Workplace Presenteeism Research Articles

Incidence of laboratory-confirmed influenza and RSV and associated presenteeism and absenteeism among healthcare personnel, Israel, influenza seasons 2016 to 2019.

BackgroundHealthcare personnel (HCP) are at high risk for respiratory infections through occupational exposure to respiratory viruses.AimWe used data from a prospective influenza vaccine effectiveness study in HCP to quantify the incidence of acute respiratory infections (ARI) and their associated presenteeism and absenteeism.MethodsAt the start and end of each season, HCP at two Israeli hospitals provided serum to screen for antibodies to influenza virus using the haemagglutination inhibition assay. During the season, active monitoring for the development of ARI symptoms was conducted twice a week by RT-PCR testing of nasal swabs for influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Workplace presenteeism and absenteeism were documented. We calculated incidences of influenza- and RSV-associated ARI and applied sampling weights to make estimates representative of the source population.ResultsThe median age of 2,505 participating HCP was 41 years, and 70% were female. Incidence was 9.1 per 100 person-seasons (95% CI: 5.8-14.2) for RT-PCR-confirmed influenza and 2.5 per 100 person-seasons (95% CI: 0.9-7.1) for RSV illness. Each season, 18-23% of unvaccinated and influenza-negative HCP seroconverted. The incidence of seroconversion or RT-PCR-confirmed influenza was 27.5 per 100 person-seasons (95% CI: 17.8-42.5). Work during illness occurred in 92% (95% CI: 91-93) of ARI episodes, absence from work in 38% (95% CI: 36-40).ConclusionInfluenza virus and RSV infections and associated presenteeism and absenteeism were common among HCP. Improving vaccination uptake among HCP, infection control, and encouraging sick HCP to stay home are important strategies to reduce ARI incidence and decrease the risk of in-hospital transmission.

Exploring presenteeism trends: a comprehensive bibliometric and content analysis.

This research will conduct a bibliometric and content analysis of presenteeism from 2000 to 2023. It aims to investigate publication trends, authorship patterns, and significant publications by using presenteeism conceptualizations, measurements, determinants, consequences, and interventions analysis. The study provides valuable insights for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers about understanding and addressing workplace presenteeism issues. The research involved conducting a bibliometric study to analyze presenteeism publication trends, authorship patterns, and significant publications. It also explored the evolution of presenteeism research over time, identifying contributing countries, institutions, and writers. The interdisciplinary nature of presenteeism research was emphasized, covering occupational health, psychology, management, and public health. The researchers have used VOS Viewer and R Studio (biblioshiny) for this study. The study identified several elements influencing presenteeism, such as health issues, work-related factors, organizational culture, and individual characteristics. It further examined the impact of organizational policies, leadership support, employee assistance programs, and health promotion activities in reducing absenteeism and enhancing employee well-being. These findings highlight the importance of addressing these factors to mitigate presenteeism issues and promote a healthier work environment. This research identified deficiencies in presenteeism research and provided recommendations for future investigations in this field. It emphasized the need for standardized measures and methodologies, longitudinal studies to understand causality, and industry- and population-specific interventions. These insights can guide future research directions and interventions to address presenteeism issues in a rapidly changing work and research landscape.

Impact of supervisor phubbing on workplace incivility and workplace presenteeism: mediation and moderation effect of self-esteem and power distance

PurposeSupervisor phubbing is an increasingly common behavior depicted by supervisors despite the significance of supervisor–subordinate interactions. This study explores the impact of this behavior on workplace incivility and workplace presenteeism and analyzes the mediating role of self-esteem and the moderating role of power distance.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from employees belonging to IT sector. The research was cross-sectional in nature and the data were collected using a structured questionnaire.FindingsThe findings indicate a significant impact of supervisor phubbing on self-esteem, workplace incivility and workplace presenteeism. Additionally, results reveal the mediating role of self-esteem between supervisor phubbing and workplace presenteeism. However, the moderating effect of power distance on the relationship between supervisor phubbing and self-esteem was not supported.Originality/valueThe research contributes to the existing literature and theory, especially in the area of supervisor phubbing and communications management. The study suggests a need for comprehensive approach that involves both organizational policies and individual behavior change.

Healthcare personnel in 2016-2019 prospective cohort infrequently got vaccinated, worked while ill, and frequently used antibiotics rather than antivirals against viral influenza illnesses.

