What  makes physicians go to work while sick: a comparative study of sickness presenteeism  in four European countries (HOUPE)

Marie Gustafsson Sendén; Lise Løvseth; Karin Schenck-Gustafsson; Ann Fridner

doi:10.4414/smw.2013.13840

Original article

Vol. 143 No. 3334 (2013)

What makes physicians go to work while sick: a comparative study of sickness presenteeism in four European countries (HOUPE)

Marie Gustafsson Sendén
Lise Løvseth
Karin Schenck-Gustafsson
Ann Fridner

Cite this as:: Swiss Med Wkly. 2013;143:w13840
Published: 11.08.2013

References

Aronsson G, Gustafsson K, Dallner M. Sick but yet at work. An empirical study of sickness presenteeism. J Epidemiol Commun H. 2000;54(7):502–9.
McKevitt C, Morgan M, Dundas R, Holland WW. Sickness absence and “working through” illness: a comparison of two professional groups. J Public Health Med. 1997;19(3):295–300.
Bracewell LM, Campbell DI, Faure PR, Giblin ER, Morris TA, Satterthwaite LB, et al. Sickness presenteeism in a New Zealand hospital. The New Zealand medical journal. 2010;123(1314):31–42. Epub 2010/06/29.
Baldwin PJ, Dodd M, Wrate RM. Young doctors’ health – II. Health and health behaviour. Soc Sci Med. 1997;45(1):41–4. Epub 1997/07/01.
Waldron HA. Sickness in the medical profession. Ann Occup Hyg. 1996;40(4):391–6. Epub 1996/08/01.
Gudgeon P, Wells DA, Baerlocher MO, Detsky AS. Do you come to work with a respiratory tract infection? Occup Environ Med. 2009;66(6):424. Epub 2009/05/20.
Hansen CD, Andersen JH. Going ill to work – What personal circumstances, attitudes and work-related factors are associated with sickness presenteeism? Soc Sci Med. 2008;67:956–64.
Aronsson G, Gustafsson K. Attendance presenteeism: Prevalence, attendance-pressure factors, and an outline of a model for research. J Occup Environ Med. 2005;47(9):958–66.
Kivimaki M, Head J, Ferrie JE, Hemingway H, Shipley MJ, Vahtera J, et al. Working while ill as a risk factor for serious coronary events: The Whitehall II study. Am J Public Health. 2005;95(1):98–102.
Bergstrom G, Bodin L, Hagberg J, Aronsson G, Josephson M. Sickness presenteeism today, sickness absenteeism tomorrow? A prospective study on sickness presenteeism and future sickness absenteeism. J Occup Environ Med. 2009;51(6):629–38.
Misra-Hebert AD, Kay R, Stoller JK. A review of physician turnover: rates, causes, and consequences. Am J Med Qual. 2004;19(2):56–66. Epub 2004/04/30.
Goetzel RZ, Long SR, Ozminkowski RJ, Hawkins K, Wang S, Lynch W. Health, absence, disability, and presenteeism cost estimates of certain physical and mental health conditions affecting U.S. employers. J Occup Environ Med. 2004;46(4):398–412. Epub 2004/04/13.
Schultz AB, Chen C-Y, Edington DW. The Cost and Impact of Health Conditions on Presenteeism to Employers: A Review of the Literature. PharmacoEconomics. 2009;27(5):365–78 10.2165/00019053-200927050-00002.
Vingård E, Alexanderson K, Norlund A. Chapter 10. Sickness presence. Scand J Public Health. 2004;32(63 suppl):216–21.
Boles M, Pelletier B, Lynch W. The relationship between health risks and work productivity. J Occup Environ Med. 2004;46(7):737–45. Epub 2004/07/13.
Wallace JE, Lemaire JB, Ghali WA. Physician wellness: a missing quality indicator. Lancet. 2009;374(9702):1714–21. Epub 2009/11/17.
Johns G. Attendance dynamics at work: The antecedents and correlates of presenteeism, absenteeism, and productivity loss. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology. 2011;16(4):483–500.
Johns G. Presenteeism in the workplace: A review and research agenda. J Organ Behav. 2010;31(4):519–42.
Rosvold EO, Bjertness E. Physicians who do not take sick leave: hazardous heroes? Scand J Public Health. 2001;29(1):71–5.
Simpson R. Presenteeism, Power and Organizational Change: Long Hours as a Career Barrier and the Impact on the Working Lives of Women Managers. British Journal of Management. 1998;9:37–50.
Wenneras C, Wold A. Nepotism and sexism in peer-review. Nature. 1997;387(6631):341–3. Epub 1997/05/22.
Wenneras C, Wold A. A chair of one's own. Nature. 2000;408(6813):647. Epub 2000/12/29.
Love J, Grimby-Ekman A, Eklof M, Hagberg M, Dellve L. “Pushing oneself too hard”: performance-based self-esteem as a predictor of sickness presenteeism among young adult women and men – a cohort study. J Occup Environ Med. 2010;52(6):603–9. Epub 2010/06/05.
Adams EF, Lee AJ, Pritchard CW, White RJ. What stops us from healing the healers: a survey of help-seeking behaviour, stigmatisation and depression within the medical profession. Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2010;56(4):359–70. Epub 2009/07/21.
Montgomery AJ, Bradley C, Rochfort A, Panagopoulou E. A review of self-medication in physicians and medical students. Occup Med (Lond). 2011;61(7):490–7. Epub 2011/07/06.
Fridner A, Belkić K, Marini M, Gustafsson Sendén M, Schenck-Gustafsson K. Why don’t academic physicians seek needed professional help for psychological distress? Swiss Med Wkly. 2012;142:w13626.
Wallace JE, Lemaire J. On physician well being-you’ll get by with a little help from your friends. Soc Sci Med. 2007;64(12):2565–77. Epub 2007/04/25.
Heymann J, Rho HJ, Schmitt J, Earle A. Contagion Nation: A Comparison of Paid Sick Day Policies in 22 Countries. 2009.
Fridner A. Career Paths and Career Patterns among Physicians with a PhD. Uppsala: Uppsala University; 2004.
Lindström K, Dallner M, Elo EL, Gamberale F, Knardahl S, Skogstad A, Örhede E. QPS Nordic. Nordic Council of Ministers, 1997.
Thompson WT, Cupples ME, Sibbett CH, Skan DI, Bradley T. Challenge of culture, conscience, and contract to general practitioners’ care of their own health: qualitative study. BMJ. 2001;323(7315):728–31. Epub 2001/09/29.

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What makes physicians go to work while sick: a comparative study of sickness presenteeism in four European countries (HOUPE). Swiss Med Wkly [Internet]. 2013 Aug. 11 [cited 2025 Oct. 20];143(3334):w13840. Available from: https://smw.ch/index.php/smw/article/view/1727

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DOI:: https://doi.org/10.4414/smw.2013.13840

[1] Aronsson G, Gustafsson K, Dallner M. Sick but yet at work. An empirical study of sickness presenteeism. J Epidemiol Commun H. 2000;54(7):502–9.

[2] McKevitt C, Morgan M, Dundas R, Holland WW. Sickness absence and “working through” illness: a comparison of two professional groups. J Public Health Med. 1997;19(3):295–300.

[3] Bracewell LM, Campbell DI, Faure PR, Giblin ER, Morris TA, Satterthwaite LB, et al. Sickness presenteeism in a New Zealand hospital. The New Zealand medical journal. 2010;123(1314):31–42. Epub 2010/06/29.

[4] Baldwin PJ, Dodd M, Wrate RM. Young doctors’ health – II. Health and health behaviour. Soc Sci Med. 1997;45(1):41–4. Epub 1997/07/01.

[5] Waldron HA. Sickness in the medical profession. Ann Occup Hyg. 1996;40(4):391–6. Epub 1996/08/01.

[6] Gudgeon P, Wells DA, Baerlocher MO, Detsky AS. Do you come to work with a respiratory tract infection? Occup Environ Med. 2009;66(6):424. Epub 2009/05/20.

[7] Hansen CD, Andersen JH. Going ill to work – What personal circumstances, attitudes and work-related factors are associated with sickness presenteeism? Soc Sci Med. 2008;67:956–64.

[8] Aronsson G, Gustafsson K. Attendance presenteeism: Prevalence, attendance-pressure factors, and an outline of a model for research. J Occup Environ Med. 2005;47(9):958–66.

[9] Kivimaki M, Head J, Ferrie JE, Hemingway H, Shipley MJ, Vahtera J, et al. Working while ill as a risk factor for serious coronary events: The Whitehall II study. Am J Public Health. 2005;95(1):98–102.

