Association between presenteeism and mistreatment at the workplace during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan: A one-year prospective cohort study

Abstract

Abstract Objective: Workers were subject to both presenteeism and workplace mistreatment during the COVID-19 pandemic. We aimed to examine their association during the pandemic in Japan. Methods: An internet-based, one-year prospective cohort study was conducted from 2020 to 2021. The Work Functioning Impairment Scale (WFun) as an indicator of presenteeism at baseline and workplace mistreatment experience at follow-up were assessed. Multilevel logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate their association. Results: The analysis of 18,170 subjects showed that those with moderate and severe work function impairment were significantly associated with workplace mistreatment compared with those with less impairment (adjusted odds: 1.89, [1.67, 2.14], p < 0.001 and 3.00, [2.69, 3.35], p < 0.001, respectively). Conclusions: Increasing severity of baseline presenteeism was associated with increasing likelihood of workplace mistreatment. Efforts to reduce presenteeism may help reduce workplace injustice and improve morale.