CIPD 2015: Presenteeism costs twice as much as absenteeism

Employees that attend work when ill or disengaged actually cost businesses more than those who are absent. 

This was the argument put forward by Sir Cary Cooper at the opening of this year's CIPD annual conference. The Professor of Organisational Psychology & Health at Manchester Business School began by outlining just how common presenteeism is. 

He said that you get four distinct groups of individuals. Those that are healthy and have no absences (35%), those that are healthy but are absent because they don't like their job (13%), those whose health is 'not good' and have time off (24%), and worryingly, those whose health is not good but have no absences (28%). In other words over a quarter of employees are victims of presenteeism. 

Cooper says: "Employees who turn up to work ill or disengaged cost businesses twice as much in lost productivity than employees who are absent."