Nurses' illness perceptions during presenteeism and absenteeism

The mediating role of perceived social support between work-family conflict and presenteeism among ICU nurses working shift work in Chinese public hospitals: A cross-sectional investigation

OBJECTIVE

Relative to explicit absenteeism, nurses' presenteeism has a more lasting impact and is more harmful and costly. This study aimed to explore the relationship between work-family conflict, perceived social support, and presenteeism and whether perceived social support mediates the relationship between work-family conflict and presenteeism among ICU nurses working on shifts in Chinese public hospitals.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A cross-sectional research design was conducted from January to April 2023 in Sichuan Province, China. A total of 609 valid questionnaires were collected. The questionnaires contained information on demographic characteristics, the Work-Family Conflict (WFC) scale, the Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS), and Stanford Presenteeism Scale-6 (SPS-6). Multiple stratified regression was used to explore the mediating role of perceived social support between work-family conflict and presenteeism. The mediating effect of perceived social support in work-family conflict and presenteeism was tested by Model 4 in the PROCESS 4.1 macro program in SPSS.

RESULTS

A total of 609 nurses were included in this study, and the mean presenteeism score for ICU nurses working on shifts was 16.01 ± 4.293 (Mean ± SD), with high presenteeism accounting for 58.46%. After controlling for sociodemographic characteristic variables, work-family conflict was positively associated with presenteeism, explaining 7.7% of the variance. High perceived social support was related to low presenteeism, explaining 11.5% of the variance. Perceived social support mediated the association between work-family conflict and presenteeism among ICU nurses working on shifts.

CONCLUSIONS

Chinese shift-work ICU nurses' high presenteeism scores deserve managers' attention. Work-family conflict is a significant predictor of nurses' presenteeism. Perceived social support is essential in improving nurses' work-family conflict and mediates the relationship between work-family conflict and presenteeism. Improving social support can reduce the impact of work-family conflict on presenteeism among nurses working shifts.

Fatores associados ao presenteísmo em profissionais de enfermagem ambulatorial

RESUMO Objetivo: Analisar o perfil sociodemográfico, laboral e de saúde dos profissionais de enfermagem atuantes em ambulatórios universitários e sua relação com o presenteísmo. Método: Estudo transversal realizado com 388 trabalhadores de enfermagem de 11 Unidades Ambulatoriais universitárias no município do Rio de Janeiro. Utilizou-se um questionário sociodemográfico e a escala SPS-6. Calculou-se as razões de chance de produtos cruzados e seus respectivos intervalos de confiança de 95%. Resultados: Evidenciou-se o presenteísmo em mais da metade dos profissionais (51%, n=198), sendo a razão de chances de ocorrer o presenteísmo maior 2,12 vezes (IC 95% 1,02-4,40) entre profissionais com vínculo permanente, 6,67 vezes (IC 95% 2,51-17,67) entre doentes crônicos, e 3,06 vezes (IC 95% 1,97-4,74) entre absenteístas. Conclusão: Há relação entre o presenteísmo e o perfil dos profissionais de enfermagem. Concluiu-se que muitas horas produtivas podem estar sendo perdidas, tendo em vista o comportamento presenteísta dos participantes.

Factors associated with presenteeism in outpatient nursing professionals

ABSTRACT Objective: To analyze the sociodemographic, work and health profile of nursing professionals working in university outpatient clinics and their association with presenteeism. Method: Cross-sectional study carried out with 388 nursing workers from 11 university outpatient units in the city of Rio de Janeiro. A sociodemographic questionnaire and the SPS-6 scale were used. The crossed-product odds ratio and their respective 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Results: Presenteeism was found in more than half of the professionals (51%, n=198), with the odds ratio being 2.12 times higher (95% CI 1.02-4.40) in professionals with a stable work bond, 6.67 times (95% CI 2.51-17.67) in chronic patients, and 3.06 times (95% CI 1.97-4.74) in patients with absenteeism behavior. Conclusion: There is a relationship between presenteeism and the profile of nursing professionals. Many productive hours may be being lost, in view of the presenteeism behavior of the participants.

