Work-related factors of presenteeism: The mediating role of mental and physical health.

Abstract

Even though work-related factors have been found to play a crucial role in predicting presenteeism, studies investigating established theoretical frameworks of job design features and, in particular, underlying mechanisms are still very scarce. The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of the areas of work life according to the Areas of Worklife Scale (AWS; Leiter & Maslach, 2004) on presenteeism. We examined mental and physical health as the underlying process of this relationship and assessed 2 presenteeism outcome measures and their relationship to each other-that is, the frequency of acts of presenteeism and work productivity. Using a cross-sectional design, the study was conducted in a sample of 885 employees from German public service. Results showed that the influence of some, but not all, areas of work life (workload, control, reward, and values) on both acts of presenteeism and health-related lost productivity was mediated by health indicators (well-being and musculoskeletal complaints). Moreover, we found a relationship between health-related lost productivity and acts of presenteeism. The present research clarifies the importance of work-related factors as antecedents of sickness presenteeism. The findings of our study also emphasize the necessity to include both acts of presenteeism and health-related lost productivity in presenteeism research and prevention. Presenteeism should be included as a measure in health prevention interventions because it reflects a crucial part of employee health that is not covered by other measures.

An investigation into the effect of leadership style on stress-related presenteeism in South African knowledge workers

“…Many organisations are having to operate with lean labour forces, and job demands place excessive pressure on employees (Hakanen, Schaufeli & Ahola, 2008). Moreover, volatile market demands, leading to rising job uncertainty, are becoming a substantial stressor for employees (Pohling, Buruck, Jungbauer & Leiter, 2016). It is therefore essential that organisations create and manage favourable work environments (Cummings et al, 2010); failure to do so negatively impacts long-term organisational performance (Schaufeli, Taris & Van Rhenen, 2008).…”

Sickness presenteeism: Are we sure about what we are studying? A research based on a literature review and an empirical illustration

“…These studies may be classified into two groups: (a) those based on the European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS), where the question used is “over the past 12 months did you work when you were sick?,” the answer being dichotomous (no/yes) . Some studies exclusively analyze this question, while others additionally take a second question into account, namely “if yes, how many working days?” The versions of the Korean Working Conditions Survey also use a dichotomous question similar to that of the EWCS, although with slightly different formulations depending on survey version; (b) those studies which use exactly the same question used by Aronsson, “has it happened over the previous 12 months that you have gone to work despite feeling that you really should have taken sick leave due to your state of health?,” as well as some other studies which use minor modifications of this question or other similar ones where the formulation explicitly investigates “how many times…” or “how many days…”…”

Physicians’ Mental Health and Nationality Affect how Work Characteristics Influence Presenteeism

“…Good mental health is important in managing the challenges of daily living (Taylor and Stanton, 2007) and managing work stress (Pohling et al, 2015;Ramirez et al, 1996). Moreover, studies have shown that mental health status may change employees' perception of the same job across time (De Lange et al, 2005).…”