Uncertainty about risk of illness and the value of influenza vaccines negatively affects vaccine uptake among persons targeted for influenza vaccination. During 2016-2019, we followed a cohort of healthcare personnel (HCP) targeted for free-of-charge influenza vaccination in five Lima hospitals to quantify risk of influenza, workplace presenteeism (coming to work despite illness), and absenteeism (taking time off from work because of illness). The HCP who developed acute respiratory illnesses (ARI) (≥1 of acute cough, runny nose, body aches, or feverishness) were tested for influenza using reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (rt-PCR). The cohort (2968 HCP) contributed 950,888 person-days. Only 36 (6%) of 605 HCP who participated every year were vaccinated. The HCP had 5750 ARI and 147 rt-PCR-confirmed influenza illnesses. The weighted incidence of laboratory-confirmed influenza was 10.0/100 person-years; 37% used antibiotics, and 0.7% used antivirals to treat these illnesses. The HCP with laboratory-confirmed influenza were present at work while ill for a cumulative 1187 hours. HCP were frequently ill and often worked rather than stayed at home while ill. Our findings suggest the need for continuing medical education about the risk of influenza and benefits of vaccination and stay-at-home-while-ill policies.

The impact of student self-disclosure on the stress and wellbeing of tertiary educators during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT Workplace stress, burnout, and fatigue are commonplace amongst tertiary educators, and are compounded by the ongoing challenges of teaching and learning during a global pandemic. Amid efforts to identify and understand contributors to educator stress, student-teacher interactions have received relatively little attention. However, educators are often expected to engage in pastoral care when students disclose academic and personal problems. Receiving and responding to self-disclosure can be emotionally taxing, particularly in professional contexts of care, and therefore contribute to educator experiences of stress and burnout. In this study, we examined the relations between student self-disclosure and educator stress and wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand. Almost all of the 318 tertiary educators received COVID-19 related disclosures from students. Findings show that educators whose students had shared personal problems during COVID-19 were more likely to report high stress and poor wellbeing.Such communication was also associated with higher rates of workplace presenteeism, suggesting that these teachers were likely to push themselves to a level that risks illness. Fortunately, these negative impacts were ameliorated when educators also reported a sense of support in the workplace. The implications for educators and tertiary institutions are discussed, including the provision of educator training and well-resourced student support services.

Workplace-Related Socioeconomic Issues Associated with Job Performance and Productivity among Employees with Various Impairments: A Systematic Literature Review

The main purpose of this article is to present a systematic literature review of socioeconomic issues such as employee productivity, workplace absenteeism, workplace presenteeism, productivity loss, and indirect costs among employees with different impairments/disabilities. The related articles were obtained from the Scopus and Web of Science (WOS) databases. In general, 568 studies were found. A total of 141 articles were identified as open-access and non-duplicate articles in English in which disability-related issues among employees were raised. Ultimately, only 22 studies were selected for analysis since they were concerning socioeconomic issues associated with productivity and job performance among employees with various impairments. Based on the studies, workplace performance among employees with and without disabilities was almost equal. Workplace absenteeism and short-term disability costs were higher among employees with acromegaly, migraine, gout, depression, cardiovascular events and related clinical procedures, chronic diseases, and metastatic breast cancer. Mood disorders, heart diseases, and bowel disorders were the principal causes of absenteeism among employees with chronic conditions. Productivity loss was higher among employees with depression, psoriatic arthritis, multiple sclerosis, chronic migraine disease, and employees who received injectable multiple myeloma therapy. Worsening physical health, more functional disabilities, poorer relations with a supervisor, recurrent sick leave, back problems, mood disorders, migraine, and fatigue were the primary reasons for lost productivity.

Presenteeism Reloaded – We Need a Revised Presenteeism Approach

Presenteeism Reloaded – We Need a Revised Presenteeism Approach

Achievement of higher thresholds of clinical responses and lower levels of disease activity is associated with improvements in workplace and household productivity in patients with axial spondyloarthritis.

