Presenteeism Behavior Research Articles

An exploratory qualitative study describing frontline nurses’ experiences with Presenteeism due to the COVID-19 pandemic

IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic will have a long-lasting impact on healthcare workplaces and professionals alike. For that reason, it is necessary more knowledge and insights about sickness presenteeism behaviour to provide appropriate occupational health services for all healthcare workers affected directly and indirectly by this pandemic.ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to explore and describe presenteeism experiences among frontline nurses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsA qualitative thematic analysis was used to evaluate the perceptions of frontline nurses from different Portuguese hospital institutions joined in two Focus Groups. Using convenience sampling a total of 20 RNs participated in interviews. No restriction was given to their gender, age, career, and wards in charge so as to obtain diverse data on nurses’ experiences of presenteeism.ResultsThe sample mean age was 36 years [range 25 - 42 years]; they had a clinical career of 12 years on average [range 2 - 20 years]. The major theme was the metaphor of “the rotten orange”. This theme implied the presence of a phenomenon that is invisible due to the ignorance of many, but which spreads through the members of a team, leading to an overload of its members for lack of one compassionate leadership. Consequently, leads to loss of the nursing spirit and nursing manpower.ConclusionsOur findings point to the development of workplace interventions targets to reduce healthcare worker presenteeism and to help employers foster a ‘healthier’ sickness culture during the pandemic and beyond.DisclosureNo significant relationships.

Reform Stress in the Public Sector? Linking Change Diversity to Turnover Intentions and Presenteeism Among Civil Servants Using a Matching Approach

This paper aims to examine the effect of having experienced diverse changes over a short period of time on the turnover intent and presenteeism behavior of public sector employees. Identifying such effect has been difficult since extant research often defined and studied organizational changes as single, isolated events. Consequently, they may have failed to capture how different changes interact with one another, and what cumulative impact diverse changes have on employees. We introduce nonparametric matching, using data from the Australian Public Service, allowing us to overcome the challenge of distinguishing between the effect of change diversity and that of preexisting problems. Results show both turnover intent and presenteeism increase in organizations with high change diversity. This suggests that employees perform emotion-focused (turnover intent) and problem-focused (presenteeism) coping when faced with high change diversity, and points at the need for sufficient recovery time in between changes.

Understanding the relationship between absence constraints and presenteeism among nurses and midwives: Does social support matter?

The substitution hypothesis identifies absence constraints such as job and organizational demands as key precursors of presenteeism (attending work while ill). However, the relationship between absence constraints and presenteeism might be more complex than traditionally assumed (i.e., curvilinear). Moreover, it also remains unclear whether and how effective social support is in buffering these relationships. This study investigates whether the relationship between key absence constraints (i.e., attendance enforcement and work overload) and presenteeism follows a U-shaped curvilinear pattern and whether support mechanisms (i.e., colleague and manager support) moderate the absence constraints-presenteeism relationship. To answer these questions, we employed binary logistic regression analysis on survey data from a large and representative sample of nurses and midwives from Ireland ( N = 1,037). The relationship between absence constraints and presenteeism is dependent on the type of absence constraint, with attendance enforcement demonstrating a curvilinear relationship and work overload demonstrating a linear relationship. Contrary to expectations, social support had limited impact on this relationship and acted as a "constraint in disguise" in the case of manager support and had no impact in the case of colleague support. Our study challenges the basic tenets of the substitution hypothesis of presenteeism, particularly the idea that eliminating absence constraints always reduces the likelihood of presenteeism among nurses and midwives. Increasing support to reduce presenteeism is unlikely to be effective in controlling presenteeism among nurses and midwives. Hospitals would be better served by directly targeting the absence constraints of such presenteeism behavior.

Sickness Presenteeism as a Link between Long Working Hours and Employees' Outcomes: Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivators as Resources.

The aim of this study was to test the flow from long working hours to sickness presenteeism behavior and its outcomes for employees, while integrating intrinsic and extrinsic work value orientations as moderators in the process. We employed a two-wave design with a five-month interval. Data were obtained from 275 employees in Taiwan. The results of latent moderated structural equations (LMS) revealed that long working hours were positively associated with presenteeism, which in turn was negatively related to employees’ well-being and job performance. Furthermore, the negative indirect effect of working long hours on job performance via presenteeism was weaker for those with a higher intrinsic work value orientation. The negative indirect effect of working long hours on well-being via presenteeism was weaker for those with a higher extrinsic work value orientation. We demonstrated that the long-term impact of presenteeism behavior could be understood by viewing work value orientations as resource gains to compensate resource depletion in a demanding work context. This resource dynamism is pivotal to realizing the functional or dysfunctional outcomes of presenteeism behavior. Theoretical and managerial implications of the findings for employees’ well-being and organizational effectiveness are discussed.