[10] Bergstrom G, Bodin L, Hagberg J, Aronsson G, Josephson M. Sickness presenteeism today, sickness absenteeism tomorrow? A prospective study on sickness presenteeism and future sickness absenteeism. J Occup Environ Med. 2009;51(6):629–38.

[11] Misra-Hebert AD, Kay R, Stoller JK. A review of physician turnover: rates, causes, and consequences. Am J Med Qual. 2004;19(2):56–66. Epub 2004/04/30.

[12] Goetzel RZ, Long SR, Ozminkowski RJ, Hawkins K, Wang S, Lynch W. Health, absence, disability, and presenteeism cost estimates of certain physical and mental health conditions affecting U.S. employers. J Occup Environ Med. 2004;46(4):398–412. Epub 2004/04/13.

[13] Schultz AB, Chen C-Y, Edington DW. The Cost and Impact of Health Conditions on Presenteeism to Employers: A Review of the Literature. PharmacoEconomics. 2009;27(5):365–78 10.2165/00019053-200927050-00002.

[14] Vingård E, Alexanderson K, Norlund A. Chapter 10. Sickness presence. Scand J Public Health. 2004;32(63 suppl):216–21.

[15] Boles M, Pelletier B, Lynch W. The relationship between health risks and work productivity. J Occup Environ Med. 2004;46(7):737–45. Epub 2004/07/13.

[16] Wallace JE, Lemaire JB, Ghali WA. Physician wellness: a missing quality indicator. Lancet. 2009;374(9702):1714–21. Epub 2009/11/17.

[17] Johns G. Attendance dynamics at work: The antecedents and correlates of presenteeism, absenteeism, and productivity loss. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology. 2011;16(4):483–500.

[18] Johns G. Presenteeism in the workplace: A review and research agenda. J Organ Behav. 2010;31(4):519–42.

[19] Rosvold EO, Bjertness E. Physicians who do not take sick leave: hazardous heroes? Scand J Public Health. 2001;29(1):71–5.

[20] Simpson R. Presenteeism, Power and Organizational Change: Long Hours as a Career Barrier and the Impact on the Working Lives of Women Managers. British Journal of Management. 1998;9:37–50.

[21] Wenneras C, Wold A. Nepotism and sexism in peer-review. Nature. 1997;387(6631):341–3. Epub 1997/05/22.

[22] Wenneras C, Wold A. A chair of one's own. Nature. 2000;408(6813):647. Epub 2000/12/29.

[23] Love J, Grimby-Ekman A, Eklof M, Hagberg M, Dellve L. “Pushing oneself too hard”: performance-based self-esteem as a predictor of sickness presenteeism among young adult women and men – a cohort study. J Occup Environ Med. 2010;52(6):603–9. Epub 2010/06/05.

[24] Adams EF, Lee AJ, Pritchard CW, White RJ. What stops us from healing the healers: a survey of help-seeking behaviour, stigmatisation and depression within the medical profession. Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2010;56(4):359–70. Epub 2009/07/21.

[25] Montgomery AJ, Bradley C, Rochfort A, Panagopoulou E. A review of self-medication in physicians and medical students. Occup Med (Lond). 2011;61(7):490–7. Epub 2011/07/06.

[26] Fridner A, Belkić K, Marini M, Gustafsson Sendén M, Schenck-Gustafsson K. Why don’t academic physicians seek needed professional help for psychological distress? Swiss Med Wkly. 2012;142:w13626.

[27] Wallace JE, Lemaire J. On physician well being-you’ll get by with a little help from your friends. Soc Sci Med. 2007;64(12):2565–77. Epub 2007/04/25.

[28] Heymann J, Rho HJ, Schmitt J, Earle A. Contagion Nation: A Comparison of Paid Sick Day Policies in 22 Countries. 2009.

[29] Fridner A. Career Paths and Career Patterns among Physicians with a PhD. Uppsala: Uppsala University; 2004.

[30] Lindström K, Dallner M, Elo EL, Gamberale F, Knardahl S, Skogstad A, Örhede E. QPS Nordic. Nordic Council of Ministers, 1997.

[31] Thompson WT, Cupples ME, Sibbett CH, Skan DI, Bradley T. Challenge of culture, conscience, and contract to general practitioners’ care of their own health: qualitative study. BMJ. 2001;323(7315):728–31. Epub 2001/09/29.