Abstract
Introduction: Being present at work when sick is not just prevalent in employees. Since university is also a demanding context, there is a growing interest in this phenomenon in university students. Especially students with mental health issues show a higher degree of productivity loss. However, little research has examined the causes of these productivity losses—especially in university students. Therefore, we examined health-related (burnout) and non-health-related (time pressure) aspects that lead to productivity losses in the long run.Methods: We decided to examine the effect from time pressure on health-related loss of productivity, mediated by exhaustion. This assumption is in line with the health impairment process proposed by the Study Demands-Resources (SD-R) framework. To examine this assumption properly, we conducted a longitudinal study with three occasions. We surveyed 392 students in three waves over 1 year and performed structural equation modeling (SEM) to confirm the assumptions longitudinally.Results: In line with our assumptions, time pressure predicted burnout which, in turn, predicted health-related loss of productivity in the long run. Hence—as assumed by the SD-R framework—burnout serves as a mediator between study demands and negative outcomes such as loss of productivity.Discussion: Our study is the first that uncovers health-related and non-health-related causes of health-related productivity loss in university students. Thus, we were able to confirm SD-R's health impairment process longitudinally. Since we know that time pressure serves as a major antecedent for burnout and health-related loss of productivity, we are well-advised to establish appropriate interventions to reduce students' time pressure.
Highlights
Being present at work when sick is not just prevalent in employees
We examined the temporal relationships between time pressure, exhaustion, and healthrelated loss of productivity using cross-lagged panel models (CLPM)
The correlation matrix of the manifest variables used for the analyses can be found in the Supplementary Material
Summary
Being present at work when sick is not just prevalent in employees. Since university is a demanding context, there is a growing interest in this phenomenon in university students. Many people know the feeling of having to go to work even when too sick or stressed to be productive [1] In these moments, they may experience decreased productivity and belownormal work quality [2]. Time Pressure and Health-related Loss of Productivity workforce work despite being ill [3] and 70% of German employees report having been sick at work on at least 1 day within the previous year [4]. This phenomenon cannot only be found in workers: there is growing interest in the healthrelated loss of productivity in university students [5]. Students with mental health issues show a higher degree of productivity loss than those with other issues [e.g., physical issues; [5]]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
