What makes you work while you are sick? Evidence from a survey of union members

We examine the prevalence of sickness absenteeism and presenteeism, using survey data covering 725 Finnish union members in 2008. Controlling for worker characteristics, we find that sickness presenteeism is much more sensitive to working-time arrangements than sickness absenteeism. Permanent full-time work, mismatch between desired and actual working hours, shift or period work and overlong working weeks increase the prevalence of sickness presenteeism. We also find an interesting trade-off between two sickness categories: regular overtime decreases sickness absenteeism, but increases sickness presenteeism. Furthermore, the adoption of three days’ paid sickness absence without a sickness certificate and the easing of efficiency demands decrease sickness presenteeism.absenteeism, presenteeism, working-time arrangements

Predictors of sickness absence and presenteeism: Does the pattern differ by a respondent’s health?

Objectives: We examine the predictors of sickness presenteeism in comparison with sickness absenteeism. The paper focuses on the effects of working-time match and efficiency demands and differentiates the estimates by a respondent’s self-assessed health. Methods: We use survey data covering 884 Finnish trade union members in 2009. We estimate logit models. All models include control variables such as the sector of the economy and the type of contract. Results: Working-time match between desired and actual weekly working hours reduces both sickness absence and presenteeism in the whole sample that consists of workers with all health levels. The point estimates reveal that working-time match decreases the prevalence of sickness absence by 7% and presenteeism by 8%. However, the estimates that differentiate by a respondent’s health show that this pattern prevails only for those workers who have poor health. Hence, the point estimates for those who have poor health are much larger than the ones for the whole sample. Working-time match reduces the prevalence of sickness absence by 21% and presenteeism by 20% for those workers who have poor health. In contrast, working-time match has no influence whatsoever on the prevalence of work-related sickness for those who have good health. We also find that efficiency demands increase presenteeism in the whole sample. However, additional results reveal that this pattern prevails only for those workers who have good health. Conclusions: The effects of working-time match and efficiency demands on the prevalence of sickness absence and presenteeism are strongly conditional upon a worker’s self-assessed health level. Therefore, the worker’s initial health is an important attribute that has to be taken into account when one is designing appropriate policies to reduce sickness absence and presenteeism.Absenteeism; Sickness absence; Presenteeism

Going to work ill: a meta-analysis of the correlates of presenteeism and a dual-path model

Interest in presenteeism, attending work while ill, has flourished in light of its consequences for individual well-being and organizational productivity. Our goal was to identify its most significant causes and correlates by quantitatively summarizing the extant research. Additionally, we built an empirical model of some key correlates and compared the etiology of presenteeism versus absenteeism. We used meta-analysis (in total, K = 109 samples, N = 175,965) to investigate the correlates of presenteeism and meta-analytic structural equation modeling to test the empirical model. Salient correlates of working while ill included general ill health, constraints on absenteeism (e.g., strict absence policies, job insecurity), elevated job demands and felt stress, lack of job and personal resources (e.g., low support and low optimism), negative relational experiences (e.g., perceived discrimination), and positive attitudes (satisfaction, engagement, and commitment). Moreover, our dual process model clarified how job demands and job and personal resources elicit presenteeism via both health impairment and motivational paths, and they explained more variation in presenteeism than absenteeism. The study sheds light on the controversial act of presenteeism, uncovering both positive and negative underlying mechanisms. The greater variance explained in presenteeism as opposed to absenteeism underlines the opportunities for researchers to meaningfully investigate the behavior and for organizations to manage it

Sickness presenteeism determines job satisfaction via affective-motivational states

Research on the consequences of sickness presenteeism, or the phenomenon of attending work whilst ill, has focused predominantly on identifying its economic, health, and absenteeism outcomes, neglecting important attitudinal-motivational outcomes. A mediation model of sickness presenteeism as a determinant of job satisfaction via affective-motivational states (specifically engagement with work and addiction to work) is proposed. This model adds to the current literature, by focusing on (i) job satisfaction as an outcome of presenteeism, and (ii) the psychological processes associated with this. It posits presenteeism as psychological absence and work engagement and work addiction as motivational states that originate in that. An online survey was completed by 158 office workers on sickness presenteeism, work engagement, work addiction, and job satisfaction. The results of bootstrapped mediation analysis with observable variables supported the model. Sickness presenteeism was negatively associated with job satisfaction. This relationship was fully mediated by both engagement with work and addiction to work, explaining a total of 48.07% of the variance in job satisfaction. Despite the small sample, the data provide preliminary support for the model. Given that there is currently no available research on the attitudinal consequences of presenteeism, these findings offer promise for advancing theorising in this area

Presenteeism and Paid Sick Days

Employers who do not provide paid sick days may feel it is too expensive to pay for workers who do not come to work. However, new research suggests that when workers are sick on the job, their presence comes at a cost to employers -- the "hidden" cost of reduced productivity. This four-page paper defines "presenteeism" and discusses what can and is being done about it

The Therapist Can\u27t See You Now: How Paid Sick Leave Policy Can Accommodate Mental Illness in the Workplace

Restaurants have become the “poster child” for why employers should adopt paid sick leave. Advocates suggest that employees without access to paid sick leave often show up to work ill due to their inability to sacrifice pay. Clever protest signs read, “No Boogers in my Burger” and “No Coughing in my Coffee.” Any rational customer would not appreciate the thought of a flu-ridden chef assembling their main course. However, the benefits of paid leave legislation and policies go beyond protecting cheeseburgers from flu germs. Just as employees with the flu require time off for medical attention, employees with mental illness require time to attend appointments and engage in preventative care. A staggering one in five adults in the United States have a mental health condition, and the depression rates among young adults is worsening

Presenteeism in a Dutch hand eczema population-a cross-sectional survey

Background: Presenteeism (attending work despite complaints and ill health, which should prompt rest and absence) has been overlooked in the field of hand eczema. Objectives: To examine the 1-year prevalence of presenteeism related to hand eczema in a population of hand eczema patients who visited a tertiary referral centre. Secondary objectives: to identify intrinsic/extrinsic reasons for presenteeism and to evaluate associated factors. Methods: This was a cross-sectional questionnaire study. Presenteeism was defined as "going to work despite feeling you should have taken sick leave because of hand eczema". Respondents answered questions about socio-demographic factors, clinical features, occupational characteristics, and hand eczema related to occupational exposure. Results: Forty-one per cent (141/346) of patients who had both worked and had hand eczema during the past 12 months reported presenteeism. The most often reported reasons were: "Because I do not want to give in to my impairment/weakness" (46%) and "Because I enjoy my work" (40%). Presenteeism was associated with: mean hand eczema severity; absenteeism because of hand eczema; improvement of hand eczema when away from work; and high-risk occupations. Conclusions: In this study, presenteeism was common and predominantly observed in patients with more severe hand eczema and occupational exposure. The most frequently reported reasons for presenteeism were of an intrinsic nature