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Entwicklung und Validierung einer Skala zur Erfassung von Motiven für Präsentismus am Arbeitsplatz (SEMPA). Wirtschaftspsychologie, 18(2), 89-101.
Abstract
Numerous studies demonstrate the impact of presenteeism on employees‘ health as well as on companies’ profitability, but largely focus on prevalence and correlates of going to work despite of sickness. The aim of the present study was thus to develop and validate a questionnaire to assess motives for presenteeism in German speaking regions in order to allow for appropriate prevention and intervention programs. The instrument as developed based on expert interviews, a pilot study (N = 54), and the main study (N = 331), consists of 21 items showing a well-interpretable five-factorial structure as well as good psychometric properties. In a multiple linear regression analysis, the motive intrinsic commitment towards tasks and duties predicts presenteeism behavior best, followed by intrinsic commitment towards colleagues, and preserving reputation. Fear of negative consequences and distraction form only marginally significant further predictors. The five motive factors show meaningfully differentiating correlations with perceived organizational justice, lending support to their respective construct validity and applied usability.
Keywords: presenteeism, motives, diagnostics, organizational justice
... Es wurde eine Präsentismusneigung dahingehend gefunden, dass sich die Befragten in 53% der Fälle von Krankheit dafür entschieden haben dennoch zu arbeiten. Diese Ergebnisse liegen auf vergleichbarem Niveau wie bei Erwerbstätigen in Kanada (50%,Biron et al., 2006) und in Österreich (59%, Gerich, 2016.Die einzige den Autor*innen bekannte weitere Studie, in der ein Messinstrument für Motive von Präsentismus entwickelt wurde(Bach & Mierke, 2018), hat fünf Faktoren identifiziert. Diese wurden zwar nicht mit einer Motivationstheorie in Verbindung gebracht, lassen sich aber mit Bezug auf die hier verwendeten Motivklassen interpretieren. ...
Motives for Presenteeism – Development of a measuring instrument
Presenteeism is often understood as the behavior of employees to work despite illness. An increasing number of studies on the phenomenon report a broad variety of antecedents and consequences, however, to date, motives for the behavior have not been considered in a systematic way. To fill this gap, the objectives of the current study were to develop a ques-tionnaire for the measurement of motives for presenteeism and to examine whether the motives for presenteeism can be classified among the classes of motives that are generally accepted as relevant in working contexts. The questionnaire comprises 52 items and was constructed with a working population of N=1,000. Factor analyses revealed six classes of motives (Cronbach’s α = .82 to .94). Five relate to motive classes well established for work-ing contexts such as motives for achievement, power, and affiliation. Five of the six motive classes explained presenteeism propensity (adj. R 2 = .13; moderate to strong effect). The results of the analyses of the concurrent and the discriminant validity as well as the valida-tion using external criteria are well interpretable.
Key words: presenteeism – absenteeism – motives – measurement – scale development – validity
Zum Einstieg in Teil IV zeigt dieses Kapitel auf, wie Erwartungen über die Erwartungen der Anderen und die wechselseitige Verzahnung von Prozessen einen hohen Grad an Komplexität in Systemen erzeugen. Ein Fallbeispiel verdeutlicht, dass durch klare individuelle Grenzen und offene Kommunikation eine flexible, adäquate Arbeitsteilung in Teams ausgehandelt werden kann und Impulse im System entstehen. Vertiefend wird am Beispiel Präsentismus darauf eingegangen, wie ein scheinbar aufopferungsvolles Ignorieren individueller Grenzen, – hier, trotz Krankheit zur Arbeit zu gehen, – dem Team und der Organisation meist mehr schadet als nutzt. Die Wechselwirkungen zwischen persönlicher Klarheit, klarer Kommunikation im Dialog und Transparenz im System ermöglichen bei konsequenter Umsetzung der in Teil III empfohlenen Kommunikationskultur über alle drei Ebenen hinweg dynamische Stabilität.
Purpose
– Presenteeism occurs when people are physically present in the workplace but are functionally absent (Cooper, 1996). With evidence from the developed West, researchers have argued that being excessively present may be even costlier than absenteeism to employers (Burton et al., 2006; Hemp, 2004). However, research on presenteeism in the East is almost non-existent. With the strong Confucius cultural imperative for hard work, the prevailing pressure for working long hours, compounded with the lack of labor welfare protection at the national level and lack of resources at the organizational level in SMEs, the problem of presenteeism in the developing Asian societies may be exacerbated (cf. Bockerman and Laukkanen, 2010), making it a worthy subject for cross-cultural research and subsequent intervention. The purpose of this paper is to situate this problem in a global context, using the Chinese tradition as a cultural exemplar.
