"Only the Strong Survive" Riding a Raft to Work... Koreans' 'Commute Addiction' [News Terms]

'Presenteeism', a Compound of 'Attendance' and 'Addiction'
Unusually High Compared to Other Countries

The 1990s commute, when people rode rafts during floods and skis during heavy snow. It is one of the representative contents of the meme "Only the strong survive in the 90s." The spirit of ‘the Korean will’ to go to work no matter the situation is pointed out as a major cause of ‘presenteeism’ experienced by office workers in modern society.

Office worker commuting by raft due to flooding Photo by YouTube KLAB

Presenteeism is a compound word of the English word 'present' and the suffix '-ism,' which means 'state' or 'addiction.' It can be described as ‘work attendance addiction.’ It refers to the practice of going to work even when one is not in good physical condition due to illness, fatigue, work stress, or other factors. The opposite term is absenteeism, which means absence due to illness or the rate of absence. Both terms describe how companies experience productivity loss.

The rate of presenteeism in Korea is unusually high compared to other countries. According to a study comparing the situation of OECD member countries and Korea, the rate of ‘people who went to work despite being sick’ in Korea is 23.7%. This is 2.37 times the rate of 9.9% for ‘people who took sick leave.’ It is much higher than the European countries’ average of 0.81 times. Except for countries like France and Spain, most OECD countries show a higher rate of sick leave than the rate of going to work while sick.

The reason presenteeism is more problematic than absenteeism is that it ‘looks okay on the surface.’ Since employees are at least physically present at work, companies tend to pay less attention to their staff. Individuals also judge their physical condition as tolerable. As a result, both sides are likely to neglect efforts to solve the problem. If presenteeism is repeated, work-life balance (WLB) is disrupted, posing risks to individuals’ professional lives and health in the mid to long term. Furthermore, presenteeism affects the productivity of surrounding colleagues. When infectious diseases such as COVID-19 spread in the workplace, the overall productivity of the company drops significantly. From a corporate perspective, productivity decline means increased costs.

[Photo by Pixabay]

Meanwhile, long working hours have been analyzed to increase the likelihood of presenteeism. In 2020, a research team led by Professor Kang Mo-yeol of Catholic University Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital and research lecturer Lee Dong-wook of Seoul National University College of Medicine analyzed the ‘correlation between working hours and health-related labor productivity.’ They claimed that as weekly working hours increase, health-related labor productivity loss tends to increase. According to the analysis, the group working ‘52 hours or more’ per week experienced 5.1% more health-related labor productivity loss for men and 6.6% more for women compared to the ‘40-hour’ group. The research team stated, “Long working hours to increase output worsen workers’ health in the long term and may rather result in deteriorated labor productivity.”

The results of the four-day workweek pilot project, which claims to improve the working environment, are also noteworthy. The Severance Hospital labor union announced last month the results of a ‘four-day workweek pilot project’ conducted for one year targeting nurses since last year. Analyzing the outcomes of the pilot project, the resignation rate in one ward at Sinchon last year was ‘0%.’ Sick leave usage in all experimental wards (excluding 1- and 2-person rooms) decreased by about half compared to before the implementation. Sleep disorders, musculoskeletal diseases, and depression decreased, and presenteeism was confirmed to have declined.