Presenteeism among self-employed workers: Korean working conditions survey

Objective: Presenteeism has become a public concern recently. Thus, we aimed to understand the relationship between self-employed workers and presenteeism using a nationally representative sample of Korean workers. Methods: Using data from the Korean Working Conditions Survey conducted in 2011, a total of 43,392 workers including paid employees and self-employed workers were analyzed. The effect of employment status on presenteeism was analyzed using logistic regression analysis. The independent variables were socioeconomic characteristics, working conditions, and working environments. Results: Among the 43,392 workers, 34,783 were paid and 8,609 were self-employed. Self-employed workers were more likely to exhibit presenteeism than were paid workers. An elevated odds ratio of 1.27 (95% CI 1.19-1.36) was found for presenteeism among self-employed workers. Conclusion: Being self-employed was significantly related with exhibiting presenteeism. Additional research should investigate whether other factors mediate the relationship between employment status and presenteeism as well as ways to reduce presenteeism among self-employed workers.