Design/methodology/approach
– Furthermore, most of the existing studies on presenteeism have overlooked the underlying psychological process of such an act: why do people decide to work while sick? Thus, our second goal in this paper is to outline a conceptual framework that attempts to explain central, dynamic processes and mechanisms through which people ascribe meanings to the situation, make decisions to come to work when ill, and attempt to achieve performance outcomes.
Findings
– In formulating this scheme, the authors drew primarily from Bandura’s (1986) social cognitive theory and tried to adapt, elaborate, and extend those aspects of the general theory that seemed most relevant to the basic personal experiences of presenteeism.
Originality/value
– The authors have outlined a social cognitive conceptual framework, to facilitate theory integration in the field of presenteeism research. To systematically examine key mechanisms delineated in the overarching theoretical framework that accounts for the intricate relationships among self-regulation, presenteeism, and performance, the authors were able to bridge social cognitive psychological processes with organizational research on the global phenomenon of presenteeism. The thrust of using theoretical development to lead empirical investigation in this emerging field may also enable better managerial interventions to promote occupational health and employee development.
Many studies have shown that an unfavourable psychosocial environment increases the risk of mental and physical illness, as well as absenteeism, or sickness absence. However, more costly than absenteeism is presenteeism, where a person is present at work even though disabled by a mental or physical illness. We sought to identify factors explaining why workers would come to work even when their health is impaired. In a cross-sectional design data were collected from 3825 employees of a Canadian organisation. The results show a high occurrence of presenteeism: workers went to work in spite of illness 50% of the time. Presenteeism propensity (the percentage of days worked while ill over total number of sick days) was higher for workers who were ill more often. Heavier workloads, higher skill discretion, harmonious relationships with colleagues, role conflict and precarious job status increased presenteeism, but decision authority did not. Workers reporting high psychological distress and more severe psychosomatic complaints were also more likely to report higher rates of presenteeism. These results suggest that stress research should not only include absenteeism as an outcome indicator, but also consider presenteeism.
Purpose
The opposite of absenteeism, presenteeism, is the phenomenon of employees staying at work when they should be off sick. Presenteeism is an important problem for organizations, because employees who turn up for work, when sick, cause a reduction in productivity levels. The central aim of the present study is to examine the longitudinal relationships between job demands, burnout (exhaustion and depersonalization), and presenteeism. We hypothesized that job demands and exhaustion (but not depersonalization) would lead to presenteeism, and that presenteeism would lead to both exhaustion and depersonalization over time.
Design/methodology/approach
The hypotheses were tested in a sample of 258 staff nurses who filled out questionnaires at three measurement points with 1.5 years in‐between the waves.
Findings
Results were generally in line with predictions. Job demands caused more presenteeism, while depersonalization was an outcome of presenteeism over time. Exhaustion and presenteeism were found to be reciprocal, suggesting that when employees experience exhaustion, they mobilize compensation strategies, which ultimately increases their exhaustion.
Research limitations/implications
These findings suggest that presenteeism can be seen as a risk‐taking organizational behavior and shows substantial longitudinal relationships with job demands and burnout.
Practical implications
The study suggests that presenteeism should be prevented at the workplace.
Originality/value
The expected contribution of the manuscript is not only to put presenteeism on the research agenda but also to make both organizations and scientists attend to its detrimental effects on employees' wellbeing and (consequently) on the organization.
Organizational justice is a well-known and increasingly often measured construct in work-related psychological research, for which, however, different kinds of measures are used. Colquitt (2001) developed a four-dimensional measure of organizational justice to allow for the comparison of different studies. Two studies provide evidence for the construct (Study 1) and criteria validity (Study 2) of the German version of the Colquitt measure with regard to perceived supervisor behavior as well as employees' attitudes and intentions. In Study 1, the measure demonstrated construct validity using a German sample of employees (N = 227) from different companies: Each dimension correlated differently with work-related dimension of supervisor behavior. To demonstrate criteria validity in Study 2 (N = 315 employees), the justice measure predicted different, theoretically linked work-related employee behaviors or attitudes (i.e., intentions to leave, job satisfaction, job stress, individual organizational citizenship behavior). Results are discussed with regard to theoretical and practical implications, intercultural differences, and future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Earlier studies have suggested that sickness presenteeism (SP) may be a risk factor for future health problems. The purpose of the present study was to test this in a nationally representative prospective study of Swedish workers.
