Presenteeism consists in going to work without conditions to produce, which can have a much higher impact
than absenteeism on the productivity of an organisation. Presenteeism translates in both physical as psychological
perturbations. It is a difficult to quantify reality, as is its translation into direct and indirect costs within the organisation.
Our goal was to analyse the effects of presenteeism on the productivity of a company in the food-procession
sector through a descriptive and transversal study of exploratory nature. The Stanford Presenteeism Scale SPS-6
(validated by Ferreira et al, 2010) and a semi-structured interview were used.
Most of the workers referred having already gone to work feeling ill at least two days in the last year, mentioning
that their health condition affected their performance, made them feel desperate and lacking pleasure from work.
Management mentioned that presenteeism has a direct impact on productivity without, however, being able to
quantify the true costs.
Presenteeism is a reality in organisational scenarios, exceling in the educational and health sectors. We underline
the importance of making organisations aware of the psychosocial risks and the importance of having healthy
leaderships, work stress control and the presence of clinical psychologists and professional coaches
