The concept of Presenteeism is hard wired in many company cultures. Early in, working late and always at your desk means you must be doing a great job. Fact or not, this is the standard for many leaders. It’s also expected by those under them.
Most of us have spent our share of time in the office. We probably know someone who was always in early and always stayed late. Many also gave up vacation days in favor of work. When I was in the military this was almost a badge of honor among senior officers. They would actually brag about the number of vacation days they lost each year. It didn’t matter if you were solving the world’s biggest problems. If you weren’t at your desk for the expected amount of time or longer, you were looked down upon.
The Dark Side of Presenteeism
Years ago I worked with someone that I would categorize as a great asset to the organization. One day her daughter’s bus didn’t come on time and she was three minutes late arriving to work. This prompted a 30 minute counseling session with both her supervisor and his supervisor. Aside from being stupid and demoralizing, it just shows how organizations can focus on the wrong things. In the same organization I regularly saw people sleeping or reading books at their desk. But as long as they were on time and didn’t leave early, they were meeting the standard.
Occasionally, there are news stories about workers who die at their desk and no one notices. Some are urban legends, but it does happen. Most of us know someone who was always at their desk. But we probably didn’t know what they were actually doing. We generally don’t question what they are doing, as long as they are where they are supposed to be. When we changed to remote during Covid, the visual aspect of being at your desk went away. Many managers hyper focused on what people were doing because they could no longer see them at their desks.
Presenteeism While Remote
Digital presenteeism often refers to employees being expected to be available outside of normal working hours. They are also expected to answer work-related emails and calls during their personal time. While digital presenteeism can be a positive thing in some cases, it can also lead to burnout and disengagement. There’s also the potential for micromanagement.
In the era of remote communication, it’s getting harder to tell if your employees are actively engaged in their work. Managers are creating an environment of digital presenteeism. They are checking up on them via chat, webcam or email to make sure they’re doing work. This is just as bad as workers being only physically present at work. Adapting to this expectation actually gives the impression that you’re more productive than you really are.
For a while during Covid, I worked for a manager who spent his day watching Teams. There’s a feature which shows the last time everyone on his team was last active. If they weren’t active in the last 15 minutes he would call me. I would have to contact them to find out what they were doing. This was in addition to the hour long planning meeting we had each morning. There was also an hour long status meeting we had at the end of each day. The end of day meeting always went over, which created overtime, which he wouldn’t approve. So people would hit their hours max mid day on Friday, which didn’t go over well either.
Focusing on Asynchronous Work
Both workers and managers can easily get pulled into digital presenteeism based on past habits. The rules of the office really didn’t work in the first place. Forcing them to be adopted in a remote environment just works out badly for all concerned. The key is removing the element of timeliness to the extent possible.
Managers need to take a 10,000 foot view of the work being done. They need to focus on progress for defined goals rather than what is the worker doing at that moment. Most of us have been on a road trip with kids and dealt with the “are we there yet?”. Having an adult do it that you are responsible to is even worse. We regularly fly on airplanes that are off course over 99% of the time. We don’t keep calling the captain asking him/her for an explanation. But that’s what many remote managers do to their staff.
Try to look at work in larger blocks of time. Focus on when it will be done rather than what is being done right now. This is going to be difficult for some manager. But if you focus on results and not presenteeism, everyone will be more successful.
The Importance of Boundaries
Hand in hand with asynchronous work are mutually agreed upon boundaries. Again this is a two way street for both workers and managers.
- Worker agrees to be present for work activities during some time range(s) during the day. Both parties realize there may be other activities that occur that each may be responsible for.
- Except for emergencies, any new requests or tasks will have new deadlines and expectations relative to other work.
- Managers will not expect immediate responses to any text, email or phone call. These end up being distractions to work being performed and actually reduces productivity
- Workers should be encouraged to take regular breaks throughout the day
- Workers should be encouraged to take vacations and to disconnect from work while they are on vacation
- Regular check-ins should be at reasonable intervals relative to work being performed
So if you feel the need to constantly check on your workers, or you need to feel constantly available to work 24/7 it’s time to make a change. Remote work isn’t just the same work in a different location. It requires unlearning some bad habits, and embracing a new way of doing things.
