Presenteeism, Job Satisfaction, and Psychological Distress among Portuguese Workers in a Private Social Solidarity Institution during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Under normal circumstances, the working population exhibits high levels of psychological distress and presenteeism, a scenario which was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, few studies have analyzed presenteeism during the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting the current research. We aimed to explore the levels of presenteeism and associated factors, job satisfaction, and psychological distress in a sample of Portuguese workers in a Private Social Solidarity Institution (the acronym in Portugal is IPSS). In 2022, an observational, cross-sectional survey of workers from an IPSS in the central region of Portugal was conducted. The study included a total of 71 employees who granted written permission. The survey collected general and professional information, as well as the Stanford Presenteeism Scale (SPS-6), the Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (S20/23), and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10). Presenteeism was reported by 32 (45.1%) workers and sickness absence by 38 (54.3%). Most of the individual S20/23 evaluations indicated a greater level of satisfaction (mean  ≥  4.5 pts.), except for the question related to salary, which received a higher level of dissatisfaction (mean = 3.36  ±  1.9 pts.). Around 50.7% of participants had a high or very high risk of suffering or of suffering a mental disorder. The correlation matrix indicated a significant moderate positive correlation between presenteeism and job satisfaction and a significant moderate negative correlation between presenteeism and psychological distress (p < 0.01). We found five predictors for presenteeism: marital status, quality of sleep, sickness absenteeism, health perception, and psychological distress (R2 = 0.358). We anticipate that our results will spark more studies about the practical consequences of presenteeism for fostering better health and well-being at work.