Association between psychosocial characteristics of work and presenteeism: A cross-sectional study

• Authors: Heidi Janssens , Els Clays , Bart de Clercq , Dirk de Bacquer , Annalisa Casini , France Kittel , Lutgart Braeckman

Abstracts

EN

Objectives This study aimed at investigating cross-sectional relationships between psychosocial characteristics of work and presenteeism in a sample of Belgian middle-aged workers. Material and Methods Data were collected from 1372 male and 1611 female workers in the Belstress III study. Psychosocial characteristics assessed by the use of self-administered questionnaires were: job demands, job control, social support, efforts, rewards, bullying, home-to-work conflict and work-to-home conflict. Presenteeism was measured using a single item question, and it was defined as going to work despite illness at least 2 times in the preceding year. Logistic regression models were used to investigate the relationship between psychosocial characteristics and presenteeism, while adjusting for several socio-demographic, health-related variables and neuroticism. An additional analysis in a subgroup of workers with good self-rated health and low neuroticism was conducted. Results The prevalence of presenteeism was 50.6%. Overall results, adjusted for major confounders, revealed that high job demands, high efforts, low support and low rewards were associated with presenteeism. Furthermore, a significant association could be observed for both bullying and work-to-home conflict in relation to presenteeism. The subgroup analysis on a selection of workers with good self-rated health and low neuroticism generally confirmed these results. Conclusions Both job content related factors as well as work contextual psychosocial factors were significantly related to presenteeism. These results suggest that presenteeism is not purely driven by the health status of a worker, but that psychosocial work characteristics also play a role.

Keywords

EN

job stress; sickness presence; psychosocial risk factors; bullying; work-family conflict; workload

• Publisher: Instytut Medycyny Pracy im. prof. dra Jerzego Nofera w Łodzi
• Journal: International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health
• Year: 2015
• Volume: 29
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 331-344

Dates

published

2016

Contributors

author

Heidi Janssens

• Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium (Department of Public Health, University Hospital Block K3(4))

author

Els Clays

• Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium (Department of Public Health, University Hospital Block K3(4))

author

Bart de Clercq

• Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium (Department of Public Health, University Hospital Block K3(4))

author

Dirk de Bacquer

• Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium (Department of Public Health, University Hospital Block K3(4))

author

Annalisa Casini

• Free University of Brussels, Brussels, Belgium (Research Centre Social Approaches of Health, School of Public Health)

author

France Kittel

• Free University of Brussels, Brussels, Belgium (Research Centre Social Approaches of Health, School of Public Health)

author

Lutgart Braeckman

• Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium (Department of Public Health, University Hospital Block K3(4))

Identifiers

DOI

10.13075/ijomeh.1896.00588

Biblioteka Nauki

2177072