Concept Of Presenteeism In Nursing

Presenteeism

Harvard Business Review identifies the global concept of presenteeism as the problem of workers being on the job but not functioning at full capacity due to acute illness or another medical condition (Hemp, 2004). Furthermore, presenteeism is not pretending to be ill to avoid work or idling passing time when there is work to be done. Instead, research on the concept of presenteeism is based in the assumption that workers want to perform at their full potential and take their job seriously (Hemp, 2004). Presenteeism is not as easily identifiable as its counterpart absenteeism. Workers undoubtedly notice when a coworker is absent from work due to illness or other medical conditions. However, it can be difficult to determine

Research on the concept of presenteeism has shown that the lost productivity associated with presenteeism is costlier than a worker staying home for a day due to illness; estimating the costs of presenteeism to be over $150 billion in lost productivity annually in the United States (Hemp, 2004). Although factors that affect presenteeism are similar across industries, research related to the concept of presenteeism has found that teachers, nursing aids, and nurses report presenteeism rates greater than any other profession (Rainbow & Steege, 2017, p. 616). As it relates to nursing, not only does presenteeism negatively affect a nurse’s well-being but presenteeism can also impact patient outcomes. Rainbow and Steege (2017) identify medication errors, patient falls, and missed nursing care as negative patient consequences due to presenteeism in nursing (p. 621). Moreover, if the nurse is acutely ill, there is the risk of transmitting a virus to an already ill patient. Presenteeism in nursing is unique with factors such as the self-sacrifice culture of nursing and nursing shortages having a great impact on presenteeism rates (Rainbow

By utilizing the basic metaparadigm concepts as a theoretical guide, quality patient care can be achieved. Exploiting resources and using past experiences as a guide ultimately leads to more effective decision making. The abstract concept of presenteeism proposes that more productivity is lost when a nurse is present at work but is unable to perform at full capacity while the concept of integrity presents that conflicting demands on nurses have the potential to compromise the integrity of the profession thus leading to additional stress. Based on the two concepts of presenteeism and integrity, the following five assumptions were made: 1. Many nurses, identifying with the self-sacrifice culture, promote presenteeism by reporting to work despite illness and expecting fellow nurses to do the same, 2. Nurses feel obligated to report to work despite illness to prevent coworkers from suffering through poor staffing ratios, 3. A nurse reporting to work despite illness assumes that their presenteeism leads to better patient outcomes than their absenteeism would, 4. When nurses are faced with the conflicting demands of caring for patients and meeting targets, the potential to compromise integrity arises, 5. When working in a culture that promotes presenteeism while also placing high demands on nurses with high staffing ratios, nursing fatigue becomes prominent. Although the concepts are intangible, the impact on the