Prospective cohort with a representative sample of the Swedish working population surveyed in 2008 and 2010. Odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using logistic regression.
Those who reported more than 7 days of SP had higher risk of suboptimal SRH compared to those who reported no SP (OR = 5.95; 95% CI 4.98-7.12), also after adjustment for confounders (OR = 1.64; 95% CI 1.30-2.06). Those who reported 1-7 days of SP also had an increased risk before and after adjustments. Inclusion of self-rated physical and psychological work capacity did not attenuate the associations, whereas of emotional exhaustion attenuated the ORs to non-significance for both outcomes, indicating that the health consequences associated with SP are largely related to mental health.
The results strengthen earlier findings suggesting that SP can be a risk factor for future suboptimal general health and sickness absence, particularly through mental health problems. This indicates that asking about SP could yield important information for employers, occupational health practitioners and GPs, possibly leading to more timely intervention that could decrease the risk of future sickness absence and more serious health problems, especially in the mental domain. Further studies of the possible causal pathways between SP and future health development are also warranted, especially since going to work is often seen as desirable also for those with poor health.
Sickness absenteeism has been a focus of the EU Labour Force Surveys since the early 1970s. In contrast, sickness presenteeism is a newcomer. Based on surveys, this concept emerged in the empirical literature as late as the 1990s. Knowledge of the determinants of sickness presenteeism is still relatively sparse.
The article examines the prevalence of sickness presenteeism in comparison with sickness absenteeism, using survey data covering 725 Finnish union members in 2008. We estimate logit models. The predictor variables capture working-time arrangements and the rules at the workplace. We include control variables such as the sector of the economy and educational attainment.
Controlling for worker characteristics, we find that sickness presenteeism is much more sensitive to working-time arrangements than sickness absenteeism is. Permanent full-time work, mismatch between desired and actual working hours, shift or period work and overlong working weeks increase sickness presenteeism. We also find an interesting trade-off between sickness categories: regular overtime decreases sickness absenteeism, but increases sickness presenteeism.
Two work-related sickness categories, absenteeism and presenteeism, are counterparts. However, the explanations for their prevalence point to different factors.
The primary aim of this prospective study was to investigate whether working despite illness, so called "sickness presenteeism", has an impact on the future general health of two different working populations during a follow-up period of 3 years.
The study was based on two bodies of data collected at a number of Swedish workplaces from 1999 to 2003. The first material comprised 6,901 employees from the public sector and the second 2,862 subjects from the private sector. A comprehensive survey was issued three times: at baseline, after 18 months and after 3 years. Apart from the explanatory variable sickness presenteeism, several potential confounders were considered. The outcome variable was good/excellent versus fair/poor self-reported health.
Sickness presenteeism at baseline was consistently found to heighten the risk of fair/poor health at both the 18-month and 3-year follow ups even after adjusting for the detected confounders.
To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first to show that sickness presenteeism appears to be an independent risk factor for future fair/poor general health.
To prospectively investigate whether sickness presenteeism (SP), ie, going to work despite illness, has an impact on future sickness absenteeism.
Two study populations were used, one female dominated from the public sector that included 3757 employees, and one male dominated from the private sector comprising 2485 employees.
SP on more than five occasions during the baseline year (2000) was a statistically significant risk factor for future sick leave (2002 and 2003) of more than 30 days among both populations even after adjusting for previous sick leave, health status, demographics, lifestyle, and work-related variables (2002, public sector, relative risk = 1.40; private sector, relative risk = 1.51).
SP may be an important phenomenon to consider when evaluating measures aimed at decreasing sickness absenteeism because more SP may lead to future sickness absence.
We examine the prevalence of sickness absenteeism and presenteeism, using survey data covering 725 Finnish union members in 2008. Controlling for worker characteristics, we find that sickness presenteeism is much more sensitive to working-time arrangements than sickness absenteeism. Permanent full-time work, mismatch between desired and actual working hours, shift or period work and overlong working weeks increase the prevalence of sickness presenteeism. We also find an interesting trade-off between two sickness categories: regular overtime decreases sickness absenteeism, but increases sickness presenteeism. Furthermore, the adoption of three days’ paid sickness absence without a sickness certificate and the easing of efficiency demands decrease sickness presenteeism.
The study is an empirical investigation of sickness presenteeism in relation to occupation, irreplaceability, ill health, sickness absenteeism, personal income, and slimmed down organisation.
Cross sectional design.
Swedish workforce.
