J Epidemiol Community Health 2000;54:502-509 ( July )

Research report

Sick but yet at work. An empirical study of sickness presenteeism Gunnar Aronsson, Klas Gustafsson, Margareta Dallner

Program: Health and development in the new working life, National Institute for Working Life, S-112 79 Stockholm, Sweden

Correspondence to: Dr Aronsson (aronsson{at}niwl.se)

Accepted for publication 22 February 2000

STUDY OBJECTIVEThe study is an empirical investigation of sickness presenteeism in relation to occupation, irreplaceability, ill health, sickness absenteeism, personal income, and slimmed down organisation.
DESIGNCross sectional design.
SETTINGSwedish workforce.
PARTICIPANTSThe 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.
MAIN RESULTSA 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 ( = 0.38; p<.01) and the hypothesis on level of pay and sickness presenteeism is also supported ( = 0.22; p<0.01).
CONCLUSIONSMembers 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.


Keywords: sickness presenteeism; sickness absenteeism; ill health

---

© 2000 by Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Bockerman, P., Laukkanen, E. (2009). What makes you work while you are sick? Evidence from a survey of workers. Eur J Public Health 0: ckp076v1-ckp076 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Hansen, C D, Andersen, J H (2009). Sick at work--a risk factor for long-term sickness absence at a later date?. J. Epidemiol. Community Health 63: 397-402 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Nyberg, A., Westerlund, H., Magnusson Hanson, L. L., Theorell, T. (2008). Managerial leadership is associated with self-reported sickness absence and sickness presenteeism among Swedish men and women. Scand J Public Health 36: 803-811 [Abstract]  
• Martikainen, P, Maki, N, Jantti, M (2008). The effects of workplace downsizing on cause-specific mortality: a register-based follow-up study of Finnish men and women remaining in employment. J. Epidemiol. Community Health 62: 1008-1013 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Elstad, J. I., Vabo, M. (2008). Job stress, sickness absence and sickness presenteeism in Nordic elderly care. Scand J Public Health 36: 467-474 [Abstract]  
• Stenlund, T., Ahlgren, C., Lindahl, B., Burell, G., Knutsson, A., Stegmayr, B., Slunga Birgander, L. (2007). Patients with burnout in relation to gender and a general population. Scand J Public Health 35: 516-523 [Abstract]  
• Piha, K., Martikainen, P., Rahkonen, O., Roos, E., Lahelma, E. (2007). Trends in socioeconomic differences in sickness absence among Finnish municipal employees 1990--99. Scand J Public Health 35: 348-355 [Abstract]  
• Osterkamp, R., Rohn, O. (2007). Being on Sick Leave: Possible Explanations for Differences of Sick-leave Days Across Countries. CESifo Economic Studies 53: 97-114 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Notenbomer, A., Roelen, C. A. M., Groothoff, J. W. (2006). Job satisfaction and short-term sickness absence among Dutch workers.. Occup Med (Lond) 56: 279-281 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Fejer, R., Hartvigsen, J., Kyvik, K. O. (2006). Heritability of neck pain: a population-based study of 33 794 Danish twins. Rheumatology (Oxford) 45: 589-594 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Lindberg, P, Josephson, M, Alfredsson, L, Vingard, E (2006). Promoting excellent work ability and preventing poor work ability: the same determinants? Results from the Swedish HAKuL study. Occup. Environ. Med. 63: 113-120 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Melchior, M., Krieger, N., Kawachi, I., Berkman, L. F., Niedhammer, I., Goldberg, M. (2005). Work Factors and Occupational Class Disparities in Sickness Absence: Findings From the GAZEL Cohort Study. Am. J. Public Health 95: 1206-1212 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Wikman, A., Marklund, S., Alexanderson, K. (2005). Illness, disease, and sickness absence: an empirical test of differences between concepts of ill health. J. Epidemiol. Community Health 59: 450-454 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Kivimaki, M., Head, J., Ferrie, J. E., Hemingway, H., Shipley, M. J., Vahtera, J., Marmot, M. G. (2005). Working While Ill as a Risk Factor for Serious Coronary Events: The Whitehall II Study. Am. J. Public Health 95: 98-102 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Gimeno, D., Benavides, F. G, Amick, B. C III, Benach, J., Martinez, J. M. (2004). Psychosocial factors and work related sickness absence among permanent and non-permanent employees. J. Epidemiol. Community Health 58: 870-876 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Hensing, G. (2004). Chapter 4. Methodological aspects in sickness-absence research. Scand J Public Health 32: 44-48 [Abstract]  
• VingArd, E., Alexanderson, K., Norlund, A. (2004). Chapter 10. Sickness presence. Scand J Public Health 32: 216-221 [Abstract]  
• Vahtera, J., Kivimaki, M., Pentti, J., Linna, A., Virtanen, M., Virtanen, P., Ferrie, J. E (2004). Organisational downsizing, sickness absence, and mortality: 10-town prospective cohort study. BMJ 328: 555- [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Virtanen, M, Kivimaki, M, Elovainio, M, Vahtera, J, Ferrie, J E (2003). From insecure to secure employment: changes in work, health, health related behaviours, and sickness absence. Occup. Environ. Med. 60: 948-953 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Theorell, T, Oxenstierna, G, Westerlund, H, Ferrie, J, Hagberg, J, Alfredsson, L (2003). Downsizing of staff is associated with lowered medically certified sick leave in female employees. Occup. Environ. Med. 60: e9-9 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Virtanen, P, Vahtera, J, Kivimaki, M, Pentti, J, Ferrie, J (2002). Employment security and health. J. Epidemiol. Community Health 56: 569-574 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Johansson, G. (2002). Work-life Balance: the Case of Sweden in the 1990s. Social Science Information 41: 303-317 [Abstract]  
• Hemstrom, O. (2001). Chapter 7. Working Conditions, the Work Environment and Health. Scand J Public Health 29: 167-184