Remote work transition amidst COVID-19: Impacts on presenteeism, absenteeism, and worker well-being-A scoping review.
<h4>Background</h4>The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the transition to remote work, leading to increased attention on presenteeism and absenteeism among remote workers. Understanding the implications of these phenomena on worker health and productivity is crucial for optimizing remot...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2024-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0307087 |
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| author | Behdin Nowrouzi-Kia Alexia M Haritos Bao-Zhu Stephanie Long Chantal Atikian Luke A Fiorini Basem Gohar Aaron Howe Yiyan Li Ali Bani-Fatemi |
| author_facet | Behdin Nowrouzi-Kia Alexia M Haritos Bao-Zhu Stephanie Long Chantal Atikian Luke A Fiorini Basem Gohar Aaron Howe Yiyan Li Ali Bani-Fatemi |
| author_sort | Behdin Nowrouzi-Kia |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <h4>Background</h4>The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the transition to remote work, leading to increased attention on presenteeism and absenteeism among remote workers. Understanding the implications of these phenomena on worker health and productivity is crucial for optimizing remote work arrangements and developing policies to improve employee well-being.<h4>Objectives</h4>This scoping review aims to examine the occurrence of presenteeism and absenteeism among remote workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and the interrelated physical and mental health issues during these periods.<h4>Methods</h4>PsycINFO, Medline, Embase, CINAHL, Eric, Business Source Premier, SCOPUS, and sociological abstracts were searched resulting in 1792 articles. Articles were included if the population of interest was 18+ (i.e., working age), engaged in full or part-time work, and the employees shifted from in-person to remote work due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All study designs, geographical areas, and papers written post-onset of the COVID-19 pandemic were included; however, systematic reviews were excluded. Data was charted into Microsoft Excel by 2 independent reviewers.<h4>Results</h4>The literature search identified 10 studies (i.e., seven cross-sectional studies, two qualitative studies, and one observational study). Five major overarching themes were identified specifically (1) telework and mental health (2) telework and physical health (3) worker benefits (4) gender dynamics and (5) difficulty navigating the teleworking environment. While remote work offers flexibility in terms of saved commute time and flexible work schedules, it also exacerbates challenges related to presenteeism, absenteeism, and work-life balance. These challenges include experiencing psychological distress, depression, anxiety, stress, sleep deprivation, musculoskeletal pain, difficulties concentrating at work for both women and working parents, struggles disconnecting after hours, and the inability to delineate between the work and home environment.<h4>Discussion</h4>The findings suggest that remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic has both positive and negative implications for worker well-being and productivity. However, future research needs to incorporate the potential effects of telework frequency (full time vs. part time) on employee productivity and its role on presenteeism and absenteeism, to gain a more comprehensive understanding on remote work difficulties. Addressing these challenges requires proactive interventions and support mechanisms to promote worker health and productivity in remote settings. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4be3b17b0fc246e8b27e06690f5dacdc |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj-art-4be3b17b0fc246e8b27e06690f5dacdc2025-02-05T05:32:25ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032024-01-01197e030708710.1371/journal.pone.0307087Remote work transition amidst COVID-19: Impacts on presenteeism, absenteeism, and worker well-being-A scoping review.Behdin Nowrouzi-KiaAlexia M HaritosBao-Zhu Stephanie LongChantal AtikianLuke A FioriniBasem GoharAaron HoweYiyan LiAli Bani-Fatemi<h4>Background</h4>The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the transition to remote work, leading to increased attention on presenteeism and absenteeism among remote workers. Understanding the implications of these phenomena on worker health and productivity is crucial for optimizing remote work arrangements and developing policies to improve employee well-being.<h4>Objectives</h4>This scoping review aims to examine the occurrence of presenteeism and absenteeism among remote workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and the interrelated physical and mental health issues during these periods.<h4>Methods</h4>PsycINFO, Medline, Embase, CINAHL, Eric, Business Source Premier, SCOPUS, and sociological abstracts were searched resulting in 1792 articles. Articles were included if the population of interest was 18+ (i.e., working age), engaged in full or part-time work, and the employees shifted from in-person to remote work due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All study designs, geographical areas, and papers written post-onset of the COVID-19 pandemic were included; however, systematic reviews were excluded. Data was charted into Microsoft Excel by 2 independent reviewers.<h4>Results</h4>The literature search identified 10 studies (i.e., seven cross-sectional studies, two qualitative studies, and one observational study). Five major overarching themes were identified specifically (1) telework and mental health (2) telework and physical health (3) worker benefits (4) gender dynamics and (5) difficulty navigating the teleworking environment. While remote work offers flexibility in terms of saved commute time and flexible work schedules, it also exacerbates challenges related to presenteeism, absenteeism, and work-life balance. These challenges include experiencing psychological distress, depression, anxiety, stress, sleep deprivation, musculoskeletal pain, difficulties concentrating at work for both women and working parents, struggles disconnecting after hours, and the inability to delineate between the work and home environment.<h4>Discussion</h4>The findings suggest that remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic has both positive and negative implications for worker well-being and productivity. However, future research needs to incorporate the potential effects of telework frequency (full time vs. part time) on employee productivity and its role on presenteeism and absenteeism, to gain a more comprehensive understanding on remote work difficulties. Addressing these challenges requires proactive interventions and support mechanisms to promote worker health and productivity in remote settings.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0307087 |
| spellingShingle | Behdin Nowrouzi-Kia Alexia M Haritos Bao-Zhu Stephanie Long Chantal Atikian Luke A Fiorini Basem Gohar Aaron Howe Yiyan Li Ali Bani-Fatemi Remote work transition amidst COVID-19: Impacts on presenteeism, absenteeism, and worker well-being-A scoping review. PLoS ONE |
| title | Remote work transition amidst COVID-19: Impacts on presenteeism, absenteeism, and worker well-being-A scoping review. |
| title_full | Remote work transition amidst COVID-19: Impacts on presenteeism, absenteeism, and worker well-being-A scoping review. |
| title_fullStr | Remote work transition amidst COVID-19: Impacts on presenteeism, absenteeism, and worker well-being-A scoping review. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Remote work transition amidst COVID-19: Impacts on presenteeism, absenteeism, and worker well-being-A scoping review. |
| title_short | Remote work transition amidst COVID-19: Impacts on presenteeism, absenteeism, and worker well-being-A scoping review. |
| title_sort | remote work transition amidst covid 19 impacts on presenteeism absenteeism and worker well being a scoping review |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0307087 |
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