Präsentismus und Teamkultur: eine qualitative Befragung von Gesundheit- und Bürofachpersonen = Presenteeism and team culture: a qualitative study of health care and office professionals

Introduction: Presenteeism – working even though you are ill – is a widespread phenomenon that has negative consequences for both employees and employers. It particularly affects healthcare professionals (HCPs) and, due to working from home, increasingly also office professionals (OFPs). Team culture has hardly been researched in connection with presenteeism. The aims of this study are to describe how healthcare
professionals and office professionals experience their team culture in connection with presenteeism and to identify possible differences between the occupational groups.
Method: The study is based on a qualitative descriptive design. Data was collected using 16 semi-structured guided interviews, which were analysed using qualitative content analysis according to Kuckartz.
Results: Both HCP and OFP consider physical complaints to be central features of their understanding of illness, with HCP more frequently emphasising the effects on work performance. When dealing with sickness absences, healthcare professionals increasingly report additional team stress and reproachful reactions from superiors, while healthcare professionals tend to perceive a lack of interest. Both professional
groups see presenteeism as problematic, but differ in their expectations of work performance and stamina. HCPs are under greater pressure due to a sense of duty and responsibility towards patients, while NFPs are more likely to be influenced by organisational structures such as working from home, which often causes them difficulties in differentiating between work and sick leave.
Discussion: The results show that the team cultures of HCP and OFP are shaped by individual feelings of illness and organisational structures. There is a particular need for action within the organisation to raise awareness of presenteeism and to develop a common team attitude. Further research is needed to understand the reasons why the causes of illness are accepted differently.