Coming to work sick: a survey of hospital doctors in New Zealand

Aim To estimate the rate of sickness presenteeism in hospital doctors in a New Zealand tertiary hospital and to also identify reasons for why doctors continue to work whilst sick. Methods An anonymous online survey about sickness presenteeism for all hospital doctors at one tertiary care hospital in New Zealand Results The response rate for the survey was 328/685 (47.8%). Sickness presenteeism was reported by 269/328 (82%) of respondents. The main reasons for sickness presenteeism were: not wanting to burden co-workers and the desire to ensure care for patients. Conclusions Sickness presenteeism is highly prevalent in this survey. It is likely a change in attitudes by doctors towards their illnesses, and better allocation of staff resources are necessary to prevent this to avoid potential harm to patients and health care workers