Sickness Presenteeism in the Aftermath of COVID-19: Is Presenteeism Remote-Work Behavior the New (Ab)normal?

Due to the confinement imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic situation, companies adopted remote work more than ever. The rapid rise of remote work also affected local life and many employers introduced or extended their telework activities because of the associated advantages. However, despite the evident positive benefits, some employees were pressured to work remotely while ill. This evidence brought new challenges to the presenteeism literature. This article investigates how individual, economic/societal, and organizational/sectorial/supervisory-related variables can moderate the role of a contagious disease, such as the COVID-19, in explaining presenteeism behavior. Moreover, the current research presents a multi-level conceptual model (i.e., organizational, individual, supervisory factors) to describe how a new construct of remote-work presenteeism behavior mediates the relationship between different post pandemic health conditions (e.g., allergies, back pain, depression, anxiety) and future cumulative negative consequences. The authors suggested that the widespread pervasive adoption of remote work because of COVID-19 has important implications for the presenteeism literature and opens avenues for further research.

Factors associated with presenteeism in outpatient nursing professionals.

To analyze the sociodemographic, work and health profile of nursing professionals working in university outpatient clinics and their association with presenteeism. Cross-sectional study carried out with 388 nursing workers from 11 university outpatient units in the city of Rio de Janeiro. A sociodemographic questionnaire and the SPS-6 scale were used. The crossed-product odds ratio and their respective 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Presenteeism was found in more than half of the professionals (51%, n=198), with the odds ratio being 2.12 times higher (95% CI 1.02-4.40) in professionals with a stable work bond, 6.67 times (95% CI 2.51-17.67) in chronic patients, and 3.06 times (95% CI 1.97-4.74) in patients with absenteeism behavior. There is a relationship between presenteeism and the profile of nursing professionals. Many productive hours may be being lost, in view of the presenteeism behavior of the participants.

Determinants of Presenteeism: A Study on Non-Academics in State Higher Educational Institutions in Sri Lanka

Presenteeism was defined in this research as the extent of engaging in personal works while being at work by non-academics. Existing literature reveals a deficiency in theoretical and empirical knowledge on antecedents of presenteeism. This study explores the determinants of presenteeism of non-academic staff in State Higher Educational Institutions in Sri Lanka. Participants were university administraive officers and they were asked to report on the presenteeism behaviour of non-academic staff, as supervising officers. A technique called Nominal Group Technique was applied for determining the factors which contribute to presenteeism of non-academics and prioritizing the identified factors. 15 experienced university administrative officers were participated. 24 factors were identified and they include Lack of work, Family commitments (Childcare/Eldercare), Inadequate supervision, Long distance of travelling between home and workplace, No punishment/restrictions imposed for engaging in personal work, Family/Personal problems, Bad office culture, Job stress, Unavailability of performance-based pay scheme, Conflicts with supervisor, etc. Prioritizing resulted in Lack of awareness on ethics being the most important determinant of presenteeism of non-academics, Unavailability of performance-based pay scheme being the second most important determinant, and Wrong attitudes about the work being the third most important determinant. Implications were discussed.

Fear of missing out? Linking workplace changes and presenteeism

AbstractWhy do employees continue to work during illness? So‐called presenteeism behaviour is a topic of great managerial and societal importance as it is connected to a series of negative individual and organisational outcomes. A growing body of research points to the importance of workplace factors in shaping employee stress and uncertainty and, ultimately, presenteeism behaviour. Curiously though, the impact of workplace changes on presenteeism behaviour has not been examined, even though the potential stress‐inducing effects of such change are well‐recognised. Building on a data set from the Australian Public Service, we examine how workplace changes are related to presenteeism behaviour. Our findings show that workplace changes generally provoke presenteeism behaviour. Specifically, cutback‐related changes appear to cause presenteeism. This finding is relevant in times when many organisations are confronted with major budget cuts.Brief summaryThis article explores the link between working during illness, or presenteeism behaviour, and workplace changes. Presenteeism behaviour is a topic of great managerial and societal importance as it is connected to a series of negative individual and organisational outcomes. A growing body of research points to the importance of workplace factors in shaping employee stress and uncertainty and, ultimately, presenteeism behaviour. Curiously though, the impact of workplace changes on presenteeism behaviour has not been examined, even though the potential stress‐inducing effects of such change are well‐recognised. Building on a data set from the Australian Public Service, we examine how workplace changes are related to presenteeism behaviour. Our findings show that workplace changes generally provoke presenteeism behaviour. Specifically, cutback‐related changes appear to cause presenteeism. This finding is relevant in times when many organisations are confronted with major budget cuts. Employees who experience workplace changes are more likely to go to work sick. Decreased staffing (cutback‐related change) is the main driver of presenteeism behaviour. Presenteeism is higher among employees working harder and longer hours – that is performing overtime, likely for the purpose of meeting high job demands. Fairness of pay reduces the likelihood of presenteeism. The findings suggest that although change itself is unavoidable and even necessary for organisations adapting to external demands, the potentially negative effects of change may be mitigated by appropriate change management and structures.

