Presenteeism is a term used to describe employees who are passively disengaged with their jobs, but show up anyway, putting in their time without passion or creativity. These employees do nothing to improve an organization’s competitiveness, and unfortunately the phenomenon is on the rise. The employees who have “quit and stayed” are harder to study at an organization than their absentee counterparts. “The only data-specific information is a report conducted by PDT which suggests at least 42 percent of SA employees are not motivated to effect real change in their organizations,” says Neville De Lucia, new business developer of Dale Carnegie Training. A global survey of employee engagement conducted by his organization showed that 29 percent of employees are fully engaged and 26 percent are fully disengaged. “This is of real concern, as research has shown that engaged employees significantly outperform those that are not engaged,” says De Lucia. “In the fight for competitive advantage where employees are the differentiator, engaged employees are the ultimate goal.” He says that to combat presenteeism, workplaces must consider their culture and take an honest look at whether it fosters engagement.