Around a fifth (19%) of SME leaders are worried that their employees’ productivity has fallen over the past 18 months, new research from Canada Life has suggested.

The findings indicated this would represent around the equivalent to over one million SME leaders.

As many businesses are returning to the workplace and adapting to hybrid working, Canada Life said its findings had raised concerns over productivity and “presenteeism” amid the pandemic. Presenteeism which is the act of showing up for work without being productive, generally due to ill-health.

Canada Life’s research suggested the number of SME leaders supporting co-workers struggling with issues of presenteeism has dropped to 37%, from 41% in 2020 – with the most common measure introduced being the active encouragement of employees not to work if they are feeling unwell.

Recognising the impact of presenteeism and the concerns of mental health in the workplace, Canada Life’s findings revealed that two fifths (40%) of senior decision makers at SMEs have felt the need to be more present for their colleagues over the past 18 months. For those senior decision makers in SMEs of over 10 employees, this figure jumped to 62%.

Canada Life protection sales director, Dan Crook, commented: “While employers clearly had concerns about the productivity of their staff over the course of the pandemic, it's encouraging to see that they are more concerned about the wellbeing of their workforce and have introduced measures to support them during these uncertain times.

“However, it's clear that there is still more work to be done, as both employers and employees feel the effect of presenteeism in the workplace. This is an example of where having the right support services as part of a group protection policy can play a vital role in supporting employees, and employers who adopt them can demonstrate their commitment to their employees by putting their wellbeing first.”

According to the UK Parliament website, there were about six million SMEs in the UK in 2020.

Share Story: