The Association between Shift Work and Health-Related Productivity Loss due to Either Sickness Absence or Reduced Performance at Work: A Cross-Sectional Study of Korea

Seong-Sik Cho, Dong-Wook Lee and Mo-Yeol Kang
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Seong-Sik Cho: Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Dong-A University College of Medicine, Busan 49201, Korea
Dong-Wook Lee: Department of Preventive Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 03080, Korea
Mo-Yeol Kang: Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Korea

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 22, 1-9

Abstract: Background : The purpose of the present study was to investigate the association between shift work and health-related productivity loss (HRPL) due to either sickness absence or reduced performance at work. Methods : From January 2020 to February 2020, data were collected using the web-based questionnaire. Workers in Korea ( n = 4197) were selected with the convenience sampling method. To evaluate HRPL, the Korean version of the “Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire” was used. The nonparametric association between shift work and HRPL was determined. To estimate productivity loss by shift work, generalised linear models were used, and the productivity loss of workers who did not do shift work was used as the reference. Contrasts between the reference (non-shift work) and shift work, including the shift work subtype, were demonstrated. In the adjusted model, age, gender, and occupation were included as covariates. To test whether there were differences in this association by gender, a gender-stratified analysis was conducted. Results : Shift work significantly reduced productivity (2.5% points; 95% CI: 0.2–4.6). The fixed night shift had the largest productivity loss (7.7% points; 95% CI: 1.8–13.7), and the relationship between HRPL and shift work was more prominent among female workers. Conclusions : Shift work is related to an increase in HRPL, and there are gender differences in this association. Our study further indicated that a fixed night shift is most detrimental to workers’ health and productivity.

Keywords: productivity loss; presenteeism; absenteeism; shift work; gender difference (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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