The study group comprised a stratified subsample of 3801 employed persons working at the time of the survey, interviewed by telephone in conjunction with Statistics Sweden's labour market surveys of August and September 1997. The response rate was 87 per cent.
A third of the persons in the total material reported that they had gone to work two or more times during the preceding year despite the feeling that, in the light of their perceived state of health, they should have taken sick leave. The highest presenteeism is largely to be found in the care and welfare and education sectors (nursing and midwifery professionals, registered nurses, nursing home aides, compulsory school teachers and preschool/primary educationalists. All these groups work in sectors that have faced personnel cutbacks during the 1990s). The risk ratio (odds ratio (OR)) for sickness presenteeism in the group that has to re-do work remaining after a period of absence through sickness is 2.29 (95% CI 1.79, 2.93). High proportions of persons with upper back/neck pain and fatigue/slightly depressed are among those with high presenteeism (p< 0.001). Occupational groups with high sickness presenteeism show high sickness absenteeism (rho = 0. 38; p<.01) and the hypothesis on level of pay and sickness presenteeism is also supported (rho = -0.22; p<0.01).
Members of occupational groups whose everyday tasks are to provide care or welfare services, or teach or instruct, have a substantially increased risk of being at work when sick. The link between difficulties in replacement or finding a stand in and sickness presenteeism is confirmed by study results. The categories with high sickness presenteeism experience symptoms more often than those without presenteeism. The most common combination is low monthly income, high sickness absenteeism and high sickness presenteeism.
Evidence about the total cost of health, absence, short-term disability, and productivity losses was synthesized for 10 health conditions. Cost estimates from a large medical/absence database were combined with findings from several published productivity surveys. Ranges of condition prevalence and associated absenteeism and presenteeism (on-the-job-productivity) losses were used to estimate condition-related costs. Based on average impairment and prevalence estimates, the overall economic burden of illness was highest for hypertension ($392 per eligible employee per year), heart disease ($368), depression and other mental illnesses ($348), and arthritis ($327). Presenteeism costs were higher than medical costs in most cases, and represented 18% to 60% of all costs for the 10 conditions. Caution is advised when interpreting any particular source of data, and the need for standardization in future research is noted.
Although sick, some people take no time off work, a phenomenon called "sickness presenteeism." This study examined the association between sickness presenteeism and incidence of serious coronary events.
The analyses were based on a cohort of 5071 male British civil servants without previous myocardial infarction. Baseline screening included measurements of health status and coronary risk factors. Absence records were assessed for the 3 years subsequent to baseline screening. The outcome of interest was incident nonfatal myocardial infarction or fatal coronary heart disease (mean length of follow-up=9.1 years).
Seventeen percent of unhealthy employees took no absence during the 3-year follow-up. Their incidence of serious coronary events was twice as high as that of the unhealthy employees with moderate levels of sickness absenteeism (after adjustment for conventional risk factors, hazard ratio 1.97, 95% confidence interval=1.02, 3.83).
Employers and employees should be aware of the potential harmful effects caused by sickness presenteeism.
Sickness presence, that is, going to work despite judging one's current state of health as such that sick leave should be taken, was investigated in relation to different work and background factors.
The study group comprised a random sample of 3136 persons who responded to a questionnaire administered in conjunction with Statistics Sweden's labor market survey. Logistic regressions were used in the analyses.
Fifty-three percent reported the presence of sickness (on more than one occasion during the preceding year). Having a health problem is a strong determinant of sickness presenteeism (odds ratio = 3.32). For any given health status, there are certain other factors (personally and work-related demands) that impact on the risk of sickness presence, such as difficulties in staff replacement, time pressure, insufficient resources, and poor personal financial situation.
The study has identified different types of determinants of sickness presence. Under the assumption that there is a connection between high sickness presence and risk for future ill health, the results may provide assistance in the formulation of preventive measures.
This study examined the relationship between sickness presenteeism, sickness absenteeism, organizational outcomes and employee health. In particular, we wanted to investigate to what degree employees were substituting sickness presence for sickness absence. Three hypotheses were tested to formalize this 'substitution proposition'. We surveyed a Canadian public service organization which was involved in a large scale downsizing initiative. For this study, 237 Personnel Corporation (pseudonym used) employees responded to the survey, representing a 66 per cent response rate. Survey results indicated that, while the workforce was of average health, sickness absenteeism was less than half that of the national average. The difference could be accounted for by sickness presenteeism - the average number of days employees attended work while ill or injured was greater than the number of days of sickness absence. The pattern of results supported the notion that employees were substituting presenteeism for absenteeism. The frequency and type of self-reported health problems were highly similar for presenteeism and absenteeism. Work factors (e.g. job security, supervisor support and job satisfaction) tested were significantly correlated with presenteeism. Presenteeism appears to be a stronger predictor of health than absenteeism, suggesting that efforts to improve workplace health may have a more immediate impact on presenteeism than on absenteeism. Copyright Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2007.
