Background: This study investigated the association between presenteeism and the perceived availability of social support among hospital doctors in China. Methods: A questionnaire was administered by doctors randomly selected from 13 hospital in Hangzhou China using strati ed sampling. Logit model was used for data analysis. Results: The overall response rate was 88.16%. Among hospital doctors, for each unit increase of the perceived availability of social support, the prevalence of presenteeism was decreased by 8.3% (OR=0.91, P=0.000). In particular, if the doctors perceived availability of appraisal support, belonging support and tangible support as su cient, the act of presenteeism was reduced by 20.2% (OR=0.806, P=0.000) 20.4% (OR=0.803, P=0.000) and 21.0% (OR=0.799, P=0.000) respectively with statistical differences. Conclusion: In China, appraisal support, belonging support and tangible support, compared to other social support, had a stronger negative correlation with presenteeism among hospital doctors. The bene ts of social support in alleviating doctors' presenteeism warrant further investigation.

Although a poorer quality of life and a higher level of mental distress are demonstrated, the similarity to the general population in the domain social relationships shows that this does not affect all domains. These findings show the need for easily accessible health services for the deaf which offer sensitive communication with them.

General psychiatrists need to be aware that patients who are hard of hearing may be even more isolated than deaf people in a signing community. Hard of hearing patients with unsatisfactory hearing aids can be greatly assisted by cochlear implants.

Research on the determinants of sickness presence can be based on employees' number of sickness presence days or employees' propensity to "opt" for presenteeism in case of sickness. This study compares associations between potential determinants and presenteeism in cross-sectional data from a sample of Austrian employees by considering days of sickness absence and presence and an estimator for sickness-presence propensity as outcome variables. The sets of significant determinants for the number of sickness presence days and propensity were found to be overlapping, but not equivalent. Whereas determinants of the number of days can help to identify groups with high presenteeism prevalence, determinants of propensity can help to identify factors that restrict the decision process in case of sickness. With respect to possible interventions aimed at reducing presenteeism, results relating to both perspectives should be considered.

Within an extended challenge-hindrance framework, it is assumed that job demands are subjectively appraised both as challenges (that is, as working conditions that are associated with potential personal gains) and hindrances (as working conditions associated with constrains) at the same time. In accordance with transactional stress theory, the association between demand intensity and work-related attitudes (work satisfaction) and psychological strain (burnout) is expected to be mediated by individual appraisal. Moreover, because curvilinear relationships between demand and challenge and hindrance appraisals are assumed, and appraisal is expected to be moderated by job control and social support, we tested complex nonlinear moderated mediation models for four types of job demands (task difficulty, time pressure, interruptions, and responsibility). Based on cross-sectional data of a heterogeneous sample of employees, we confirmed simultaneous challenge and hindrance appraisals. Challenge components are positively associated and hindrance components are negatively associated with favorable outcomes (higher work satisfaction and lower burnout). Challenge appraisals are found to be more relevant for work satisfaction, while hindrance appraisals are more relevant for burnout. The relationship between demand intensity and challenge appraisal is confirmed as curvilinear, whereas hindrance appraisals are approximately linearly related to demand intensity. The relationship between demand intensity and outcome variables is partly mediated by challenge and hindrance appraisal, and significant interaction effects suggest that the appraisal process is moderated by job control and social support.

Psychosocial risk assessments are frequently applied with an a priori classification of favorable and unfavorable working conditions. However, such classifications contradict transactional stress theory and the results of research that found the effects of work stressors on wellbeing to be dependent on boundary conditions. The challenge/hindrance framework assumes that the effects of stressors on wellbeing depend on their individual appraisal as either challenge (stressors associated with personal gain) or hindrance (stressors associated with constraints). We took a heterogeneous sample of 631 employees and, by taking into account their individual appraisals as challenge or hindrance, studied associations between exposure to working conditions covered by a frequently used psychosocial risk assessment and health outcomes. Our findings confirmed substantial variations of appraisal and confirmed that challenge and hindrance evaluations of exposures to working conditions are not mutually exclusive. Whereas exposure to working conditions was only partly associated with health outcomes, all challenge appraisals were positively related and all hindrance appraisals negatively related with favorable health outcomes. When adjusted for challenge and hindrance appraisal, direct effects on health outcomes were not significant for most of the considered working conditions. Health effects of working conditions were partly mediated by challenge/hindrance appraisals, and appraisal explained more variance in health outcomes than information about exposure to these conditions. Nevertheless, negative health effects were observed for some working conditions (time pressure, qualitative demands, responsibility, and interruptions), even when controlled for employees’ evaluations. We conclude that measures of challenge/hindrance appraisals should be included in occupational risk assessments.

For deaf individuals whose preferred communication is sign language, quality of life and mental distress can be effectively and reliably assessed with the use of carefully translated and adapted common instruments.

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