The Relationships between Presenteeism and Job Satisfaction and Emotional Exhaustion: Supervisory Support and Workplace Friendship as Moderators

Presenteeism, the opposite of absenteeism, is becoming more prevalent in the Taiwanese workplace due to the current climate of global economic depression. Despite some definitional confusions, the most recent scholarly conception of presenteeism pertains to employees working when sick. Since studies exploring the relationship between presenteeism and individual work-related outcomes are still scarce, the purpose of this study is: 1. to systematically examine the relationships between presenteeism and employees’ strains and work attitudes; 2. to explore the roles of supervisory support and workplace friendship as stress buffers in the presenteeism process; 3. to compare the effects of these two moderators. Using structured questionnaires, we collected data from 640 full-time employees working in various organizations and industries in Taiwan. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that presenteeism had noxious effects on emotional exhaustion. Moreover, workplace friendship strengthened the negative relationship between presenteeism and job satisfaction as well as the unhealthy impact of presenteeism on emotional exhaustion. In conclusion, this study demonstrated the act of presenteeism and its damaging effects on employees’ well-being. The adverse buffering role of workplace friendship sounds the alarm for organizations to be aware of its dark side.