Absent Without Leave

Through laziness, the rafters sag; because of idle hands, the house leaks.

– Ecclesiastes 10:18

Employees call it playing hooky, taking a mental hygiene break … or simply calling in sick. Their employers, however, call it absenteeism: those occasions when employees don’t show up to work because of illness, injury, scheduled time away, or some other reason. But whatever it’s called, absenteeism is costly. According to Circadian, a global workforce performance company, unscheduled absenteeism costs about $3,600 per year for each hourly worker and $2,660 for salaried employees.

That’s an eye-opener. But human resources professionals actually face a problem with a much higher price tag. Presenteeism occurs when employees come to work when they’re sick or otherwise unable to perform up to their usual standards. They’re technically on the job, but they really shouldn’t be. After all, sick employees can compound the issue by infecting their co-workers, customers, and even clients. The Harvard Business Review estimates that presenteeism costs the U.S. economy about $150 billion per year in lost productivity.

Such losses are astounding. But there’s another type of presenteeism that’s even more devastating. It’s not an illness spread through an office building or passed behind the counters of a fast-food restaurant. Instead, it’s a common affliction found in homes around the globe that damages and destroys relationships and tempts families to turn away from God.

It’s a sin called passivity. Not to be confused with laziness, passivity often appears in those who return home from the office each day, only to use TV, the internet, or computer games to tune out their spouse and children. They’re at home. But they’re not really there when their loved ones need them the most.

It’s easy to see how this activity (or lack thereof) can corrode personal relationships. But to God, it’s even worse. That’s because he calls Christ-followers to manage their households, love their spouses, and raise their children according to his holy ways. 

Domestic passivity is hardly a benign issue. And make no mistake: the devil is behind it. Satan knows that he can take over the home if he can take out the husband or wife. And when spouses abdicate their responsibilities and abandon their families, the lasting societal damage is enormous.

It’s a serious illness that calls for strong spiritual medicine. And what’s the remedy? First, we need to recognize our sin and turn away from it. And then through prayer — preferably with our spouse — we must seek God’s forgiveness through Jesus, along with the strength to manage our households by his standards

The Old Testament hero Joshua long ago addressed this modern-day issue with this declaration:

“But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living, he told the Israelites. “But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."