The correlates of distributive, procedural, and interactional justice were examined using 190 studies samples, totaling 64,757 participants. We found the distinction between the three justice types to be merited. While organizational practices and outcomes were related to the three justice types, demographic characteristics of the perceiver were, in large part, unrelated to perceived justice. Job performance and counterproductive work behaviors, considered to be outcomes of perceived justice, were mainly related to procedural justice, whereas organizational citizenship behavior was similarly predicted by distributive and procedural justice. Most satisfaction measures were similarly related to all justice types. Although organizational commitment and trust were mainly related to procedural justice, they were also substantially related to the other types of justice. Findings from laboratory and field studies are not always in agreement. Future research agendas are discussed.
This study explores the dimensionality of organizational justice and provides evidence of construct validity for a new justice measure. Items for this measure were generated by strictly following the seminal works in the justice literature. The measure was then validated in 2 separate studies. Study 1 occurred in a university setting, and Study 2 occurred in a field setting using employees in an automobile parts manufacturing company. Confirmatory factor analyses supported a 4-factor structure to the measure, with distributive, procedural, interpersonal, and informational justice as distinct dimensions. This solution fit the data significantly better than a 2- or 3-factor solution using larger interactional or procedural dimensions. Structural equation modeling also demonstrated predictive validity for the justice dimensions on important outcomes, including leader evaluation, rule compliance, commitment, and helping behavior.
The field of organizational justice continues to be marked by several important research questions, including the size of relationships among justice dimensions, the relative importance of different justice criteria, and the unique effects of justice dimensions on key outcomes. To address such questions, the authors conducted a meta-analytic review of 183 justice studies. The results suggest that although different justice dimensions are moderately to highly related, they contribute incremental variance explained in fairness perceptions. The results also illustrate the overall and unique relationships among distributive, procedural, interpersonal, and informational justice and several organizational outcomes (e.g., job satisfaction, organizational commitment, evaluation of authority, organizational citizenship behavior, withdrawal, performance). These findings are reviewed in terms of their implications for future research on organizational justice.
Presenteeism, i.e. attending work while sick, is widespread and associated with significant costs. Still, economic analyses of this phenomenon are rare. In a theoretical model, we show that presenteeism arises due to differences between workers in the disutility from workplace attendance. As these differences are unobservable by employers, they set wages that incentivize sick workers to attend work. Using a large representative German data set, we test several hypotheses derived from our model. In line with our predictions, we find that stressful working conditions and bad health status are positively related to presenteeism. Better dismissal protection, captured by higher tenure, is associated with slightly fewer presenteeism days, whereas the role of productivity and skills is inconclusive.
Introduction: Sickness presenteeism (SP) refers to the practice of going to work despite illness. This article describes the distribution of SP in Norway and Sweden. It also discusses relations between SP and various work characteristics and personal factors in the two countries. Methods: More than 2500 Norwegian and Swedish workers between 20 and 60 years of age answered a postal questionnaire. The Norwegian and Swedish samples are weighed and representative with regard to both variables of regional background and demography, but the response rate was low. The distribution of SP is measured by frequency (episodes in the previous year) and by length (total days of SP in the previous year). This study employed binary and multinomial logistic regression to detect which factors influence the frequency of SP. Results: Fifty-five per cent of the respondents in Norway and Sweden practised SP in the previous year. The frequency of SP episodes is similar in the two countries. Further, respondents with low/medium income, physical work, and managerial responsibilities report SP more often in both countries. Non-western immigrants, the less educated, and those employed by others are overrepresented with SP in Norway. Neither gender nor age had any particular influence. Discussion: In accordance with previous studies, this study among Norwegian and Swedish workers suggests that some SP during a working year may be more common than no SP. Our analyses of determinants of SP present some previously undocumented differences. Divisions between sedentary versus physical work and management versus non-management were important for SP in Norway and Sweden. Moreover, non-western immigrants are overrepresented with SP in Norway, but this pattern does not prevail in Sweden. Some possible causes for non-western immigrants to report more SP are suggested in the article, but we need more research to follow up on the missing correlation between ethnic background and SP in Sweden.
