“Whenever I can I push myself to go to work”: a qualitative study of experiences of sickness presenteeism among workers with rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract

Workplace adjustments can facilitate voluntary sickness presenteeism. To reduce work disability and sickness absence, organizational policies should be sufficiently flexible to accommodate the needs of workers with fluctuating conditions. Implications for rehabilitation Individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are at high risk of work disability. Individuals' motivation to remain in work following onset of RA remains high, yet sickness presenteeism (working while ill) has received largely negative attention. It is important to distinguish between voluntary and involuntary forms of sickness presenteeism. Workplace adjustments facilitate voluntary sickness presenteeism (wanting to work despite illness) and improve job retention and productivity among workers with RA. Involuntary presenteeism (feeling pressured to work while ill) may occur if organizational policies are not sufficiently flexible to accommodate the needs of workers with RA.

Navigating employment retention with a chronic health condition: a meta-ethnography of the employment experiences of people with musculoskeletal disorders in the UK

“…Of the 16 papers included in the review, nine focussed on low back pain [54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62], five on rheumatoid arthritis [63][64][65][66][67] and two on chronic musculoskeletal pain [68,69]. All studies used narrative, semi-structured interviews or focus groups as methods of data collection.…”

“…Only four of the papers [58,[65][66][67] were assessed as having met all the methodological criteria sufficiently (table 2), though publishing requirements may have limited the ability of some papers to meet the criteria to a sufficient level. Taken as a body of evidence, the main areas of weakness are in evidence of responsiveness to the social context, evidence of adequate description, and the potential for assessing typicality.…”

“…The 16 papers reported a range of impacts on employment from having a chronic MSD. Eleven papers reported job loss [54,[58][59][60]62,[64][65][66][67][68][69], with most study participants being unable to return to the labour market. For many this meant becoming financially dependent on significant others or the benefits system or, for a few, taking early retirement.…”

“…For many this meant becoming financially dependent on significant others or the benefits system or, for a few, taking early retirement. However, 14 of the papers also reported participants retaining or returning to employment [54][55][56][57][58][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67]69]. Other effects on participants' employment status included: making informal or (less often) formal work and/or domestic adaptations to help maintain employment [54,56,61,[63][64][65][66][67]69], and using sick leave [54][55][56][57]61,[64][65][66][67] or changing employer or employment type [63,64,66] or becoming selfemployed [56,67] as strategies for coping with the condition.…”

Patients’Perceptions of Having a Good Life One Year after Arthritis Patient Education: A Qualitative Study Nested within a Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Several studies underpin that integrating these issues in PE are essential because being able to work has a positive influence on patients' quality of life (Gronning, Rodevand, & Steinsbekk, 2010;Holland & Collins, 2016). Furthermore, talking to others about feelings and emotions related to work loss may be important to deal with sorrow, until the person is ready and discovers how to manage a new life and identity without a job (Zuidema et al, 2015).…”