Home-Based Telework and Presenteeism Across Europe

Objective: Flexible work arrangements such as telework are gaining importance. Although telework is accompanied by advantages for employees such as increased flexibility, current research reveals associations between home-based telework and self-endangering behavior such as sickness presenteeism. As empirical evidence is still scarce, we explore the relationship between home-based telework and sickness presenteeism across Europe. Methods: We perform multilevel analyses including 25,465 individuals who responded to the 6th wave of the European Working Conditions Survey 2015. Results: Home-based telework is positively related to sickness presenteeism. The results are quite robust across different measures of sickness presenteeism and to several sensitivity analyses. Conclusion: Although sickness presenteeism can be functional for specific illnesses, organizations should be aware of possible risks related to home-based telework. They should design telework in a way that it reduces triggers for self-endangering behavior.