The Hidden Cost of Leadership Presenteeism

Across UK boardrooms, leadership absence rates look impressively low, especially when compared with the rest of the workforce. Yet beneath the surface sits a far more expensive problem, leaders showing up when they shouldn’t. Presenteeism is quietly draining energy, decision quality, and profit from organisations that still equate constant presence with high performance.

This article explores why leadership wellbeing isn’t about avoiding sick days, but about knowing when to stop, recover, and lead with clarity.

Low absence, high cost

According to the Office for National Statistics, managers, directors and senior officials lose just 1.3 percent of their working hours to sickness, the lowest sickness absence rate of any occupational group in the UK.

By contrast, CIPD’s Health and Wellbeing at Work report shows the average UK employee takes 7.8 days of sickness absence per year.

These figures are measured differently, one as a percentage of hours lost and one as days taken, but the pattern is unmistakable, leaders record far fewer formal sickness absences than the wider workforce.

It may look admirable, even efficient, yet low recorded absence doesn’t automatically signal healthy leadership. Far more often, it signals that leaders are not taking time off when they need it.

Behind those tidy statistics sits a deeper, more costly issue… presenteeism.

Photo by Edward Jenner on Pexels

The silent drain on performance

Presenteeism costs UK employers far more than absence ever could. The Institute for Public Policy Research estimates that the hidden cost of sickness, including presenteeism, now exceeds £100 billion a year. That’s the kind of number that gets repeated in annual reports because it signals organisational risk, not individual behaviour. Remember:

• For a senior leader, the impact multiplies
• A tired leader makes slower decisions
• A stressed leader communicates less clearly
• A depleted leader erodes culture without intending to

Every late-night email, every cancelled lunch break, every “I’ll just push through” moment creates a ripple effect across teams and departments. Leaders might be physically present, but the qualities organisations value most, judgement, empathy, foresight and creativity, are the first to go when wellbeing is neglected.

Why leaders are most at risk

Leaders are the least likely to take sickness absence for reasons that are more cultural than medical.

Their roles feel too critical to pause.
They worry about credibility.
They fear slowing momentum or letting their teams down.

Over time this becomes a trap. The more leaders push through, the more they believe they should push through. And as they continue to do it, their teams adopt the same pattern. The organisation begins to celebrate unsustainable behaviour as dedication, until the consequences begin to show, quiet burnout, high turnover, and a steady erosion of performance.

This is why presenteeism is so insidious. It masquerades as commitment, but chips away at the capacity to lead well.

Redefining resilience

Resilience isn’t about endurance, it’s about repeatable, sustainable performance. It’s knowing when to rest, when to recover and when to recalibrate.
A culture that allows leaders to take care of themselves is not indulgent, it’s strategically intelligent.

The healthiest, highest-performing teams are those where leaders model boundaries, balance and self-awareness. People feel permission to do the same, and the organisation benefits from sharper thinking, better relationships, and more sustainable momentum.

When leaders prioritise their wellbeing, they are not stepping back from performance, they are stepping into it.

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels

The leadership paradox

Modern organisations place a premium on resilience, yet still applaud behaviours that undermine it. Leaders are praised for never taking a day off, answering emails late at night, or staying online while ill.
These behaviours are framed as dedication, but they are symptoms of an overloaded system.

The paradox is simple.
Low absence looks efficient, but high presenteeism silently damages performance.

Businesses that ignore this dynamic pay the price through reduced productivity, poorer decisions, and lost talent.

If organisations want sustainable success, they must move away from celebrating the appearance of toughness and towards rewarding the practice of sustainable leadership.

Because prioritising yourself isn’t selfish, it’s strategic.

My Final Thoughts for Action

If your organisation still measures commitment in hours logged or days worked without a break, it’s worth stepping back and rethinking what performance really means. Sustainable leadership begins with wellbeing, because when leaders thrive, teams follow, and results improve.

Through workshops, mentoring and my work on Selfish Leadership, I support leadership teams to reduce presenteeism, build healthier habits and lead with greater clarity and impact.
If you’re ready to strengthen your leadership culture, I’d be glad to help start that shift.