by Jamie LeSueur
Presenteeism is the condition of physical presence but mental or functional absence at the workplace. It occurs when a clocked-in employee can’t complete their full load of tasks due to illness, depression, stress, or exhaustion. Presenteeism minimizes productivity and costs companies billions of dollars a year.[1]
Mindfulness is the practice of perceiving and assimilating the present experience without judgment. It involves increasing intake through the five senses in order to recognize the processes taking place within ourselves and all around us. Mindfulness combats the tendency to live robotically in this fast-paced world by reminding us of the great experience it is to simply be alive.
Workism refers to the obsessive and damaging work patterns of workaholics. It’s ceaseless hard work at the expense of other aspects of life. It’s believing that every life advancement involves more work. When a person “worships” their job, giving their work precedence over every other relationship and responsibility, they can be diagnosed with workism.[2]
Optimization is the process of improving workflow within a business. It’s implementing the ideal acquisition and employment of resources in order to maximize company efficiency. Optimization can involve reorganizing assets, retraining employees, or rewriting system procedures.
CSR stands for corporate social responsibility, which refers to society’s expectation that every business should contribute positively to the world. Businesses meet this expectation by improving society and the environment. CSR could include reducing the carbon footprint, providing parental leave, donating products or money, and minimizing company plastic waste.
[1] Paul Hemp, “Presenteeism: At Work—But Out of It,” Harvard Business Review, October 2004, https://hbr.org/2004/10/presenteeism-at-work-but-out-of-it.
[2] Derek Thompson, “Workism Is Making Americans Miserable,” The Atlantic, February 24, 2019, https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/02/religion-workism-making-americans-miserable/583441/.
