Sickness presenteeism among stressed physicians – association between job strain, team climate and sickness presenteeism among Finnish physicians

Background Sickness presenteeism among physicians presents a serious risk to patients and adversely affects physician health. We examined the association between job strain (high job demands combined with low job control) and sickness presenteeism among Finnish physicians. We also investigated favourable team climate as a possible buffer against sickness presenteeism.

Methods We analysed a nationally representative sample of 2337 Finnish physicians participating in the Health Care Professionals’ Study. The associations between job strain, team climate and sickness presenteeism were analysed using logistic regression.

Results Some 62% of physicians had worked sick during the past year. Job strain was associated with an increased risk of sickness presenteeism (the odds ratio (OR) ranged between 1.23–1.99 across different formulations of job strain). However, a favourable team climate mitigated the association between very high job strain and presenteeism.

Conclusions Reducing physicians’ job demands, increasing their job control and enhancing team climate may help to decrease their sickness presenteeism.