Research: Why Employees Work While Sick—and How Leaders Can Stop It

Research: Why Employees Work While Sick—and How Leaders Can Stop It

New research, including a nationally representative study of U.S. workers, suggests that presenteeism isn’t simply a matter of personal choice or lack of sick leave—it’s a structural problem rooted in how jobs are designed and workplace expectations are managed. Gender norms, occupational sorting, and industry-specific job demands create invisible pressures that push employees to work through illness, leading to major consequences for organizati…