Presenteeism and health over time among Chinese employees: The moderating role of self-efficacy

The aim of this study was two-fold: first, to examine both the immediate and the lasting effects of presenteeism on health; second, to explore the moderating effect of self-efficacy on the presenteeism-health relationship in a Chinese context. We employed a two-wave study design in which presenteeism, health (i.e. physical health, mental health and exhaustion), and self-efficacy were assessed at Time 1; health was measured again at Time 2 three months later. We surveyed a diverse sample of 345 full-time Chinese employees working in Taiwan and mainland China. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that presenteeism over the previous six months was negatively related to employees' physical health, mental health and exhaustion at Time 1. However, we found no association between presenteeism and health at Time 2, after controlling for the baseline level of health, indicating that presenteeism may not have a lasting effect. Self-efficacy was found to moderate the relationships between presenteeism and all three aspects of health at Time 2, suggesting that for some individuals presenteeism may not on balance be a bad thing. The study sheds light on the association between presenteeism and health. The findings on self-efficacy also extend the literature to incorporate individual characteristics in the presenteeism context.