A systematic review of the measurement properties of self-report instruments that assess presenteeism

Presenteeism, reduced productivity while working, has come into consideration as a major occupational health problem in many countries with serious consequences for both organizations and employees. Increasing evidence shows that presenteeism represents a significant source of productivity losses that can cost organizations much more than does absenteeism, and it can lead to an increase in occupational accidents, deterioration of product quality and adverse effects on healthy employees.

Challenges exist, however, in the measurement of presenteeism. That is: (1) a number of instruments that are used to measure presenteeism do not actually measure productivity, (2) testing for presenteeism requires the measurement of work outputs, but these are often inadequately or vaguely specified, (3) when self-report testing of ability is involved, as it is here, the results are often inaccurate and biased by a general tendency of humans to optimistically place themselves in a good light in comparison to others, and (4) both historical and recent research has shown that extreme self-ratings (high or low) are related to mental health issues, particularly depression, defensiveness, and optimism.

The objectives of this systematic review were:

1. to describe the frequency and characteristics of use of instruments measuring presenteeism in the scientific literature,
2. to summarize the measurement properties (i.e., validity, reliability, responsiveness) of instruments assessing presenteeism, and
3. to analyze the quality of studies that have evaluated the measurement properties of presenteeism instruments.