Patients with active axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) exhibit more absences and lower levels of productivity in the workplace and household than the general population, which can improve upon treatment. The objective of this study is to determine the long-term impact of achieving different levels of clinical response or disease activity on workplace and household productivity in patients with axSpA. RAPID-axSpA (NCT01087762) was a 204-week phase III trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of certolizumab pegol (CZP) in adult patients with active axSpA. The impact of axSpA on workplace and household productivity was evaluated using the validated arthritis-specific Work Productivity Survey. Outcomes included the percentage of patients achieving Assessment of SpondyloArthritis International Society (ASAS) response and Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS) thresholds. This post hoc study used a generalised estimating equations model to determine the association between the threshold of clinical response achieved and patient productivity. Of 218 CZP-randomised patients, 65.1% completed week 204. At baseline, 72.0% were employed outside the home. Of the patients who were unemployed, 42.6% were unable to work due to arthritis. Achievement of higher treatment response thresholds, such as clinical remission, was associated with fewer days affected by workplace absenteeism (ASAS-partial remission: 4.0 days, ASAS40: 8.6 days, ASAS20 but not reaching ASAS40 response: 29.4 days, ASAS20 non-response: 69.2 days; ASDAS-inactive disease: 5.0 days, ASDAS-low disease activity: 15.6 days, ASDAS-high disease activity: 32.7 days, ASDAS-very high disease activity: 93.4 days). Similar associations were found for workplace presenteeism, and household absenteeism and presenteeism. Over 4 years, achievement of higher clinical response thresholds and lower levels of disease activity was associated with fewer cumulative days affected by absenteeism or presenteeism, with clinical remission associated with the greatest improvements in productivity. This highlights the importance of targeting these thresholds to limit the burden of axSpA on society and on patients' daily lives.

Complex effects of childhood abuse, subjective social status, and trait anxiety on presenteeism in adult volunteers from the community.

Presenteeism, which is reduced productivity levels owing to physical or mental problems, causes substantial economic loss. It is known to be associated with personal and working environment factors, but the mechanism has not been fully clarified to date. Therefore, we analyzed the effects of childhood abuse on presenteeism of general adult workers, and the mediating effects of subjective social status and trait anxiety. From 2017 to 2018, a cross-sectional survey was performed, and 469 adult workers provided written consent. Demographic information, and results from the Child Abuse and Trauma Scale, Subjective Social Status, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory form Y, and Work Limitations Questionnaire were investigated. Multiple linear regression and path analyzes were performed. Childhood abuse indirectly affected current presenteeism via subjective social status and trait anxiety. Presenteeism was directly affected only by trait anxiety, childhood abuse directly affected subjective social status and trait anxiety, and subjective social status affected trait anxiety. This study clarified the long-term effects of childhood abuse on presenteeism in adulthood via trait anxiety. Therefore, assessing childhood abuse, subjective social status, and trait anxiety may help to elucidate the mechanism of workplace presenteeism and develop measures against it.

Workplace Presenteeism, Job Substitutability and Gender Inequality

Following the arrival of the first child, women's absence rates soar and become less predictable due to the greater frequency of their own sickness and the need to care for sick children. In this paper, we argue that this fall in presenteeism in the workplace hurts women's wages, not only indirectly and gradually, through a slower accumulation of human capital, but also immediately, through a direct negative effect on productivity in unique jobs (i.e., jobs with low substitutability). Although both presenteeism and job uniqueness are highly rewarded, we document that women's likelihood of holding jobs with low substitutability decreases substantially relative to men's after the arrival of the first child. This gap persists over time, with important long-run wage implications. We highlight that the parenthood wage penalty for women could be reduced by organizing work in such a way that more employees have tasks that, at least in the short run, can be performed satisfactorily by other employees in the workplace.

The Clandestine Cost of Feeling Like a Fake: Imposter Phenomenon and Workplace Presenteeism