A newly developed German Instrument measuring organizational justice on the organizational level is proposed. The Instrument distinguishes the domains of distributive, procedural and interactional justice. Contrary to existing instruments, distributive justice is measured not only by the equity principle, but also by the principles of need and equality. Empirical data gathered from N = 139 call center agents of a small-sized trading firm confirm the assumed multidimensional concept tested with factor analyses. For further validation, the subscales are correlated with variables such as job satisfaction, scope of action, organizational identification, and pay satisfaction. The results give evidence for the validity of the newly developed instrument
and for the decisions regarding the dimensionality of organizational justice.
Die Grundlagen der Testtheorie sowie der Methoden zur Fragebogenerstellung werden in diesem Buch einfach, also weitgehend "formelfrei" dargestellt. Anhand mit SPSS durchgerechneter Beispiele kann das Wissen angewandt und erprobt werden. Sowohl die klassische Testtheorie als auch die probabilistische Testtheorie werden anwendungsorientiert dargestellt. Das Buch gibt konkrete Anleitungen, wie Tests für die Praxis konstruiert werden können.
Interest in presenteeism, attending work while ill, has flourished in light of its consequences for individual well-being and organizational productivity. Our goal was to identify its most significant causes and correlates by quantitatively summarizing the extant research. Additionally, we built an empirical model of some key correlates and compared the etiology of presenteeism versus absenteeism. We used meta-analysis (in total, K = 109 samples, N = 175,965) to investigate the correlates of presenteeism and meta-analytic structural equation modeling to test the empirical model. Salient correlates of working while ill included general ill health, constraints on absenteeism (e.g., strict absence policies, job insecurity), elevated job demands and felt stress, lack of job and personal resources (e.g., low support and low optimism), negative relational experiences (e.g., perceived discrimination), and positive attitudes (satisfaction, engagement, and commitment). Moreover, our dual process model clarified how job demands and job and personal resources elicit presenteeism via both health impairment and motivational paths, and they explained more variation in presenteeism than absenteeism. The study sheds light on the controversial act of presenteeism, uncovering both positive and negative underlying mechanisms. The greater variance explained in presenteeism as opposed to absenteeism underlines the opportunities for researchers to meaningfully investigate the behavior and for organizations to manage it. (PsycINFO Database Record
The process of exchange is almost continual in human interactions, and appears to have characteristics peculiar to itself, and to generate affect, motivation, and behavior that cannot be predicted unless exchange processes are understood. This chapter describes two major concepts relating to the perception of justice and injustice; the concept of relative deprivation and the complementary concept of relative gratification. All dissatisfaction and low morale are related to a person's suffering injustice in social exchanges. However, a significant portion of cases can be usefully explained by invoking injustice as an explanatory concept. In the theory of inequity, both the antecedents and consequences of perceived injustice have been stated in terms that permit quite specific predictions to be made about the behavior of persons entering social exchanges. Relative deprivation and distributive justice, as theoretical concepts, specify some of the conditions that arouse perceptions of injustice and complementarily, the conditions that lead men to feel that their relations with others are just. The need for much additional research notwithstanding, the theoretical analyses that have been made of injustice in social exchanges should result not only in a better general understanding of the phenomenon, but should lead to a degree of social control not previously possible. The experience of injustice need not be an accepted fact of life.
This paper presents an alternative to the predominant equity theory for studying the concept of fairness in social relationships. According to the equity theory, or merit principle, fairness in social relationships occurs when rewards, punishments, and resources are allocated in proportion to one's input or contributions. The basic problems of this theory are that it employs a unidimensional concept of fairness and that it emphasizes only the fairness of distribution, ignoring the fairness of procedure. In contrast, the alternative to this theory is based on two justice rules, the distributional and the procedural. Distribution rules follow certain criteria: the individual's contributions, his needs, and the equality theory. These criteria are considered relative to the individual's role within the particular setting or social system. A justice judgment sequence estimates the individual's deservingness based on each rule. Final judgments evolve from a rule-combination equation. Preceding the final distribution of reward, a cognitive map of the allocative process is constructed. Fairness is judged in terms of the procedure's consistency, prevention of personal bias, and its representativeness of important subgroups. Opportunities to apply this concept of fairness exist in field studies of censorship, participatory decision making, equal opportunity, and representativeness of social institutions. (KC)
In the past it was assumed that work attendance equated to performance. It now appears that health-related loss of productivity can be traced equally to workers showing up at work as well as to workers choosing not to. Presenteeism in the workplace, showing up for work while sick, seems now more prevalent than absenteeism. These findings are forcing organizations to reconsider their approaches regarding regular work attendance. Given this, and echoing recommendations in the literature, this study seeks to identify the main behavioral correlates of presenteeism and absenteeism in the workplace. Comparative analysis of the data from a representative sample of executives from the Public Service of Canada enables us to draw a unique picture of presenteeism and absenteeism with regards not only to the impacts of health disorders but also to the demographic, organizational, and individual factors involved. Results provide a better understanding of the similarities and differences between these phenomena, and more specifically, of the differentiated influence of certain variables. These findings provide food for thought and may pave the way to the development of new organizational measures designed to manage absenteeism without creating presenteeism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).