Cross-level effects of health-promoting leadership on nurse presenteeism: The mediation and moderation effect of workload and performance pressure

This study examines the cross-level influence mechanism of leaders’ health-promoting leadership on subordinates’ presenteeism among nursing industry. A multilevel mediated moderation model was hypothesized to explore whether health-promoting leadership is associated with subordinates’ presenteeism via the workload of subordinates, and how leader’s performance pressure plays the role in the model. Questionnaires were distributed to 110 nursing teams, which including 110 chief nurses and 660 subordinate nurses. Our findings showed that although health-promoting leadership has no direct impact on presenteeism, health-promoting leadership has an indirect impact on presenteeism via workload, and workload acts as a complete mediator. Meanwhile, performance pressure moderated the relationship between health-promoting leadership and workload. With an increase in performance pressure of leaders, the negative impact of health-promoting leadership on nurse workload gradually weakened. In this multilevel mediated moderation model, the mediated moderating effect of performance pressure was significant and the moderating effect was completely mediated, which means that the interaction between health-promoting leadership and performance pressure can affect presenteeism through workload. When leaders were under high performance pressure, the protective effect of health-promoting leadership on workload would be inhibited. These findings contribute to enriching the research on presenteeism, providing insight into how the health development of employees and performance demands of leaders may be balanced, and affording fresh thoughts for effective prevention and treatment of nurse presenteeism.

Revisiting presenteeism to broaden its conceptualization: A qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Presenteeism is generally viewed as a symptom of organizational or individual dysfunction and is rarely considered as a behavioral response to positive triggering factors. Our study examines this issue in small enterprises (SEs), which are an unexplored environment in terms of presenteeism.

OBJECTIVE

Through in-depth analysis, this study aims to understand the positive and negative factors that impact presenteeism in the context of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), with a particular focus on SEs.

METHODS

We adopt a qualitative methodological approach in which we conducted 17 semi-structured interviews with employees and owner-managers of SEs with between 20 and 49 employees.

RESULTS

Our thematic analysis shows that presenteeism can be explained by factors related to pressure to attend work, by individuals' constraints and commitment, by organizational and individual characteristics and by a congenial work environment. Presenteeism can also be a type of "therapy" which helps individuals to avoid focusing on being sick and enables them to stay active and avoid social isolation.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study differs from earlier research by providing a more in-depth analysis of the positive and negative factors that trigger presenteeism. This article will help to expand the current theoretical knowledge about presenteeism and encourage a more holistic interpretation of the phenomenon.

Why Are Spanish Nurses Going to Work Sick? Questionnaire for the Measurement of Presenteeism in Nurses

Presenteeism is defined as the presence of the worker at their workplace despite not being in optimal physical or mental conditions. Presenteeism is a phenomenon that has been poorly studied in the context of healthcare. Despite the many negative consequences associated with presenteeism, to date, no studies have investigated this issue in nurses in Spain. The objective was to develop and validate a questionnaire on presenteeism to be used by nursing staff in Spain.

METHODS

A psychometric study for the development and validation of a questionnaire. The PRESENCA^® questionnaire on presenteeism was created by a panel of experts, based on a survey comprised of 31 Likert-type items.

RESULTS

In total, 355 nurses completed the questionnaire. The factorial analysis revealed the existence of 3 factors and confirmed appropriate levels of validity and reliability (alpha = 0.729).

CONCLUSIONS

The PRESENCA^® questionnaire is the first tool developed and validated in Spanish for the assessment of presenteeism in nursing. Our findings demonstrate that this scale has appropriate psychometric properties and its use may facilitate the detection of presenteeism among professionals. As a result, use of this questionnaire may contribute towards the improvement of clinical safety.

Sickness Absence and Sickness Presence Among Health and Care Employees in Sweden-Health Complaints, Health Behavior, and Future Long-Term Sickness Absence

OBJECTIVE

To describe if health complaints relate to health behavior in terms of sickness absence (SA) and sickness presence (SP) and to examine how complaints and health behavior predicts the risk for future long-term sickness absence (LTSA).

METHODS

Data originates from work environment surveys 2001 to 2013 and SA registers 2002 to 2016 of 1838 nurses, 7430 care assistants, and 40,515 individuals in all other occupations. Descriptive and regression analyses were conducted.

RESULTS

Physical complaints and high SA in combination with high SP increased the risk of LTSA among nurses and care assistants. Nurses' high SP and care assistants' high SA elevated the LTSA risk.

CONCLUSIONS

Strategies to reduce the reasons behind physical health complaints among health care workers are warranted. SP among nurses and SA among care assistants should be considered in the organization of their job demands.