The imposter phenomenon is reported to affect up to 70% of working professionals at some point in their careers. Despite this, the concept remains largely under-researched in organisational contexts. Our study expands the literature in this area by positioning the imposter phenomenon as an antecedent to presenteeism. Research suggests that imposter thoughts can be detrimental to individual wellbeing. We argue that idiosyncrasies associated with the imposter phenomenon may give rise to the growing trend of presenting for work while unwell, and therefore pose a threat to organisational productivity. Drawing on the Job Demands-Resource (JD-R) theory we position imposter thoughts as a job demand that triggers a health event leading to increased presenteeism. In doing so, we contribute to knowledge by extending the definition of what is considered a job demand. We present an adapted model to explain the proposed relationship between the imposter phenomenon and presenteeism and examine the effects of workplace social support as a job resource that counters the health process. We test this theory by conducting a cross-sectional survey (n=92) and perform regression, mediation, and moderation analysis. Our results support the hypothesised relationship between imposter thoughts and presenteeism, and we find that those who experience imposter thoughts to a greater extent are significantly more likely to experience higher levels of emotional exhaustion. We offer a fresh perspective on the JD-R theory by positioning the imposter phenomenon as a job demand. Our findings highlight the adverse effects on both the individual and the organisation. In presenting a direct link between the imposter phenomenon and presenteeism, our research bears the costly implications, providing insights for HR practitioners to develop strategies to reduce presenteeism and drive the well-being agenda

WELL-BEING IN THE WORKPLACE: UNRAVELLING THE DETERMINANTS AND CONSEQUENCES OF WORK STRESS PRESENTEEISM FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE JOB DEMANDS-RESOURCES (JD-R) MODEL

Managing employees' well-being has garnered the attention of academics and industry practitioners worldwide over the past few years. Presenteeism, a phenomenon that is closely related to employee well-being, has attracted increasing interest in recent years. However, most studies were focused on sickness presenteeism. Hence, in terms of novelty, this study endeavors to examine stress-related presenteeism and its impact on Malaysian employees. In addition, this study also examines team efficacy as one of the determinants of stress presenteeism, which is not widely studied, especially in the Malaysian context. In this study, stress-related presenteeism was utilized to measure presenteeism. Stress-related presenteeism negatively impacts employees' well-being and proves to be costly to employers, as it would lead to lower levels of productivity and performance. The central aim of this study is to examine the determinants of workplace presenteeism through the lens of job demands-resources model. Using Structural Equation Modelling via SmartPLS, the study then proceeds to analyze the consequence of presenteeism on employees' work performance and well-being. The result indicated that workload significantly influences presenteeism and, in turn, leads to lower work performance and psychological well-being. Finally, the implications of these findings were also discussed in this study.

Achievement of more stringent disease control is associated with reduced burden on workplace and household productivity: results from long-term certolizumab pegol treatment in patients with psoriatic arthritis.

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) impacts the physical health and functional ability of patients, leading to reduced productivity. High unemployment rates and absence due to sickness have been reported in patients with PsA. This post hoc study investigated certolizumab pegol treatment impact on workplace and household productivity in patients with PsA, and assessed whether achievement of more stringent disease control was associated with greater improvements in productivity. RAPID-PsA was a 216-week phase III trial. This post hoc study used a generalised estimating equations (GEE) model to examine the disease activity association, measured using American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and Disease Activity in PSoriatic Arthritis (DAPSA), and workplace and household productivity, assessed using an arthritis-specific Work Productivity Survey (WPS). The GEE model estimated the mean cumulative number of days patients meeting different disease control criteria were affected by absenteeism or presenteeism in the workplace and household. In all, 273 patients were randomised to certolizumab pegol and 183 (67.0%) completed Week 216. At baseline, 60.8% of patients were employed outside the home. Improved disease control, measured using ACR and DAPSA criteria, was associated with fewer cumulative days affected by workplace absenteeism through Week 216: ACR70: 4.1 days, ACR50 to <70: 7.7, ACR20 to <50: 20.9, <ACR20: 35.7; DAPSA remission (REM): 3.3, low disease activity (LDA): 9.8, moderate disease activity (MoDA): 22.4, high disease activity (HDA): 54.0. Improved disease control was also associated with fewer days affected by workplace presenteeism: ACR70: 5.6, ACR50 to <70: 19.3, ACR20 to <50: 71.2, < ACR20: 141.2; DAPSA REM: 5.7, LDA: 25.8, MoDA: 77.2, HDA: 223.6. Similar associations between greater disease control and improved productivity were observed for household absenteeism and presenteeism. This post hoc study demonstrates the cumulative workplace and household work productivity benefits for patients with PsA when achieving more stringent thresholds of disease control with certolizumab pegol treatment.

Impacts of heavy smoking and alcohol consumption on workplace presenteeism: A cross-sectional study.

