OBJECTIVETo investigate the current status of occupational stress and presenteeism among medical staff at grade A tertiary hospitals in Shanghai, China, and to analyze the association between occupational stress and presenteeism.

METHODSA total of 2356 healthcare workers from eight grade A tertiary hospitals in Shanghai were investigated by stratified random sampling. All the subjects were asked to complete self-administered questionnaires with informed consent. The occupational stress was assessed by the occupational stress core questionnaire. The presenteeism was evaluated by the Stanford Presenteeism Scale.

RESULTSIn all subjects, the average score of presenteeism was 15.23 ± 3.89, and 72.5% felt occupational stress in self-evaluation. There were significant differences in the score of presenteeism between subjects with different ages, education levels, occupations, lengths of service, job titles, and shifts (all P<0.05). There were significant differences in the score of presenteeism and the rate of high presenteeism between subjects with different indices of occupational stress, including job demand, control, social support, and demand-control ratio (P<0.01). High job demand and high demand-control ratio were risk factors for high presenteeism (OR=2.56, 95% CI=2.01~3.27; OR=1.53, 95% CI=1.23~1.90). High social support was a protective factor for high presenteeism (OR=0.23, 95% CI=0.18~0.29).

CONCLUSIONThe intensity of occupational stress in medical staff from grade A tertiary hospitals is positively correlated with the level of presenteeism. It is important to promote social support to reduce the loss of work efficiency due to presenteeism.