I’ve recently read two articles about sickness absence, both of which have really made me think. The first was an article explaining research that found that presenteeism, or turning up to work when ill, adversely affects work performance. Apparently, there are three factors significantly affecting whether or not sick people come to work, which are: personal financial pressures, stress relating to the workplace and perceived pressure from management and other colleagues to come in to work even when an individual isn’t feeling well enough. The article also says that employers tend to focus on monitoring and managing sickness absence and thus underestimate or completely miss the adverse effects of presenteeism.