A study carried out by researchers from the University of East Anglia (United Kingdom) and the University of Concordia (Canada) puts on the table the consequences of going to work while ill. A priori , what is it that pushes us to go to the office in these conditions? Two main reasons. Excess responsibility for work and job insecurity. Both can lead certain people to go to their job even if they are in poor health , be it the flu or any other pathology.
The work, published in The Journal of Occupational Health Psychology , warns that this occupational “presenteeism” does not have positive effects. Working at all costs, either due to pressure from the company, fear of losing a job or overcommitment to a job that fulfills us and we like to perform (and therefore it is difficult for us to leave), It threatens our health and that of our colleagues .
The experts analyzed 61 previous studies (with a total of 175,960 participants) from which they extracted that variables such as stress, lack of work resources, the demands of supervisors or perceived discrimination were as crucial in labor presenteeism as the great sense commitment to the company.
“ Working while sick can aggravate the effects of the initial illness and result in bad attitudes at work. But the possible consequences of being absent mean that employees go to work sick or return before they are fully recovered ”, explains Mariella Miraglia, leader of the study.
