THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERCEIVED STRESS AND SELF-REPORTED ILLNESS-RELATED ABSENTEEISM

Purpose. To investigate the association between perceived stress and i llness-related work absenteeism. Design. A standardized health profile questionnaire developed by Johnson & Johnson Advanced Behavioral Tech nologies, Inc., was used to collect demographic and personal health da ta between June 1988 and January 1993. Chi-square, odds ratio, and ste pwise regression tests were used to analyze perceived stress and self- reported absenteeism data. Setting. Worksite health promotion programs in 250 U.S. companies. Subjects. Subjects consisted of 79,070 employe es. Measures. Stress data, grouped as low, moderate, adn high, were co rrelated with absenteeism data grouped by annual days missed (None, 1 to 2, 3 to 4, and 5+). Results. Significant relationships were found ( p less than or equal to .05) between high stress and absenteeism for b oth genders. Female workers reported higher stress levels and absentee ism than men. Those with high stress were 2.22 more likely to be absen t 5+ days per year than those with low stress. Work, finances, and fam ily were the highest stress sources. Greatest absenteeism, predictors were health, legal, social, and financial stress. Conclusions. These d ata primarily represented self-selected white workers and may not appl y to all employees. However, if high stress relates to absenteeism, th ese data may provide valuable information for program design in stress management.