Which presenteeism measures are more sensitive to depression and anxiety?
GROUND: Lost productivity from attending work when unwell, or “presenteeism”, is a largely hidden cost of mental disorders in the workplace. Sensitive measures are needed for clinical and policy applications, however there is no consensus on the optimal self-report measure to use. This paper examines the sensitivity of four alternative measures of presenteeism to depression and anxiety in an Australian employed cohort. METHODS: A prospective single-group study in ten call centres examined the association of presenteeism (presenteeism days, inefficiency days, Work Limitations Questionnaire, Stanford Presenteeism Scale) with Patient Health Questionnaire depression and anxiety syndromes. RESULTS: At baseline, all presenteeism measures were sensitive to differences between those with (N=69) and without (N=363) depression/anxiety. Only the Work Limitations Questionnaire consistently showed worse productivity as depression severity increased, and sensitivity to remission and onset of depress