Presenteeism refers to the practice of going to work despite poor health, resulting in subpar performance. This study aimed to explore the impacts of smoking and alcohol consumption on workplace presenteeism based on demographic, health-related, and employment variables.The study adopted a cross sectional design with 60,051 wage workers from the database of the second and third Korean Working Conditions Surveys in 2010 and 2011, respectively. A total of 41,404 workers aged 19 years and older, who had worked for at least 1 hour in the previous week, answered the survey questions. Chi-square test as well as univariate and multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted using SPSS, version 18.0, to determine the impacts of smoking and alcohol consumption on workplace presenteeism.Of the 41,404 Korean workers, 8512 (20.6%) had experienced presenteeism in the past 12 months. There were significant differences among gender, age, educational status, income, health problems, absenteeism, shift work, night shift, weekly working hours, exposure to secondhand smoke at work, and satisfaction with the workplace environment. Based on the results of multiple regression analysis, heavy smoking (adjusted odds ratio = 1.38, 95% confidence intervals [1.11, 1.72]) and high-risk drinking (adjusted odds ratio = 1.19, 95% confidence intervals [1.08, 1.31]) were significantly related to presenteeism among workers.The results of our study confirmed that smoking and alcohol drinking were related to presenteeism even after controlling other variables (demographic, health-related, and employment variables) that affect presenteeism. Smoking and alcohol drinking are associated with and potentially influence presenteeism; in particular, heavy smoking and high-risk drinking contributed to presenteeism. Companies that encourage employees to receive treatments for reduction of smoking or alcohol consumption may benefit from greater productivity. Hence, we should consider the impact of smoking and alcohol consumption in the workplace and build appropriate strategies and programs to help reduce these behaviors.

Inflammatory bowel disease-related economic costs due to presenteeism and absenteeism

Background Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), consisting of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, can be a lifelong burden generating high costs to an economic system. Data regarding the cost of workplace presenteeism and absenteeism in workers with IBD are limited. Our objective was to assess these costs in employed adults. Methods A structured questionnaire, hospital records and national registers were combined to assess the economic costs involved with workplace presenteeism and absenteeism in employed patients. Our final sample comprised 320 IBD patients. The costs were calculated as productivity-loss costs by using a Human Capital Approach. Results Due to IBD, the mean annual economic costs of workplace presenteeism were €643.90/patient, and mean annual absenteeism costs were €740.90/patient. Women had higher costs (€955/patient/year) from absenteeism compared to men (€531/patient/year) especially when working blue-collar jobs. These findings were also evident in presenteeism. CD and UC patients had similar total costs due to presenteeism and absenteeism. The use of biologics did not have a major impact on these costs. Conclusion IBD patients had moderate economic costs from workplace presenteeism and absenteeism. Interestingly, women, working blue-collar jobs, had higher costs than men.

Measures of mental health and addictions conditions show a U-shaped relationship with self-rated worker performance.

Reports of a meaningful relationship between mental health-related conditions and work productivity measures are relatively common. These, however, are frequently examined for their linearity while ignoring untapped, and potentially rich, non-linear associations. Following a serendipitous finding of a curvilinear relationship between workplace presenteeism (lowered productivity while at work) and depression, an investigation was undertaken of the association between worklife prevalence measures of presenteeism (measured by the W.H.O. Health & Work Performance Questionnaire) and lifetime prevalence of twelve psychosocial vulnerabilities, encompassing mental health, mental health-related, and addictive conditions. Linear and quadratic (U-shaped) functions were calculated across the "relative" presenteeism measure (self vs. other workers) for each of the 12 conditions. A visual analysis revealed a U-shaped graphic function in all conditions, and excepting anxiety all were statistically significant. In general, increases beyond the lowest ("poorest") level of self-reported comparative productivity were associated with increases in psychosocial stability, but only as far as deemed equality. Beyond that, increases in self-confidence resulted in a reversal, thus returning to a higher level of vulnerability for the condition in question. A cursory scan of five relevant journals indicated that non-linear analyses were often possible, but rarely carried out. This has informative value for our conceptualization of overconfidence, and it begs the question of whether an over-reliance on linear measures has caused us to overlook important curvilinear human relationships. The inclusion of analyses of non-linear functions is suggested as a matter of course for future studies.

