Assessing the Association Between Emotional Labor and Presenteeism Among Nurses in Korea: Cross-sectional Study Using the 4th Korean Working Conditions Survey

BACKGROUND: Presenteeism has emerged as an important health-related issue and has been studied in a variety of occupation groups. This study examines the relationship between emotional labor and presenteeism in nurses in Republic of Korea. METHODS: As a cross-sectional study, our study was conducted on 328 female nurses participating in the fourth Korean Working Conditions Survey (2015). Nurses were identified by the Korean Industry Classification Code. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to explore the association between emotional labor and presenteeism. RESULTS: Female nurses who always or sometimes hide their emotions in the workplace were found to have a high risk for presenteeism compared with female nurses who rarely hide their emotions in the workplace {odds ratio [OR] = 2.40 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.04–5.54]; OR = 4.12 [95% CI 1.72–9.84], respectively}. Furthermore, the risk of presenteeism was higher in nurses who sometimes engaged with complaining customers compared with nurses who rarely did so, but it lacked statistical significance. CONCLUSION: Presenteeism in nurses can cause various negative secondary effects; therefore, an alternative should be sought to mediate nurses' emotional labor to prevent presenteeism.