The model of sickness presence (SP) proposed by Aronsson and Gustafsson consists of two parts. The first postulates SP as an employee's reaction to his/her general state of health, and as depending on employee correlates relating to the individual and the job. The second proposes longitudinal relationships between SP and future health. The present study is the first to test the first part of the model outside Scandinavia. Positive sickness presence factors studied were work involvement and job satisfaction; negative presence factors were financial household contribution, time pressure at work, and perceived job insecurity. Control variables were general health, age, gender and autonomy. Data (N=2348) were gathered from a total of 110 organizations in four European countries (Belgium, Spain, Sweden and the UK) with differing welfare state regime, degree of employment protection, labour market and sickness absence-related indicators. The data were analysed by hierarchical multiple regression per country. The findings partially confirmed the Aronsson and Gustafsson model. In all countries, employee general health status was a prerequisite of SP, and time pressure at work related to SP. In Sweden and the UK, job satisfaction related to SP. In the UK, work involvement related to SP.
Presenteeism is attending work when ill. This study examined the antecedents and correlates of presenteeism, absenteeism, and productivity loss attributed to presenteeism. Predictors included work context, personal characteristics, and work experiences. Business school graduates employed in a variety of work positions (N = 444) completed a Web-based survey. Presenteeism was positively associated with task significance, task interdependence, ease of replacement, and work to family conflict and negatively associated with neuroticism, equity, job security, internal health locus of control, and the perceived legitimacy of absence. Absenteeism was positively related to task significance, perceived absence legitimacy, and family to work conflict and negatively related to task interdependence and work to family conflict. Those high on neuroticism, the unconscientious, the job-insecure, those who viewed absence as more legitimate, and those experiencing work-family conflict reported more productivity loss. Overall, the results reveal the value of a behavioral approach to presenteeism over and above a strict medical model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved).
To determine whether self-reported sickness presence (SP) and self-reported sickness absence (SA) are specific risk factors for future health problems or reduced work ability in the active workforce.
The study population consisted of a cohort based on a random sample (n = 2181) with data for 2004, 2005, and 2006. The subjects were employees aged from 25 to 50 years in 2004. Cross-tabulations were calculated to identify significant background factors (sex, age, education, socioeconomic position), work factors (work demands, control, adjustment latitude), and outcome factors. Block-wise multiple logistic regression analyses were performed for outcome factors (SP, SA, self-rated health, physical complaints, work ability, mental well-being).
SA and SP were found to have negative health consequences; this was particularly pronounced for those with frequent SP or SA. There was a dose-response relationship between the degree of SA, SP and the different health outcomes. The health risks remained, after control for background factors, prior working conditions and initial health. SP also appeared to lead to SA, whereas SA did not have a significant impact on future SP.
The results suggest that both SP and SA are strong predictors of future poor health, physical complaints, low mental well-being and low work ability. The detrimental influence of frequent SP was most pronounced in relation to work ability and physical complaints, although all of the measured health factors were affected. The negative effects of SA on the different health outcomes were similar.
The aim of this study was to assess the attitudes of hospital clinical staff to acute personal illness.
A self-reported questionnaire was developed. Four hundred clinical staff employed by the district health board (DHB) who met the inclusion criteria who were randomly selected. Data were collected and analysed using SPSS software. Ethical approval was obtained from the Lower South Regional Ethics Committee and from the DHB Health Research Office.
Doctors were more likely to exhibit sickness presenteeism (SP)--i.e. working despite being sick--than any other occupational group at the DHB. Two main reasons were given for not taking sick leave: staff did not believe they were unwell enough to justify taking leave and they did not want to increase the workload of others. The majority of study participants would not contact anyone for advice about whether to take leave.
This study provides evidence that SP, especially in doctors, is prevalent in the DHB and is similar to findings from elsewhere. Low rates of clinical staff contacting someone for advice on coming to work whilst ill could be targeted to improve infection control.
