The association between commute time and both presenteeism and absenteeism: a cross-sectional analysis of the 6th...

This study examined whether longer commute time is associated with presenteeism and absenteeism among Korean wage workers, in the context of Korea's comparatively long commutes and growing concerns about work-related productivity loss in an increasingly urbanized society.

We analyzed 28,349 wage workers from the 6th Korean Working Conditions Survey, excluding individuals younger than 20 years, foreign nationals, telecommuters, self-employed workers, unpaid family workers, and those with missing or incomplete data. Commute time was categorized into ≤60, 61-120, and ≥121 minutes per day. Presenteeism was defined as having worked while sick in the past 12 months (or since starting the current job), and absenteeism as having at least one day of sickness-related absence during the same period. Sex-stratified, survey-weighted multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals while accounting for the complex survey design.

Overall, 82.1% of workers reported commuting ≤60 minutes, 11.2% reported presenteeism, and 3.9% reported absenteeism. Among men, commute times of 61-120 and ≥121 minutes were associated with higher odds of presenteeism, and ≥121 minutes with higher odds of absenteeism compared with ≤60 minutes. Among women, commute times of 61-120 and ≥121 minutes were associated with higher odds of presenteeism, and ≥121 minutes with higher odds of absenteeism, indicating a similar but slightly more pronounced pattern.

Longer commute times were associated with increased odds of both presenteeism and absenteeism among Korean wage workers. In particular, women with commute times of ≥121 minutes showed higher odds of presenteeism than men. Commute time should be recognized as a modifiable factor relevant to occupational health in workplace and public policy, and further longitudinal research is needed to clarify causal pathways and to inform targeted interventions aimed at reducing commuting-related productivity loss.