Absenteeism, presenteeism and work efficiency among support workers in a medical school in Thailand

Abstract

Personnel work efficiency is an organization's priority as it affects organizational productivity. The number of support workers accounts for one-third of the total healthcare personnel. The healthcare support workers are groups of personnel that are important in driving the healthcare management system in the hospitals or healthcare sectors. This study aims to determine the relationship between work efficiency with the number of absenteeism and presenteeism of support workers in a medical school hospital. This cross-sectional study included 505 respondents. A selfadministered questionnaire consisted of factors related to work efficiency, selfassessment questions, and a previous supervisor-appraisal score. The results showed that the annual percentages of sickness absence, non-sickness absence, and presenteeism among hospital support workers were 54.2%, 81.4%, and 48.1%, respectively. The prevalence of poor work efficiency was 37.6% by participants' selfassessment and 15.6% by supervisor assessment. Eleven days or more of sickness absence and presenteeism were associated with poor self-assessed work efficiency (Adjusted odds ratio (OR) 4.1, 95%CI 1.6 - 10.3, and 6.0, 95%CI 2.6 - 14.2, respectively). In addition, 11 days or more of sickness absence and non-sickness absence were associated with poor supervisor-assessed work efficiency (OR 8.9, 95% CI 1.7 - 47.0 and 4.9, 95% CI 1.1 - 21.1, respectively). In conclusion, management of factors contributing to sickness absence, non-sickness absence, and presenteeism might improve worker's work efficiency and overall organization's productivity. IMPLICATION OF THE THESIS. Knowing the level of work efficiency and the related factors, the organization can use the information for managing the negative factors (stress, burnout, sickness absence, and presenteeism) and improving the working environment to improve the workers' work efficiency and organization's productivity.