Workplace Presenteeism, Job Substitutability and Gender Inequality

Following the arrival of the first child, women’s absence rates soar and become less predictable due to the greater frequency of their own sickness and the need to care for sick children. In this paper, we argue that this fall in presenteeism in the workplace hurts women’s wages, not only indirectly and gradually, through a slower accumulation of human capital, but also immediately, through a direct negative effect on productivity in unique jobs (i.e., jobs with low substitutability). Although both presenteeism and uniqueness are highly rewarded, we document that women’s likelihood of holding jobs with low substitutability decreases substantially relative to men’s after the arrival of the first child. This gap persists over time, with important long-run wage implications. We highlight that the parenthood wage penalty for women could be reduced by organizing work in such a way that more employees have tasks that, at least in the short run, can be performed satisfactorily by other employees in the workplace.

Influenza in workplaces: transmission, workers' adherence to sick leave advice and European sick leave recommendations.

Background: Knowledge about influenza transmission in the workplace and whether staying home from work when experiencing influenza-like illness can reduce the spread of influenza is crucial for the design of efficient public health initiatives. Aim: This review synthesizes current literature on sickness presenteeism and influenza transmission in the workplace and provides an overview of sick leave recommendations in Europe for influenza. Methods: A search was performed on Medline, Embase, PsychINFO, Cinahl, Web of Science, Scopus and SweMed to identify studies related to workplace contacts, -transmission, -interventions and compliance with recommendations to take sick leave. A web-based survey on national recommendations and policies for sick leave during influenza was issued to 31 European countries. Results: Twenty-two articles (9 surveys; 13 modelling articles) were eligible for this review. Results from social mixing studies suggest that 20–25% of weekly contacts are made in the workplace, while modelling studies suggest that on average 16% (range 9–33%) of influenza transmission occurs in the workplace. The effectiveness of interventions to reduce workplace presenteeism is largely unknown. Finally, estimates from studies reporting expected compliance with sick leave recommendations ranged from 71 to 95%. Overall, 18 countries participated in the survey of which nine (50%) had issued recommendations encouraging sick employees to stay at home during the 2009 A(H1N1) pandemic, while only one country had official recommendations for seasonal influenza. Conclusions: During the 2009 A(H1N1) pandemic, many European countries recommended ill employees to take sick leave. Further research is warranted to quantify the effect of reduced presenteeism during influenza illness.

Sick at work: methodological problems with research on workplace presenteeism

Research on determinants of workplace presenteeism is based on the assumption that presenteeism is the outcome of a decision process with two options: taking sick leave, or attending work despite illness. However, frequency measures of sickness presenteeism are usually employed as the dependent variables in previous research on the determinants of the decision process. Monte Carlo simulations show that the analytical strategies used in previous research are likely to identify determinants of vulnerability, but will underestimate the determinants that affect the decision process under consideration. As a solution to this shortcoming, an alternative analytical strategy is presented, which uses an empirical estimator of the individual presenteeism propensity.

Workplace Presenteeism - Causes and Remedies: A Study of the IT Sector

The human resources arena today is not much acquainted to the term ‘presenteeism’; yet, from time immemorial, it has been a problem that is inherent in the corporate system and is showing its effect on the productivity and performance of the companies in the industry. Presenteeism is the simple phenomenon of an employee doing nothing useful at the workplace at a given time; simply put, it means ‘body present, mind absent’. It is high time that awareness is created about this problem, recognised as existing in the system, causes studied and remedies implemented. Unlike absenteeism, which is a quantifiable problem by looking at the records of the company, presenteeism is unseen in records. Thus, it has to be identified by looking at the areas where time is being unproductively spent by the employee at the workplace and the factors leading to this situation. Factors such as demotivation, job redundancy, illness, emotional problems, domestic disturbances, lack of conducive environment, work-life conflict and stress are few to mention. A study in this field is required to make sure that harmful repercussions, like increase in the crime rate, suicidal deaths, creche culture and an overall transformation in the attitude of the employee fraternity, are not seen. The present study therefore focuses on interacting with the employees in the chosen information technology sector and studying the existence, extent and effect of presenteeism in those organisations. Also, an effort has been made to study causes for it and suggest remedial measures to reduce the intensity of the problem, if not to totally overcome it. The results of the study will be useful to the organisations that aim in dealing with the problems of presenteeism and to the policy makers for improving the productivity and corporate culture, which ultimately has its effect on the national economy and societal culture.