Sickness Presenteeism in the Aftermath of COVID-19: Is Presenteeism Remote-Work Behavior the New (Ab)normal?

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Pandemic Response
• Organizational Psychology

Background:

• COVID-19 pandemic necessitated widespread remote work adoption.
• Remote work offers advantages but also pressures employees to work when ill, creating new presenteeism challenges.
• Existing literature needs to address remote-work presenteeism in the context of contagious diseases.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate variables (individual, economic, societal, organizational) moderating the impact of contagious diseases on presenteeism.
• Propose a multi-level conceptual model for remote-work presenteeism.
• Examine the mediation of remote-work presenteeism between post-pandemic health conditions and negative consequences.

Main Methods:

• Conceptual analysis and model development.
• Literature review on presenteeism, remote work, and COVID-19.
• Multi-level framework incorporating organizational, individual, and supervisory factors.

Main Results:

• Identified individual, economic/societal, and organizational/sectorial/supervisory factors influencing remote-work presenteeism.
• Developed a conceptual model illustrating the mediation of remote-work presenteeism.
• Highlighted the link between post-pandemic health issues and cumulative negative outcomes via remote presenteeism.

Conclusions:

• Widespread remote work due to COVID-19 significantly impacts presenteeism literature.
• Remote-work presenteeism is a critical factor linking employee health conditions to future negative consequences.
• Further research is needed to understand and mitigate remote-work presenteeism and its effects.