A moderated mediation analysis of occupational stress, presenteeism, and turnover intention among occupational therapists in Korea

OBJECTIVES: Presenteeism is undoubtedly a widespread phenomenon in organizations. Research on presenteeism has been conducted for decades in the broader workforce (eg, nurses, doctors, teachers, police officers). Occupational stress and turnover intention in occupational therapy have been extensively studied. However, the effect of presenteeism on the relationship between occupational stress and resultant turnover intention among occupational therapists is unclear. This study aims to explore the mediating effect of presenteeism and moderating effect of perceived organizational support in the relationship between occupational stress and turnover intention among occupational therapists in Korea. METHODS: We conducted an individual and cross‐sectional analysis of 257 occupational therapists from various health care institutions in Korea. Data were collected and hypotheses were tested via Process macro. Quantitative analyses were conducted with SPSS 26 and LISREL 8.54. RESULTS: Occupational stress was strongly related to presenteeism, which in turn predicted turnover intention. Presenteeism played a mediating role between occupational stress and turnover intention. Moreover, occupational therapists’ perception of organizational support acted as an important mechanism through which presenteeism mediated the relationship between occupational stress and turnover intention. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the need to maximize employee productivity and retain talent by providing managers with insight into the mechanism of presenteeism in relation to occupational stress and turnover intention among occupational therapists in Korea.