Does Co-worker Presenteeism Increase Innovative Behavior? Evidence From IT Professionals Under the 996 Work Regime in China.

Drawing on the event system and regulatory focus theory, this study constructed an impact mechanism model to investigate the relationship between the event strength of co-worker presenteeism and innovative behavior among IT professionals under the 996 work regime. In addition to test the direct effect, we examined the indirect effect of promotion focus and the moderating effect of event time in this relationship. Data were collected through an online survey administered to 374 IT professionals in China. The results showed a positive relationship between the criticality of co-worker presenteeism events and innovative behavior. An indirect effect of promotion focus was also found in this relationship. The timing of co-worker presenteeism events moderated the relationship between the criticality of co-worker presenteeism events and promotion focus. Specifically, the effect was more significant when co-worker presenteeism events occurred during project delays.

Development and Validity of the Nurse Presenteeism Questionnaire.

This study aimed to develop and test the reliability and validity of a multi-item nurses’ presenteeism behaviour questionnaire. Study 1 administered the Nurse Presenteeism Questionnaire (NPQ) to 250 Chinese nurses. Study 2, surveyed 650 nurses with the NPQ, the Sickness Presenteeism Questionnaire, the Stanford Presenteeism Scale, the General Health Questionnaire, and the Emotional Exhaustion Scale using convenience sampling. After item analysis, the subjects were randomly divided into two groups to verify the questionnaire structure. Study 1 revealed the nurses’ core symptoms when they go to work with illness, and the NPQ with 11 items was developed. Study 2’s item analysis revealed that 11 NPQ items had good discrimination (t = 22.67∼36.11, p < 0.01) and high homogeneity. Besides, the scale had good reliability (Cronbach’s = 0.93) and external criterion validity (r = 0.24∼0.84, p < 0.01). Thus, the NPQ can be used to measure presenteeism behaviour in nursing.

Leader-member exchange, turnover intention and presenteeism– the moderated mediating effect of perceived organizational support

The purpose of this study is to elucidate the relationships between leader–member exchange (LMX), perceived organizational support (POS), presenteeism, and turnover intention as well as to test the mediating effect of presenteeism and the moderated mediating effect of POS. A total of 566 questionnaires were returned in technology industry to examine the quality of the dyadic relationships between the workers perceived LMX, supervisor-subordinate guanxi and presenteeism in the first questionnaire survey. And we examined second questionnaire survey that their turnover intentions by self-assessed after a month in the first time retuned. After excluding matching and invalid questionnaires, 365 valid questionnaires were collected. In this study, LMX indirectly affected turnover intention through presenteeism. Studies have asserted that high-quality LMX and strong POS effectively reduced workers’ turnover intentions. In addition, when POS increased, the negative relationship between LMX and turnover intention and the positive relationship between presenteeism and turnover intention increased and decreased, respectively. However, POS failed to moderate the positive relationship between LMX and presenteeism. Further, presenteeism was determined to mediate the relationship between LMX and turnover intentions. Notably, LMX only indirectly affected turnover intention through presenteeism in workers with low POS. The findings of this study can serve as a reference for formulating human resource management policies. In summary, this study provides evidence of the important role played by turnover intentions in determining an LMX, supervisor-subordinate guanxi and presenteeism. High-quality exchange relationships entail leader–member relationships and organization proxy (e.g., supervisor)–worker relationships. When workers’ perceptions of organizational support are weak, and the organization lacks a robust support policy, workers’ presenteeism to reciprocate to their supervisors or organization cannot be regulated, increasing presenteeism behavior in the organization and workers’ turnover intentions.

