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Background: This study investigated the association between presenteeism and the perceived availability of social support among hospital doctors in China. Methods: A questionnaire was administered by doctors randomly selected from 13 hospital in Hangzhou China using strati ed sampling. Logit model was used for data analysis. Results: The overall response rate was 88.16%. Among hospital doctors, for each unit increase of the perceived availability of social support, the prevalence of presenteeism was decreased by 8.3% (OR=0.91, P=0.000). In particular, if the doctors perceived availability of appraisal support, belonging support and tangible support as su cient, the act of presenteeism was reduced by 20.2% (OR=0.806, P=0.000) 20.4% (OR=0.803, P=0.000) and 21.0% (OR=0.799, P=0.000) respectively with statistical differences. Conclusion: In China, appraisal support, belonging support and tangible support, compared to other social support, had a stronger negative correlation with presenteeism among hospital doctors. The bene ts of social support in alleviating doctors' presenteeism warrant further investigation.

Presenteeism—going to work while ill—is a widespread phenomenon worldwide. Previous research has concentrated mainly on its negative effects. This study investigates the positive consequences of presenteeism derived from a comprehensive content model of presenteeism that was developed on the basis of negative effects. In a quantitative online-survey employees (N = 181) rated the degree of experienced or potential positive effects depending on whether they had worked while ill (75%) or not (25%) during the previous year. Results revealed that all postulated positive effects described in the content model were relevant. Most positive effects were rated significantly higher by participants who had shown presenteeism in comparison to those who had not. The positive effects significantly predicted presenteeism propensity (adjusted R2 = 0.20) for participants having shown presenteeism. In addition, an overall rating of positive effects was significantly related to presenteeism, however, to a lesser degree. Overall, the results demonstrate the applicability of the content model to positive effects of presenteeism. They point to the need for further investigation of them and their consideration for the management of presenteeism.

Due to their impact on various stakeholder groups, research on the global phenomena of sickness presenteeism (working despite illness) and sickness absenteeism (absence due to illness) is constantly growing. Most studies focus on identifying factors associated with the attendance behaviors. In contrast, there have been few theoretical approaches to explain the individual decision-making process for or against working while ill. Moreover, their empirical verification is still pending. In the present study, we refer to expectancy theory to theoretically explain how the decision is made. To empirically test the model predictions we applied experimental vignette methodology in an online survey with working adults. The hypotheses were confirmed in that the calculated and predicted decisions significantly matched the intentionally chosen decisions. The results contribute to a better theoretical understanding of the decision-making process and provide starting points for interventions to manage attendance behavior in organizations.

The implementation of the recommended measures can be expected to support drivers' work ability and help reduce the frictional costs of their employers.