Cost Burden of the ‘Presenteeism’ Health Outcome in a Diverse Nurse and Pharmacist Workforce: Practice Models and Health Policy Implications

The Organizational Impact of Presenteeism among Key Healthcare Workers due to the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…In fact, presenteeism has been a concern for all direct-care providers, including physicians, medical residents, and pharmacists. A review of the literature revealed that presenteeism affects 40-50% of all healthcare practitioners at any given time (Homrich et al, 2020;Warren, 2009;Warren et al, 2011).…”

“…Healthcare providers are considered "knowledge workers" and see their abilities affected by symptoms of anxiety, depression, traumatic stress, and fatigue that can be detrimental to the health and safety of the workers themselves, the patients they treat, and the organizations they represent. In the results of a 2007-2008 Warren et al (Warren, 2009;Warren et al, 2011) online survey of a cross-sectional convenience sample of 226 nurses and pharmacists, levels of depression were reported that were higher than national norms of worker presenteeism (Warren, 2009;Warren et al, 2011). Among nurses, 22.7% indicated depressive symptoms, 17.5% reported anxiety, 26% said they had problems sleeping, and 17.5% reported chronic fatigue/low energy levels (Warren, 2009;Warren et al, 2011).…”

“…In the results of a 2007-2008 Warren et al (Warren, 2009;Warren et al, 2011) online survey of a cross-sectional convenience sample of 226 nurses and pharmacists, levels of depression were reported that were higher than national norms of worker presenteeism (Warren, 2009;Warren et al, 2011). Among nurses, 22.7% indicated depressive symptoms, 17.5% reported anxiety, 26% said they had problems sleeping, and 17.5% reported chronic fatigue/low energy levels (Warren, 2009;Warren et al, 2011). The overall health-related workforce productivity determined that presenteeism was an issue for 47% of the workforce that cost employers $12,700 per nurse in 2011 wage equivalence (Warren et al, 2011).…”

“…The overall health-related workforce productivity determined that presenteeism was an issue for 47% of the workforce that cost employers $12,700 per nurse in 2011 wage equivalence (Warren et al, 2011). Since these factors can affect life or death outcomes for patients, (Lui & Johnston, 2019;Zhang et al, 2015) Warren suggested that additional research in this area is critically needed to quantify better and address the impact of presenteeism on healthcare workers' productivity and behavioral health outcomes (Warren, 2009).…”

“…Presenteeism among healthcare workers can impact the quality of care, medical errors, financial losses to organizations, and employee burnout. This study gives special attention to behavioral health conditions that are closely associated with presenteeism (Homrich et al, 2020;Warren, 2009;Warren et al, 2011) and concludes with recommendations for policies and practices that healthcare institutions can implement to decrease the likelihood of increased presenteeism. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus has presented new health challenges for our healthcare delivery system.…”