Job Stress and Presenteeism Prevalence among Nursing Staff during the Outbreak of Pandemic Coronavirus Disease 2019

Background: Job stress and presenteeism are perplexing issues in the nursing profession during the crisis of COVID-19 pandemic that must receive increasing attention. Aim: It aimed to assess the job stress and presenteeismprevalence, as well as verify the association between two concepts among nursing staff during the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019. Design: It utilized a descriptive, correlational design. Setting: It was conducted in the Main Tanta University and Emergency Hospitals. Subjects: All nursing staff (503), who had a Diploma, Bachelor of Sciences, or Master of Sciences in nursing. Tools:The questionnaire involved nursing staff’s demographic data, the adapted Extended Nursing Stress Scale, the Presenteeism Prevalence Questionnaire, and the Stanford Presenteeism Scale.Results: The organizational factors were the dominant reasons for presenteeism among nursing staff rather than the personal factors. Workload, inadequate emotional preparation, death and dying, and conflict with supervisors were the most prominent factors for causing stress. Furthermore, there was a positive correlation between job stress factors and nursing staff’s perception of presenteeism. Conclusion: Presenteeism behavior is evidence for organizational risk-taking behavior with diverse implications in the nursing profession, in which the nursing staff perceived a high level of job stress associated with a high prevalence of presenteeism behavior during the coronavirus pandemic. Recommendations: Develop a policy and practices with more guidelines to avoid the vagueness regarding what nursing staff should do while sick. Moreover, promoting the coping strategies and conflict resolution for managing job stress among nursing staff to reduce presenteeism behavior.

Nurses' Job Insecurity and Emotional Exhaustion: The Mediating Effect of Presenteeism and the Moderating Effect of Supervisor Support.

Presenteeism refers to attending work when one is ill, which not only leads to a decline in the physical and mental health of employees but also negatively impacts organizational productivity and increases an organization’s extra costs. Therefore, to explore the antecedents and outcomes of nurses’ presenteeism behavior and the acting mechanism among the variables, a sample of 330 nurses from China were investigated with the Sickness Presenteeism Questionnaire, Job Insecurity Scale, Perceived Supervisor Support Scale, and Emotional Exhaustion Scale. The results indicated that (1) job insecurity had a significantly predictive effect on nurses’ presenteeism behavior; (2) nurses’ presenteeism partially mediated the relationship between job insecurity and emotional exhaustion; and (3) supervisor support moderated the relationship between nurses’ presenteeism behavior and emotional exhaustion; i.e., the higher the level of supervisor support, the weaker the positive relationship between nurses’ presenteeism behavior and emotional exhaustion. The findings provide theoretical guidance and an empirical basis for prevention and intervention strategies concerning nurses’ presenteeism behavior.

Teknostresin Presenteizm ve İşten Ayrılma Niyetine Etkisinde Dönüşümcü Liderliğin Aracı Rolü

The main purpose of this study is to determine the mediating role of transformational leadership in the effect of technostress on presenteeism and intention to quit in organizations. Survey forms were used as data collection tool. Malatya province was chosen for the field study and survey forms were distributed to employees who work in the Turkish State Railways. In the application phase, firstly reliability, normality and factor analysis were performed and then the structural equation model was established. As a result of the research, technostress influenced presenteeism behavior for techno - overload, techno - complexity and techno - job insecurity dimensions; technostress affects the perception of transformational leadership for techno - complexity, techno - job insecurity and techno - uncertainty dimensions, transformational leadership affects presenteeism behavior and intention to quit, and transformational leadership plays a mediating role in the relationship between technostress and presenteeism. It is thought that the results obtained will contribute to reducing the effects of technostress which is frequently seen in organizations and preventing the spread of presenteeism and intention to quit in organizations.

Doctor’s presenteeism and its relationship with anxiety and depression: a cross-sectional survey study in China

ObjectivesThe impact of presenteeism on doctors’ health, quality of patient care and overall performance of health institutions has been reported. The study aimed to investigate the prevalence of presenteeism among...

