A recent survey of Filipino employees revealed 35 percent are not productive at work for an average of two hours every day, or 10 hours a week in a five-day workweek.
Mental and well-being company MindNation surveyed more than 6,000 full-time employees from September 2020 to April 2021. It found “presenteeism”, or the phenomenon where employees show up for work but don’t perform at full capacity affects more than a third of respondents.
MindNation says the productivity loss costs businesses up to P700,000 per 100 employees annually.
“Employees must deal with new working conditions—having to balance work responsibilities with home duties, isolation, and managing fears about the pandemic, financial insecurity,” says Kana Takahashi, chief executive officer of MindNation.
“Presenteeism” is one of the challenges workers’ mental health decline poses to companies. “Absenteeism” and “talent loss” due to mental health and well-being challenges are the other issues.
The survey discovered the prevailing feeling of employees is stressed (at 61 percent), followed by worried/anxious (53 percent), depressed (34 percent), and empty (32 percent). The top source of mental health challenges is COVID-19 fears (80 percent), followed by financial pressures (47 percent), personal matters (44 percent), work performance pressures (44 percent), and juggling family and work (25 percent).
To address productivity issues and talent loss, the company suggests business leaders ensure that they are able to take care of their employees’ well-being. This, MindNation says, can be done by creating a culture that recognizes and supports mental health.