• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.202-212
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• 2009

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of stress, health problems, absenteeism, productivity and presenteeism in Korean and Japanese workers. Methods : Data was collected from April 12 to July 18, 2008 in both countries. The content of questionnaires was demographic factors, stress and the Stanford Presenteeism Scale. Korean data from 810 workers was collected and Japanese data from 822 workers was collected by same questionnaires of both language. SPSS 12.0 and AMOS 5.0 programs were used for data analysis. Results : The major health problems in relation to the impaired presenteeism of Korean workers were dizziness, allergy, headache and dysmenorrhea, and for Japanese workers were arthritis, depression, and diabetes mellitus. Impaired presenteeism was increasing when the numbers of health problems were increasing in both countries. In Korean workers, job-related stress and the numbers of health problems directly affected presenteeism. In Japanese workers, job-related stress, life-related stress and the numbers of health problems directly affected presenteeism. Conclusions : Health managers should include physical and psychological health management programs for presenteeism control in workplace. They can obtain a greater benefit through both programs.