It must be said frankly: summer is not the performance season. It may also be a problem. What is this is our need (fed by our organization or ourselves) to pretend that everything is rolling. Unnecessary meetings, follow -up of follow -ups, email transfers … all that to show that we are there. That we are connected. Let us “work”.
You have probably heard of the famous presentism. This culture which values availability rather than contribution. This need to be there physically at work, even sick, tired or ineffective. No need to tell you that it is expensive. Very expensive.
In Canada, costs related to presentism and absenteeism due to mental health exceeds $ 20 billion per year (Wellness Works Canada, 2023). Note that this figure does not even include invisible damage: muffled creativity, crush motivation, teams in automatic steering mode.
Organizational health
These are not profitability and money here. This is organizational health. Researchers have established that presenteeism is linked to a decrease in labor satisfaction and an increase in burnout (Ferreira et al., 2021). Other studies highlight a net loss of productivity in those who remain active (Johns, 2010).
While we pretend to be effective, Quebec is still dragging a significant delay in terms of productivity. This is not new. Lucien Bouchard already said it 20 years ago, but nothing has changed. It was also wrongly received with a brick and a lantern. According to the Institut du Québec, we display a difference of 16 % hourly productivity compared to Ontario, and more than 20 % compared to the United States (Institut du Québec, 2023).
Obviously, this delay in productivity can be filled by several means. Yes, automation and artificial intelligence have a role to play. Yes, technological innovation must be encouraged. But it will also be necessary to tackle what is less tangible but just as strategic: to build workplaces where the commitment reigns, where we measure what matters, where we give meaning to work. A committed, lucid and coherent environment, it performed better … Even summer.
Productivity
It’s not just a Quebec problem. In 2024, only 21% of employees worldwide say they are fully engaged in their work (Gallup, 2024). We therefore speak of $ 438 billion in productivity lost each year (Business Insider, 2024).
Quickly, I would hear my HR colleagues say that their organization values and assesses individual performance. With what? Performance assessments that do not assess anything? Froy objectives, pre -filled grids, agreed comments? It is not given to everyone, courageous authenticity, managerial courage. So, in the end, everyone is “satisfactory”. The best get up their foot, the manager ticks the hut of having successfully completed his assessments, while the others, unpropuous, are increasing in the organization.
Why is it so delicate to approach the performance of an employee in certain work areas? However, in my opinion, this notion is perfectly compatible with the principles of work-family-life conciliation and with the realities of the labor market today.
Productivity will not only come from a new miracle software. It will come from circles where we show realism and courage in the management of people, expectations and performance. It will come from managers who dare, but also from cultures where you can lift your foot without feeling guilty, avoid presenteeism, to accelerate afterwards.
So no, slowing down in summer is not betraying. Pretend to deliver, on the other hand, yes.
Marc-André Bouvette
Manager and citizen