INVESTIGATION ON THE IMPACT OF PRESENTEEISM ON WORK PERFORMANCE IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

Abstract

Presenteeism is a concept to describe the action of working while suffering from illness and injury and it can be defined as decreased in productivity and below-normal work quality experienced by workers when they are physically present at work mainly due to health reasons.(Koopman et al. 2002) In Singapore, her industry’s strong reliance on migrant workers makes her more vulnerable to the impact of Presenteeism. Despite the Ministry of Manpower’s attempts to mandate safety in the worksite, Presenteeism remain very much a continuous issue since acute illnesses are not the focus of such mandates. For this reason, this dissertation attempts to assess the factors and impact of Presenteeism. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of Presenteeism on workers’ work performance within Singapore’s Construction Industry based on questionnaire survey on 500 migrant construction workers. The research suggested that Presenteeism is common among migrant construction workers where 56% of the respondents continue to work while suffering from illness. Furthermore, the research has found that 61.4% of respondents that practices Presenteeism observed a reduction in their work quality and 97.5% of respondent’s experience work impairment due to illness during work. The research findings indicate the adverse impact of Presenteeism on work performance especially within Singapore’s Construction Industry. It is hoped this study will raise awareness of presenteeism among workers and higher management and the importance of dealing with Presenteeism that will translates to positive statistics in Singapore’s future Workplace Safety and Health goals and objectives in the industry.