Supervisor ratings of productivity loss associated with presenteeism and sick leave due to musculoskeletal disorders and common mental disorders in Sweden

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Bernfort, Lars^{a; *} | Persson, Jan^a | Linderoth, Catharina^b | Ekberg, Kerstin^b

Affiliations: [a] Department of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences, Division of Society and Health, Center for Medical Technology Assessment, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden | [b] Department of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences, Division of Society and Health, Unit of Public Health, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden

Correspondence: [*] Address for correspondence: Lars Bernfort, Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Division of Health Care Analysis, Linköping University, 58183 Linköping, Sweden. Tel.: +46 700 850530; E-mail: lars.bernfort@liu.se.

Abstract: BACKGROUND:Health problems due to musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) and common mental disorders (CMD) result in costs due to lost productivity. OBJECTIVE:This study aimed to increase knowledge of employers’ productivity loss due to employees’ presenteeism and sickness absence. METHODS:A web questionnaire was sent to employers of workers who were sick-listed for more than 30 days due to MSD or CMD, response rate: 50%, n = 198. Presenteeism and the impact on productivity before and after sick leave, and the performance of work tasks by replacement workers during sick leave, were measured using supervisors’ ratings. RESULTS:The average loss of productivity per sick-leave case amounted to almost 10 weeks, 53%of productivity loss was attributable to presenteeism and 47%to lower productivity by replacement workers. Employees with a CMD diagnosis had significantly higher presenteeism-related productivity loss than those with MSD. CONCLUSIONS:Employers experienced substantial productivity loss associated with employees’ presenteeism and sick leave. Whether the supervisory rating of presenteeism is preferable to employee self-rating needs to be studied further. The long duration of presenteeism is counter-productive to resource-efficient organisations and indicates the need for improved supervisory skills to identify workers with poor health, both before and after sick leave.

Keywords: Workplace, costs, work disability

DOI: 10.3233/WOR-213439

Journal: Work, vol. 68, no. 4, pp. 1091-1100, 2021