Daily presenteeism fluctuates substantially among Japanese workers while converging with retrospective WHO-HPQ scores

Presenteeism is commonly assessed using retrospective instruments such as the World Health Organization Health and Work Performance Questionnaire (WHO-HPQ); however, how daily presenteeism assessed using experience sampling relates to these standard measures remains unclear. This study quantified within-person variability in daily presenteeism assessed using experience sampling methods (ESMs) among Japanese workers, while also examining its convergence with retrospective WHO-HPQ presenteeism.

This observational study enrolled 94 white-collar employees; 93 were included in the final analysis after exclusion of 1 participant because of missing data. Participants completed daily work performance assessments on 19 weekdays using a mobile-based ESM approach. Aggregated daily presenteeism scores were compared with retrospective WHO-HPQ presenteeism scores assessed over the preceding 4 weeks. Convergence was evaluated using Spearman rank correlation coefficient, and agreement was examined using Bland-Altman analysis. Within-person variability was quantified using the coefficient of variation (CV) and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).

Mean daily absolute presenteeism scores were strongly correlated with retrospective WHO-HPQ presenteeism scores (Spearman rs = 0.783, P < .001). Bland-Altman analysis showed minimal systematic differences on average, despite substantial individual-level variability. Daily presenteeism exhibited substantial variability, with a CV of 42.2% (95% CI, 36.7-47.6) and an ICC of 0.431.

Daily presenteeism converged with retrospective WHO-HPQ presenteeism while capturing substantial within-person variability that is not fully reflected in retrospective assessments. These findings support interpreting presenteeism as a dynamically fluctuating state and highlight the importance of selecting measures with appropriate temporal resolution.