A moderated mediation analysis of occupational stress, presenteeism, and turnover intention among occupational therapists in Korea

Abstract

Objectives Presenteeism is undoubtedly a widespread phenomenon in organizations. Research on presenteeism has been conducted for decades in the broader workforce (eg, nurses, doctors, teachers, police officers). Occupational stress and turnover intention in occupational therapy have been extensively studied. However, the effect of presenteeism on the relationship between occupational stress and resultant turnover intention among occupational therapists is unclear. This study aims to explore the mediating effect of presenteeism and moderating effect of perceived organizational support in the relationship between occupational stress and turnover intention among occupational therapists in Korea. Methods We conducted an individual and cross‐sectional analysis of 257 occupational therapists from various health care institutions in Korea. Data were collected and hypotheses were tested via Process macro. Quantitative analyses were conducted with SPSS 26 and LISREL 8.54. Results Occupational stress was strongly related to presenteeism, which in turn predicted turnover intention. Presenteeism played a mediating role between occupational stress and turnover intention. Moreover, occupational therapists’ perception of organizational support acted as an important mechanism through which presenteeism mediated the relationship between occupational stress and turnover intention. Conclusions This study highlights the need to maximize employee productivity and retain talent by providing managers with insight into the mechanism of presenteeism in relation to occupational stress and turnover intention among occupational therapists in Korea.

Relationship between occupational stress, sleep disturbance, and presenteeism of shiftwork nurses

“…This study found that occupational stress is associated with presenteeism, which is consistent with the results of previous studies (Chun & Song, 2020;Umann et al, 2014;Yi & Kim, 2020).…”

“…Cronbach's alpha for the entire scale was .84 in a previous study (Chun & Song, 2020) and .82 in this study.…”

Nurses’ Occupational Stress and Presenteeism: The Mediating Role of Public Service Motivation and the Moderating Role of Health

“…Due to the features of nurse work, such as shiftwork, inflexible work schedules, prolonged working time, and heavy workloads [ 10 , 11 , 12 ], nurses face extremely high stress, which not only harms their health but also decreases their productivity and keeps them from performing their jobs effectively in the workplace [ 12 , 13 ]. Previous studies have suggested that occupational stress is a predictor of presenteeism [ 14 , 15 , 16 ], while stressors of different natures may have different effects on individuals [ 17 ]. Cavanaugh separated challenge and hindrance stress based on their natures.…”

Limitations and Recommendations for Advancing the Occupational Therapy Workforce Research Worldwide: Scoping Review and Content Analysis of the Literature

“…A systematic review regarding the value of continuing professional development for recruitment or retention reported that the literature did not contain longitudinal studies and was limited to cross-sectional, exploratory, and descriptive survey designs [ 32 ]. Cross-sectional studies included reports that the nature of the study, even when coupled with advanced statistics, could not establish causal relationships or confirm the directionality of the associations [ 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 ]. Memory bias was another problem reported by cross-sectional studies, for example, for the measurement of attitudes before and after a program intervention [ 52 ] and conducting a retrospective evaluation of why providers left rural practice [ 53 ].…”

“…Recommendations for this category came from seven papers. To overcome an over reliance on cross-sectional study designs and to help confirm the causality of the hypothesis raised by cross-sectional studies, more longitudinal research designs should be used [ 50 , 63 , 67 ]. Cohort study designs could monitor the workforce data for underserved areas [ 63 ] and also apply to trajectories over time, such as measuring how willingness for rural practice evolves with students through their occupational therapy education [ 52 ].…”