Supervisor ratings of productivity loss associated with presenteeism and sick leave due to musculoskeletal disorders and common mental disorders in Sweden

BACKGROUND: Health problems due to musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) and common mental disorders (CMD) result in costs due to lost productivity. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to increase knowledge of employers' productivity loss due to employees' presenteeism and sickness absence. METHODS: A web questionnaire was sent to employers of workers who were sick-listed for more than 30 days due to MSD or CMD, response rate: 50%, n = 198. Presenteeism and the impact on productivity before and after sick leave, and the performance of work tasks by replacement workers during sick leave, were measured using supervisors' ratings. RESULTS: The average loss of productivity per sick-leave case amounted to almost 10 weeks, 53%of productivity loss was attributable to presenteeism and 47%to lower productivity by replacement workers. Employees with a CMD diagnosis had significantly higher presenteeism-related productivity loss than those with MSD. CONCLUSIONS: Employers experienced substantial productivity loss associated with employees' presenteeism and sick leave. Whether the supervisory rating of presenteeism is preferable to employee self-rating needs to be studied further. The long duration of presenteeism is counter-productive to resource-efficient organisations and indicates the need for improved supervisory skills to identify workers with poor health, both before and after sick leave.