Health-Related Productivity Loss According to Health Conditions among Workers in South Korea

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the degree of health-related productivity loss (HRPL) for common health conditions. A total of 4197 workers participated in a web-based questionnaire survey from January to February 2020. HRPL was measured using the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment questionnaire, and a difference in HRPL was calculated for each common health condition. The burden of productivity loss due to each health condition was calculated by the product of the difference in HRPL scores and the percentage of participants who complained. The health conditions most strongly associated with increased HRPL were infertility treatment (30.6%), osteoporosis (25.9%), cancer (25.3%), gastric ulcer or duodenal ulcer (25.0%) and anaemia (23.9%). The most important health conditions in order of their magnitude of induced burden of productivity loss were fatigue, neck or shoulder pain, insufficient sleep, back pain, headache, common cold and flu, insomnia, anxiety and diarrhoea or constipation. HRPL is more strongly and importantly associated with the aforementioned health conditions. Occupational health managers should prioritise addressing health conditions strongly and importantly associated with HRPL when implementing health promotion programmes.

Serial-Multiple Mediation of Job Burnout and Fatigue in the Relationship Between Sickness Presenteeism and Productivity Loss in Nurses: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study

“…The study revealed a strong positive correlation between sickness presenteeism and productivity loss due to health issues in nurses from China, which is consistent with the finding of a previous study (7,(17)(18)(19). Previous investigations also demonstrated that sickness conditions were a positive predictor of productivity loss in nurses (7,43). This suggests that the more frequently nurses continue to work with sickness, the greater the total health-related productivity loss.…”

“…Employees who work with sickness tend to feel tired, have low work morale and a negative opinion of the job, which collectively resulted in impaired work productivity and poor work quality (9,38). Based on a study by Lee et al, fatigue was one of the most important health conditions that induced productivity loss (43). Moreover, Espahbodi et al (47) confirmed that sickness presenteeism and work productivity loss were both associated with higher fatigue levels.…”

Headache in the Workplace: Analysis of Factors Influencing Headaches in Terms of Productivity and Health

“…Anxiety and the severity of headaches are closely associated with presenteeism and workers’ productivity [ 65 ]. Headache is one of the most common causes of health-related productivity loss [ 66 ]. Migraine is associated with cardiovascular disease, psychiatric disease, and sleep disorders [ 67 ].…”

Evaluation of a Fast Test Based on Biometric Signals to Assess Mental Fatigue at the Workplace—A Pilot Study

“…In this study, mental fatigue was not induced in the volunteers, which makes the methodology closer to a real-world setting, where the protocol can be applied in a worker any time during the work shift, in a driver prior to a trip, or in a student before, during, or after a class. Subsequently, using the system on different scenarios, for instance, varying fatigue-related variables-such as shift work, work schedule, or emotional distress-the system could be able to identify the work-related condition which contributes the most to the development of mental fatigue [11]. Successfully implementing these check-ups in the business' everyday workflow could certainly improve workers' performance and avoid accidents, injuries, and errors.…”

“…Therefore, reliable methods that detect this condition are highly necessary to prevent risks. This type of fatigue is an occupational issue derived from work-related conditions, such as shift work [8], work schedule [9], and emotional distress [10]; it is further related to reduction of cognitive functions among workers, which can lead to a decrease in productivity [11]. This condition is subjective [12] and therefore, in order to properly assess it, multiple efforts have been made on translating self-assessment questionnaires [13] and harmonizing health and safety scales [14].…”