Employers are becoming concerned with the costs of presenteeism in addition to the healthcare and absenteeism costs that have traditionally been explored. But what is the true impact of health conditions in terms of on-the-job productivity? This article examines the literature to assess the magnitude of presenteeism costs relative to total costs of a variety of health conditions. Searches of MEDLINE, CINAHL and PubMed were conducted in July 2008, with no starting date limitation, using 'presenteeism' or 'work limitations' as keywords. Publications on a variety of health conditions were located and included if they assessed the total healthcare and productivity cost of one or more health conditions. Literature on presenteeism has investigated its link with a large number of health conditions ranging from allergies to irritable bowel syndrome. The cost of presenteeism relative to the total cost varies by condition. In some cases (such as allergies or migraine headaches), the cost of presenteeism is much larger than the direct healthcare cost, while in other cases (such as hypertension or cancer), healthcare is the larger component. Many more studies have examined the impact of pharmaceutical treatment on certain medical conditions and the resulting improvement in on-the-job productivity. Based on the research reviewed here, health conditions are associated with on-the-job productivity losses and presenteeism is a major component of the total employer cost of those conditions, although the exact dollar amount cannot be determined at this time. Interventions, including the appropriate use of pharmaceutical agents, may be helpful in improving the productivity of employees with certain conditions.
The costs attributed to employee health problems are usually measured by employers in terms of direct health care costs, such as medical plan claims. Although it has been understood that employee health problems also produce indirect costs for employers, their measurement has been far less frequent. At best, studies have recorded one component of indirect health costs: the time lost to employee absenteeism and disability. The study presented here includes a measure of the actual decrease in the productivity of employees while they are on the job, in addition to measures of absenteeism and disability. These three measurements were combined to produce a Worker Productivity Index (WPI). The WPIs of 564 telephone customer-service agents were correlated with the employees' number and type of health risks, as measured by a Health Risk Appraisal. Additionally, the WPI was also examined across different disease states in the same population of employees. As the number of health risks increased, an employee's productivity decreased. The nature of the health risk may also differentially affect the pattern of the decrease. Finally, disease states were also associated with different patterns of productivity reduction.
Physicians seem to have problems in accepting their own illness, and they tend to avoid taking sick leave. This study reports the diseases that physicians bring to work, and discusses selected factors associated with the behaviour of working when ill.
Of a random sample of 1,476 Norwegian physicians, 70% answered a mailed, anonymous questionnaire as a part of The Norwegian Medical Association's health survey.
During one year, 80% of the physicians had worked during an illness for which they would have sick-listed their patients. More than half of the physicians in the study had worked whilst having an infectious disease. Factors independently associated with the behaviour of working when ill include being in the age group 30-39 years, working as a clinician outside hospital, having received medical treatment during the last three years, and having low job satisfaction.
A large number of physicians work whilst having infections and other diseases. This behaviour might be harmful to the physicians themselves as well as to their patients and staff members.
Over the last decade, economists have identified that presenteeism, the first cousin of absenteeism, occurs when employees show up for work but, because of mental or medical illness, do not function productively or perform at 100%. Research has begun to identify nursing as an occupational group with high presenteeism. The author discusses the etiology and potential solutions for managing this new component in the productivity equation and in addressing depression, the major contributor to presenteeism.
The aim of this study is to assess the impact of a broad range of possible factors relating to work, personal circumstances and attitudes towards sickness absence on a person's decision to go to work despite feeling ill, a phenomenon that has been termed sickness presence (SP), or 'presenteeism', in the literature. Using data from a random sample of 12,935 members from the core Danish work force the hypotheses were tested in a cross-sectional design utilising ordered logistic regression models. The results indicate that more than 70% of the core work force goes ill to work at least once during a 12-month period. This means that SP is just as prevalent a phenomenon as sickness absence. Many of the results from earlier studies of SP were replicated and new factors were discovered: for example time pressure (having a supervisory role and/or working more than 45 h per week) and relationship with colleagues (measured by working in a small company, having non-standard hours and degree of cooperation) both increase the likelihood of SP. However, personal circumstances and attitudes, e.g. treating work as home (cf. Hochschild's thesis) and being over-committed to work, were also found to lead to higher levels of SP. Finally, we found that those with a conservative attitude to absence were most likely to turn up ill at work. Overall, work-related factors seem to be slightly more important than personal circumstances or attitudes in determining people's 'decision' to go ill at work. However, the relatively low explanatory power of these combined factors suggests that there are still many unknowns in this field of research.
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