Öz Kendilik Değerlendirmesinin Presenteeism Üzerine Etkisinde Çalışmaya Tutkunluğun Aracılık Rolü (The Mediating Role of Work Engagement on the Effect of Core Self-Evaluation on Presenteeism)

Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to investigate the mediating role of work engagement on the effect of core self-evaluation on presenteeism. Design/methodology/approach –The sample of the study consists of 293 sales employees of service sector institutions such as various banks, communication, hotels and restaurants. The data collected by convenience sampling method was applied to correlation and regression analyzes. Findings – The findings of the study showed that core self-evaluation had a positive effect on work engagement and presenteeism; work engagement had a positive effect on presenteeism, and work engagement had a mediating role on the effect of core self-evaluation on presenteeism. Discussion –Core self-evaluation and work engagement emerged as determinants of the emergence of presenteeism behavior. The results of this finding are emphasized for human resource management practices.

Presenteeism and Absenteeism: Two Sides of the Same Coin?

Representative surveys show that within the last twelve months the majority of workers have gone to work despite being sick. At the same time, many employees are absent from work due to sickness or other reasons once or several times per year. The magnitude of and the reasons for this presenteeism and absenteeism behaviour are complex and vary among different groups of workers, firms, and sectors in Germany. The authors show that presenteeism and absence from work are only weakly correlated and that specific measures are needed to address each of these phenomena.

Reprint of: The pros and cons of sick pay schemes: Testing for contagious presenteeism and noncontagious absenteeism behavior

This paper provides an analytical framework and uses data from the U.S. and Germany to test for the existence of contagious presenteeism and negative externalities in sick leave insurance. The first part exploits high-frequency Google Flu data and the staggered implementation of U.S. sick pay mandates to show, using a reduced-form framework, that population-level influenza-like disease rates decrease after employees gain access to paid sick leave. Next, a simple theoretical framework provides evidence on the underlying behavioral labor supply mechanisms. The model theoretically decomposes overall labor supply adjustments (“moral hazard”) into contagious presenteeism and noncontagious absenteeism behavior and derives testable conditions. The last part illustrates how to implement the model exploiting a German sick pay reform and administrative industry-level data on certified sick leave by diagnosis. The empirical test finds that the labor supply elasticity for contagious diseases is significantly smaller than for noncontagious diseases. Under the identifying assumptions of the model, this finding provides additional indirect evidence for the existence of contagious presenteeism.

Effects of leader–member exchange and workload on presenteeism

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to promote a wider understanding of the importance of distinguishing between presenteeism behavior and its motivation and between the avoidance and approach dimensions of motivation, and to rectify the neglect of presenteeism’s antecedents (in particular, situational ones). It develops a theoretical model that explains how situational antecedents affect presenteeism – conventionally defined as attending work while ill.Design/methodology/approachAn ordinary least-squares regression-based path analysis is employed to analyze the findings of a sample of 277 employees in service organizations in southwestern China.FindingsFindings demonstrate that the situational factor, leader–member exchange (LMX), is positively related to the approach dimension of presenteeism motivation and that of workload moderates the positive link between presenteeism motivation and behavior, such that employees who experience higher workload more frequently display presenteeism behavior.Practical implicationsFindings suggest that managers should be prudent when developing relationships with their subordinates and consider the ways in which they may most effectively encourage employees to support their organization.Originality/valueThis is the first study to consider LMX and workload as situational antecedents of presenteeism motivation and behavior.

Job demands, job resources, and behavior in times of sickness: An analysis across German nursing homes.

The concept of presenteeism, that is, employees coming to work despite being sick, has recently received more attention in the literature. Presenteeism not only threatens employees' health but also substantially drains productivity and drives considerable costs. When they are sick, employees have the choice of whether to go to work or to stay at home. Therefore, determinants of (sickness) absenteeism and presenteeism should be examined simultaneously. Nursing homes are faced with a particularly high prevalence of both absenteeism and presenteeism and are therefore a relevant object of investigation. The aim of our study is to analyze the effect of job demands and job resources on absenteeism, presenteeism, and the tendency to choose one behavior (being absent or being present in times of sickness) rather than the other over the last 12 months. To do so, we identify the determinants of absenteeism and/or presenteeism behavior based on theory and existing research about absenteeism, presenteeism, and job demands and job resources. After our empirical analysis, we provide explanations for our findings and offer practical suggestions for how to decrease the frequencies of absenteeism and presenteeism. In this study, a sample of 212 nurses from German nursing homes was used for an ordinal logistic regression analysis. Our results show that role overload significantly increases the frequencies of both absenteeism and presenteeism. A good team climate decreases absenteeism and increases the tendency to choose presenteeism rather than absenteeism, whereas strategic training and development opportunities decrease presenteeism and increase the tendency to choose absenteeism rather than presenteeism.