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With the growing number of people now working from home, the challenges of remote working and E-presenteeism. These are more apparent now than ever before. We must understand the basic signs of this issue and combat it before it gets burned out.

What is E-presenteeism?

Presenteeism refers to the condition where you go to work as usual but are unable to work the way usually do. This condition is not restricted to the workplace environment, as it can also happen if you work from home. Hence the name E–presenteeism. It’s the feeling of waking up, but not quite ready to sit down and do the work. You know there’s a definite deadline and you want to work but cannot do so.

If that lingers for some time, you will surely miss the deadline. We’ve all been there at one point or another. But with the advent of an “always-on” culture, the issue of E-presenteeism is getting out of hand. Businesses are under significant pressure to keep up the revenue numbers which creates pressure on the employees, which could lead to E-presenteeism. It’s an issue that cannot be solved by getting new recruitments.

How Was E-presenteeism During The Covid-19 Period?

By the end of 2020, the Mental Health Foundation surveyed people who were working from home. They found that over 79% [reference: https://www.cariwellbeing.co.uk]  of people who participated in the survey believed that the continued pressure, prolonged work hours, and lockdown restrictions are causing E-presenteeism. Over 86% [reference: cariwellbeing.co.uk] of people admitted that it negatively affects their work performance and mental health.

How To Combat This Growing Challenge?

To combat this issue, corporates and employees will have to join hands and work together to solve it. The solutions required to remedy this situation would need changes in the way the employees work and how job vacancies/recruitment processes continue. Let’s have a look.

1. Regular Scheduling of Calls and Check-ins

Lack of proper communication is considered one of the major causes of E-presenteeism. Calls during an off-working time or taking too many calls can also break the mental balance of an employee, leading to mental burnout.

2. Encouraging Breaks Now and Then

There will always be some sort of pressure at work, more or less, but it’s also important that you take some breaks now and then. Employers should encourage it.

3. Having a Clear Set of Goals and Expectations

A clear set of goals and expectations are necessary for this day and age, where people bring their work life back home. Keep work-related stuff during work hours and vice versa. That means no checking for work emails during off-time.

4. Prioritizing Mental Health

As we were discussing, a good work-life balance is essential for the overall wellness of the employee. It can do wonders for the employee’s mental health, and employers should prioritize that.

Wrapping Up

The pandemic and lockdowns brought many changes, for better or worse, but increasing the pressure on employees is not going to fix the issues and can lead to E-presenteeism. If you would like to learn more about it, visit Reecruit.