DZone
Thanks for visiting DZone today,
Edit Profile
  • Manage Email Subscriptions
  • How to Post to DZone
  • Article Submission Guidelines
Sign Out View Profile
  • Post an Article
  • Manage My Drafts
Over 2 million developers have joined DZone.
Log In / Join
Refcards Trend Reports Events Over 2 million developers have joined DZone. Join Today! Thanks for visiting DZone today,
Edit Profile Manage Email Subscriptions Moderation Admin Console How to Post to DZone Article Submission Guidelines
View Profile
Sign Out
Refcards
Trend Reports
Events
Zones
Culture and Methodologies Agile Career Development Methodologies Team Management
Data Engineering AI/ML Big Data Data Databases IoT
Software Design and Architecture Cloud Architecture Containers Integration Microservices Performance Security
Coding Frameworks Java JavaScript Languages Tools
Testing, Deployment, and Maintenance Deployment DevOps and CI/CD Maintenance Monitoring and Observability Testing, Tools, and Frameworks
Culture and Methodologies
Agile Career Development Methodologies Team Management
Data Engineering
AI/ML Big Data Data Databases IoT
Software Design and Architecture
Cloud Architecture Containers Integration Microservices Performance Security
Coding
Frameworks Java JavaScript Languages Tools
Testing, Deployment, and Maintenance
Deployment DevOps and CI/CD Maintenance Monitoring and Observability Testing, Tools, and Frameworks
  1. DZone
  2. Culture and Methodologies
  3. Career Development
  4. Can social business destroy the culture of presenteeism?

Can social business destroy the culture of presenteeism?

Adi Gaskell user avatar by
Adi Gaskell
·
Feb. 18, 13 · Interview
Like (0)
Save
Tweet
Share
2.69K Views

Join the DZone community and get the full member experience.

Join For Free

I was reading some interesting research today on the prevalence of presenteeism in the modern workplace.  The research looked at how important being seen at the office can be to ones career prospects.  They identified two main types of presenteeism:

  1. Expected face time - This is the time you're expected to put in.  It's your usual office hours.  It matters because it creates an impression of you as someone dependable and dutiful.
  2. Extracurricular face time - This is the extra stuff you put in, like coming into the office early or staying late.  If you do this then you're seen as committed and dedicated. 

The interesting thing is though that most of the biases applied by managers are unconscious ones.  Managers are literally creating these character traits without realising it.  The research showed that managers were 25% more likely to rate an employee as dedicated if they were seen in the office outside of their contracted hours.

Tips for flexible workers

It is sad that such biases exist, but we live in the real world rather than the ideal world, so what can those of us working in a social business do to improve perceptions of us?

The report makes a number of recommendations.

  1. When in the office, be extra visible. Point out to colleagues and supervisors when you do things such as miss lunch and breaks in order to meet a deadline. Meet with the supervisor whenever in the office to make sure he sees you, and you can update him on what you have accomplished.
  2. Get others to talk you up. Talk to your peers and supervisors when you see them. Make sure they know who you are and say a little about what you are working on. The more they see you, the better they will remember you at appraisal time.
  3. Utilise ‘virtual’ face time to level the playing field. Keep in mind that you are competing against employees usually working in the physical workplace; thus, to boost your workplace standing to ensure you’re not unfairly overlooked, try some of the following:
  • Make regular phone or email status reports
  • Send email early or late in the day
  • Be immediately available

Of course, if you're a manager, by far the best way to manage employees is to focus purely on their output rather than their input.  Doing this will let you avoid making trait based evaluations and judge people purely on the work they do rather than on the work you think they do.

workplace Trait (computer programming) Evaluation career Impression (software) Boost (C++ libraries) IT

Opinions expressed by DZone contributors are their own.

Popular on DZone

  • Top Three Docker Alternatives To Consider
  • Key Considerations When Implementing Virtual Kubernetes Clusters
  • Top 5 Java REST API Frameworks
  • An Introduction to Data Mesh

Comments

Partner Resources

X

ABOUT US

  • About DZone
  • Send feedback
  • Careers
  • Sitemap

ADVERTISE

  • Advertise with DZone

CONTRIBUTE ON DZONE

  • Article Submission Guidelines
  • Become a Contributor
  • Visit the Writers' Zone

LEGAL

  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy

CONTACT US

  • 600 Park Offices Drive
  • Suite 300
  • Durham, NC 27709
  • support@dzone.com
  • +1 (919) 678-0300

Let's be friends: