Abstract
Absenteeism is defined as the failure to report for scheduled work (Johns, 2002). Reason for an unscheduled absence could be either medical or non-medical (Aronsson, Gustafasson and Dallner, 2000; Lowe, 2002; Simpson, 1998). In the past, managers used to assume that work attendance equated to performance, which is actually not true (refer to Chapter 2 for an explanation on this issue). Some authors also argue that significant productivity losses due to absenteeism do not result from major or chronic health issues alone but can be associated with common health problems (Barnes et al., 2008). Gosselin, Lemyre and Corneil (2013) argue that health-related loss of productivity can be traced equally to workers showing up at work as well as to workers choosing not to.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
D.N.M.A. Abdullah and O.Y. Lee (2012) ‘Effects of wellness prog ra ms on job satisfaction, stress and absenteeism between two groups of employees (Attended and not attended)’, Procedia: Social and Behavioral Sciences, LXV, 479–484.
G. Aronsson, K. Gustafasson and M. Dallner (2000) ‘Sick but yet at work: an empirical study of sickness presenteeism’, Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, LIV, 502–509.
L. Aston (2010) ‘Helping workers help themselves’, Occupational Health, LXII (11), 29–31.
D.R. Avery, P.F. MacKay, D.C. Wilson and S. Tonidandel (2007) ‘Unequal attendance: relationships between race, organizational diversity cues, and absenteeism’, Personnel Psychology, LX (4), 875–902.
C. Barham and N. Begum (2005) ‘Sickness absence from work in the UK’, Labour Market Trends, April. London: Office for National Statistics, 149–158.
M.C. Barnes, R. Buck, G. Williams, K. Webb and M. Alywood (2008) ‘Beliefs about common health problems and work: a qualitative study’, Social Science and Medicine, LXVII, 657–666.
R.L. Bertera (1990) ‘The effects of workplace health promotion on absenteeism and employment costs in a large industrial population’, American Journal of Public Health, LXXX (9), 1101–1105.
S. Brown and J.G. Sessions (1996) ‘The economics of absence: theory and evidence’, Journal of Economic Surveys’ Research in Labor Economics, 23–53, XXXVI, 109–157 (cited in K. Pouliakas and Theodorpoulos, 2012).
CIPD and Simplyhealth (2012) Absence Management: Annual Survey Report, 5–24. London, U.K.: CIPD and Simplyhealth.
L. Davis, K. Loyo, R. Schwertfeger, A. Glowka, L. Danielson, C. Brea, A. Eston and S. Griffin-Blake (2009) ‘A comprehensive worksite wellness program in Austin, Texas: partnership between steps to a healthier Austin and Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’, Preventing Chronic Disease, VI (2), A60.
K. Dew, V. Keefe and K. Small (2005) ‘Choosing to work when sick: workplace presenteeism’, American Journal of Health Promotion, LX, 2273–2282.
E. Finkelstein, C. Fiebelkorn and G. Wang (2005) ‘The cost of obesity among full-time employees’, American Journal of Health Promotion, XX, 45–51.
D.M. Gates, P. Succop, B.J. Brehm, G.L. Gillespie and B.D. Sommers (2008) ‘Obesity and presenteeism: The impact of body mass index on workplace productivity’, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, L (1), 39–45.
R. Goetzel, S.R. Long, R.J. Ozminkowski, K. Hawkins, S. Wang and W. Lynch (2004) ‘Health, absence, disability, and presenteeism cost estimates of certain physical and mental health conditions affecting U.S. employers’, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, XLVI (4), 398–412.
E. Gosselin, L. Lemyre and W. Corneil (2013) ‘Presenteeism and absenteeism: differentiated understanding of related phenomena’, Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, XVIII (1), 75–86.
R.M. Henke, R.Z. Goetzel, J. McHugh and F. Isaac (2011) ‘Recent experience in health promotion at Johnson & Johnson: lower health spending, strong return on investment’, Health Affairs, XXX (3), 490–499.
G. Johns (2002) ‘Absenteeism and mental health’, in J.C. Thomas and M. Hersen (Eds), Handbook of Mental Health in the Workplace. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 437–455.
A.-K. Lokke, J.K. Eskildsen and T.W. Jensen (2007) ‘Absenteeism in the Nordic countries’, Employee Relations, XXIX (1), 16–29.
G. Lowe (2002), ‘Here in Body, Absent in Productivity’, Canadian HR Reporter, XV (21), 5, 8.
J.N. MacGregor, B.J. Cunningham and N. Caverley (2008) ‘Factors in absenteeism and presenteeism: life events and health events’, Management Research News, XXXI (8), 607–615.
M.L. Marzec, T. Golazewski, S. Musich, P.E. Powers S. Shewry and D.W. Edington (2008) ‘Effects of environmentally focused interventions on health risk and absenteeism’, International Journal of Workplace Health Management, IV (3), 200–215.
L. Makrides, S. Smith, J. Allt, J. Farquharson, C. Szpilfogel, S. Curwin, P. Veinot, F. Wang and D. Edington (2011) ‘The healthy life works project: a pilot study of the economic analysis of a comprehensive workplace wellness program in a Canadian government department’, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, LIII (7), 799–805.
C. Pfeifer (2010) ‘Impact of wages and job levels on worker absenteeism’, Internal Journal of Manpower, XXXI, 59–72.
B.M. Popkin, S. Kim, E.R.S Du Rusev and C. Zizza (2006) ‘Measuring the full economic costs of diet, physical activity and obesity related chronic diseases’, Obesity Reviews, VII, 271–293.
K.P. Parbotteeah, H.M. Addae and J.B. Kullen (2005) ‘National culture and absenteeism’, International Journal of Organizational Analysis, XIII (4), 343–361.
K. Pouliakas and N. Theodoropoulos (2012) ‘The effect of variable pay schemes on workplace absence’, Research in Labor Economics, XXXVI, 109–157.
J.A. Ricci and E. Chee (2008) ‘Lost productive time associated with excess weight in the US workforce’, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, XLVII, 1227–1234.
R. Simpson, (1998) ‘Presenteeism, power and organizational change: long hours as a career barrier and the impact on the working lives of women managers’, British Journal of Management, IX, 37–50.
P. A. Schulte, G.R. Wagner, A. Ostry, L.A. Blanciforti, R.G. Cutlip, K.M. Krajnak, M. Luster, A.E. Munson, J.P. O’Callaghan, C.G. Parks, P.P. Simeonova and D.B. Miller (2007) ‘Work, obesity, and occupational safety and health’, American Journal of Public Health, XCVII (3), 428–436.
P. Spurgeon, P. Mazelan, F. Barwell and H. Flanagan (2007) ‘New directions in managing employees: an employee-based approach’, CIPD and Active Health Partners, 9–20.
N. Sullivan (2008) ‘Sickness absence’, employee benefits/HAS healthcare research, Section III, 10–13.
J.G. Trogdon, E.A. Finkelstein, T. Hylands, P.S. Della and S.J. Kamal-Bahl (2008) ‘Indirect costs of obesity: a review of the current literature’, Obesity Reviews, IX, 489–500.
P. Tynan (2011), ‘Executive health: all present’, New Zealand Management, XLVI.
A.M. Wolf and G.A. Colditz (1998) ‘Current estimates of economic cost of obesity in the United States’, Obesity Reviews, VI, 97–106.
www.wellnessProposals.Com, accessed on 13 May 2013.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2013 Hesan Quazi
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Quazi, H. (2013). Absenteeism and Presenteeism. In: Presenteeism. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137275677_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137275677_3
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-44631-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-27567-7
eBook Packages: Palgrave Business & Management CollectionBusiness and Management (R0)