The effects of presenteeism and social loafing on in-role behavior at the workplace

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Working while sick, commonly called presenteeism is a prevailing organizational issue. Presenteeism takes place when employees show up at work, but their cognitive energy cannot concentrate on their work. This article contributes empirically by examining the relationships between presenteeism and two types of employee behaviors: social loafing and in-role behavior directed to individuals at the workplace. Methods/Statistical analysis: Using 435 samples of individual workers, this research article tested the role of presenteeism instigating in-role behavior and revealed the mediation effect of social loafing. Using LISREL 8.54 for CFA and model fit test and SPSS 23 for regression analysis and bootstrapping for medication effect analysis, hypotheses were tested. Findings: Results from SPSS and structural equation modelling (SEM) using LISREL revealed that presenteeism was statistically significant and had a positive effect on social loafing and had a negative effect on in-role behavior. Social loafing also played a mediation role on the relation between presenteeism and in-role behavior. Improvements/Applications: Current study revealed that employees working while sick were more likely to be involved in social loafing behavior at group activities and employees paying less effort when working collectively were also more likely to associate with decreased in-role behavior. Therefore the current study sheds light on the presenteeism phenomenon and reminds management of an extra attention to be paid to mitigate this adverse impact on group and individual performance.