Organizational leadership, health risk screening, individually tailored programs, and supportive workplace culture might reduce presenteeism

Abstract

To determine if Workplace Health Promotion programs (WHPs) are effective in improving presenteeism. The secondary objective was to identify characteristics of successful programmes and potential risk factors for presenteeism. The Cochrane Library, Medline and other electronic databases were searched from 1990 to January 2010 for all studies that examined WHP. A highly sensitive search strategy was used including reference list checking, hand searching, and contacting researchers. Fourteen studies (four strong and ten moderate methodological quality) were eligible for inclusion. A further 33 were considered ineligible for inclusion due to methodological weakness. The 14 eligible studies contained preliminary evidence for a positive effect of some WHP programs. Successful programs offered organizational leadership, health risk screening, individually tailored programs, and a supportive workplace culture. Potential risk factors contributing to presenteeism included being overweight, poor diet, lack of exercise, high stress, and poor relations with co-workers and management. There is preliminary evidence that some WHP programs can positively affect presenteeism and that certain risk factors are of importance. The presenteeism literature is young and heterogeneous.