Sickness absence and 'working through' illness: a comparison of two professional groups

McKevitt, Christopher; Morgan, Myfanwy; Dundas, Ruth; Holland, Walter W.

doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.pubmed.a024633

Cited by 241 publications

(278 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…The prevalence of presenteeism in the current study corresponds to similar studies that report that up to 80% of physicians work while ill (Bracewell et al, 2010;McKevitt et al, 1997;Rosvold & Bjertness, 2001;Sendén et al, 2013;Waldron, 1996). The current results also show there were country differences in presenteeism among senior consultants.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…However, factors other than economic compensation may have greater influence on presenteeism behaviors among hospital physicians. Concern over patient care (Gudgeon et al, 2009), difficulties in arranging cover (McKevitt et al, 1997), and the role identity that physicians are invincible (Henderson et al, 2012;Thompson et al, 2013) may all be challenges that are inherent to the work environment and may influence presenteeism.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This behavior is prevalent among employees within the educational sector and the health and welfare services (Aronsson et al, 2000), and is particularly seen among physicians. International studies have registered that more than 80% of physicians report working through illness (Bracewell et al, 2010;McKevitt et al, 1997;Rosvold & Bjertness, 2001;Sendén et al, 2013), while being unable to carry out their duties to the best of their ability (Waldron, 1996). This behavior is unlikely to benefit the physicians, their colleagues, or their patients.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Research has focused on identifying occupational, personal, and work factors in the medical profession that contribute to presenteeism among physicians (Gudgeon et al, 2009;Henderson et al, 2012;McKevitt et al, 1997;Rosvold & Bjertness, 2001;Sendén et al, 2013;Thompson et al, 2013;Waldron, 1996). An often overlooked aspect is possible societal level antecedents that are the result of welfare benefits such as paid sick leave.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Paid Sick Leave as a Means to Reduce Sickness Presenteeism Among Physicians

Rostad

Fridner

Sendén

et al. 2017

NJWLS

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Paid Sick Leave as a Means to Reduce Sickness Presenteeism Among Physicians

Rostad

Fridner

Sendén

et al. 2017

NJWLS

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“…Nurses are more likely to come to work when sick than other occupations (7,31,32). Poor health can affect their performance, which can consequently affect the quality of health care (28).…”

Section: Nursesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Looking for the Possible Association Between Stress, Presenteeism and Absenteeism Among Croatian Nurses: A Cross-Sectional Study

Brborović

Mustajbegović

2016

Iran J Psychiatry Behav Sci

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Reasons Why Physicians and Advanced Practice Clinicians Work While Sick

et al. 2015

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IMPORTANCE When clinicians work with symptoms of infection, they can put patients and colleagues at risk. Little is known about the reasons why attending physicians and advanced practice clinicians (APCs) work while sick.OBJECTIVE To identify a comprehensive understanding of the reasons why attending physicians and APCs work while sick. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS We performed a mixed-methods analysis of a cross-sectional, anonymous survey administered from January 15 through March 20, 2014, in a large children's hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Data were analyzed from April 1 through June 1, 2014. The survey was administered to 459 attending physicians and 470 APCs, including certified registered nurse practitioners, physician assistants, clinical nurse specialists, certified registered nurse anesthetists, and certified nurse midwives. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Self-reported frequency of working while experiencing symptoms of infection, perceived importance of various factors that encourage working while sick, and free-text comments written in response to open-ended questions. RESULTS Of those surveyed, we received responses from 280 attending physicians (61.0%) and 256 APCs (54.5%). Most of the respondents (504 [95.3%]) believed that working while sick put patients at risk. Despite this belief, 446 respondents (83.1%) reported working sick at least 1 time in the past year, and 50 (9.3%) reported working while sick at least 5 times. Respondents would work with significant symptoms, including diarrhea (161 [30.0%]), fever (86 [16.0%]), and acute onset of significant respiratory symptoms (299 [55.6%]). Physicians were more likely to report working with each of these symptoms than APCs (109 [38.9%] vs 51 [19.9%], 61 [21.8%] vs 25 [9.8%], and 168 [60.0%] vs 130 [50.8%], respectively [P < .05]). Reasons deemed important in deciding to work while sick included not wanting to let colleagues down (521 [98.7%]), staffing concerns (505 [94.9%]), not wanting to let patients down (494 [92.5%]), fear of ostracism by colleagues (342 [64.0%]), and concern about continuity of care (337 [63.8%]). Systematic qualitative analysis of free-text comments from 316 respondents revealed additional reasons why attending physicians and APCs work while sick, including extreme difficulty finding coverage (205 [64.9%]), a strong cultural norm to come to work unless remarkably ill (193 [61.1%]), and ambiguity about what constitutes "too sick to work" (180 [57.0%]). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Attending physicians and APCs frequently work while sick despite recognizing that this choice puts patients at risk. The decision to work sick is shaped by systems-level and sociocultural factors. Multimodal interventions are needed to reduce the frequency of this behavior.

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Sickness absence and 'working through' illness: a comparison of two professional groups

Cited by 241 publications

References 10 publications

Paid Sick Leave as a Means to Reduce Sickness Presenteeism Among Physicians

Paid Sick Leave as a Means to Reduce Sickness Presenteeism Among Physicians

Looking for the Possible Association Between Stress, Presenteeism and Absenteeism Among Croatian Nurses: A Cross-Sectional Study

Reasons Why Physicians and Advanced Practice Clinicians Work While Sick

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