Home-Based Telework and Presenteeism Across Europe

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Sociology of Work
• Organizational Behavior

Background:

• Flexible work arrangements, particularly telework, are increasingly prevalent.
• While offering benefits like flexibility, home-based telework is associated with self-endangering behaviors, including sickness presenteeism.
• Empirical evidence on the link between home-based telework and sickness presenteeism remains limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between home-based telework and sickness presenteeism across European countries.
• To provide empirical data on the prevalence and impact of sickness presenteeism in teleworking populations.

Main Methods:

• Multilevel analyses were conducted.
• Data from 25,465 individuals from the 6th wave of the European Working Conditions Survey 2015 were utilized.

Main Results:

• A positive association was found between home-based telework and sickness presenteeism.
• This relationship remained robust across various measures of sickness presenteeism and sensitivity analyses.

Conclusions:

• Organizations should acknowledge the potential risks of home-based telework, specifically increased sickness presenteeism.
• Telework policies should be designed to minimize triggers for self-endangering behaviors.
• While sickness presenteeism may serve a purpose for certain conditions, its broader implications in a teleworking context warrant careful consideration.