no longer under constant pressure.
This prevents stressful situations for employees. The success of remote work lies in its adoption by businesses and individuals. It's about finding the right context and following the right goals.
Measuring productivity differently
It is necessary for the psychological safety of teams to set up a transparent communication. This way, the employee will know if their work has an impact. He will also be able to express his doubts simply.
In fact, “fake work” is often the consequence of a lack of consideration or solicitation. This simulation of activity was described in the book by the Swedish sociologist Roland Paulsen, Empty Labour, in 2015.
This “fake job” consists on the one hand in pretending to work, and on the other hand, in performing useless tasks.
These low value-added missions are the reports that no one reads or online meetings that have no clear structure or results. In the end, they only take time and resources.
Managing by results
27% of employees say they measure their performance according to the goals set as a team. This management approach focuses on evaluating performance based on the objectives set and the results obtained.
It's no longer just about controlling daily activities. It is therefore necessary to clearly define goals, expectations and measurable performance indicators. Instead of overseeing each step of the process, managers give autonomy to their team members. They encourage them to find innovative solutions to achieve the agreed goals.
Making flexibility a driver of performance
As indicated earlier, Performance is the opposite of presenteeism. So, the lack of flexibility can cause presenteeism, thus reducing everyone's performance. Indeed, forcing employees to stay at work despite personal or health circumstances is harmful to their performance.
Flexibility allows employees to feel more committed (45%) and more autonomous (39%) (JLL survey). Indeed, teleworking offers a better quality of life for employees.
The organizations offering them are therefore in fact more attractive and retain their talents more. They offer more options in terms of places to live, but also the possibility of working in third places. This practice is particularly useful for professions with a creative dimension.
Discover m-work to organize hybrid work
Adopting asynchronous collaboration
Collaborating asynchronously allows each member of a team to work at their own pace.
Asynchronous communication is the mode of communication that allows this form of collaboration. The parties involved do not interact simultaneously. Messages are sent or received at different times, allowing employees to respond whenever they want.
Communicating in this way offers more flexibility. Recipients can take time to think about their responses and to formulate them in a more thoughtful manner. Examples of asynchronous communication include emails, online forums, text messages, and social media comments..
This approach promotes remote collaboration.. It allows individuals located in different time zones to work together effectively. In addition, It reduces time pressure.
This is often associated with real-time interactions that offer more flexibility. Information exchanges are therefore better organized.
Conclusion...
To prevent or minimize presenteeism or telepresenteeism, we must start by rethinking the organization of work.. It's about establishing moderate and healthy behavior.
Establishing a climate of trust is essential and makes it possible to relieve employees of guilt.. Whether they are teleworking, sick, or decide to leave on time, it is important to respect their working hours.
An employee who finishes work on time should not feel stressed. This is valid whether he is in the office or teleworking. He should be able to disconnect at the time provided for in his contract.
To overcome this phenomenon, it is necessary for managers to stop encouraging excessive zeal on the part of employees. They need to embody their role, lead by example, and teach their teams how to measure performance.
The solution ultimately lies in flexibility. Opposing presenteeism, she solves the problem. Now all you have to do is set it up intelligently, by managing through performance and using the right tools.
