Examining Psychological Insights to Understand Attendance Behavior: The Role of Workplace Health Promotion Programs

Author

Peyton Anderson, Illinois State University

Publication Date

2025

Document Type

Poster

Degree Type

Graduate

Department

Psychology

Mentor

Dr. Kimberly Schneider

Abstract

Health promotion programs (HPPs) are heavily utilized by organizations and when effective, these programs can have positive implications for a business, such as a reduction in worker absenteeism and presenteeism, increased productivity, and an overall more successful workforce. However, the processes involved in the programs’ success has yet to be examined through a psychological lens. This project examined how HPPs lead to effective attendance and health outcomes through the influence of two health-related psychological mediators: health consciousness and health anxiety. Health consciousness (HC) and health anxiety (HA) contribute to work attendance cognitions and outcomes, such as attendance intentions and actual absenteeism, but no research has determined if these constructs predict these variables interdependently or if they are influenced by other cognitive factors, such as an individual’s organizational commitment (OC). In the current study, 250 participants who were employed full-time (Mage=40.2,SD=10.9, 65.1% women, 65.5% White), were recruited from Prolific and responded to measures of HC, HA, absenteeism, presenteeism, attendance self-efficacy, attendance intentions, and OC. Health anxiety and health consciousness were associated with all work outcome variables; however, results of a multiple linear regression indicate that only health anxiety was a significant predictor for each outcome. Further, organizational commitment moderated the relationship between health anxiety and presenteeism: participants with high health anxiety were more likely to engage in presenteeism when they also reported high organizational commitment. These results elucidate the distinct influence of health anxiety and health consciousness on attendance behaviors and cognitions, pointing to health anxiety as a crucial factor, and emphasize that this relationship may be influenced by an employee’s commitment to their organization. The findings from the current study suggest that organizations should be cautious in disseminating health messages that might inadvertently increase an employee’s health anxiety. Such increases in anxiety can reduce the likelihood of individuals engaging in the recommended healthy behaviors, ultimately preventing the organization from benefiting from the positive effects of health promotion programs.

Recommended Citation

Anderson, Peyton, "Examining Psychological Insights to Understand Attendance Behavior: The Role of Workplace Health Promotion Programs" (2025). University Research Symposium. 514.
https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/rsp_urs/514