The Hidden Cost of Obesity in the Workplace | Presenteeism & Absenteeism Explained

Invisible Productivity Losses Caused by Obesity: Presenteeism and Absenteeism

In recent years, many companies have actively promoted employee health and wellness. This trend has emerged because organizations are beginning to recognize that employees’ health has a direct impact on corporate performance and productivity.
In this article, from the perspective of obesity medicine, we will explain in detail how employee health affects corporate productivity, using two important concepts: “presenteeism” and “absenteeism.”

What Are Presenteeism and Absenteeism?

First, let us clarify these concepts.

• Presenteeism refers to a situation in which employees come to work but cannot perform at their best due to health problems. Known in Japanese as “sickness presenteeism,” it is often invisible in the workplace and can lead to less recognized but significant losses.
• Absenteeism refers to clear-cut instances of sick leave or absence from work, resulting in direct and visible productivity losses caused by employee absence.

At first glance, absenteeism may appear to be a more critical problem for companies; however, in reality, presenteeism often has a more profound impact on business performance. According to some studies, while presenteeism accounts for about 78% of total health-related costs, absenteeism accounts for only around 4%.

The Link Between Obesity and Workplace Productivity

Obesity is one of the main causes behind these two forms of productivity loss. Recent research has found:

• Employees with severe obesity (BMI Class III) have about 1.6 times the probability of sick leave compared to employees of normal weight.
• Even mild obesity can increase presenteeism by about 1.5 times.
• In a large study of 26 European countries, obese employees were found to have up to 2.5 times higher risk of sick leave, and about 2.2 times higher risk of long-term absence.

These effects go beyond individual health issues, posing serious implications for overall corporate economics and performance.

Economic Losses That Burden Corporate Management

The financial losses caused by obesity-related absenteeism and presenteeism can be immense.

• In the United States, obesity-related sick leave alone costs about $865 million per year. Total losses, including medical expenses and presenteeism, reach $7.31 billion annually.
• Presenteeism accounts for a particularly large share of these losses; as mentioned above, about 78% of obesity-related costs are due to presenteeism.
• On a global scale, the economic burden of obesity is expanding to a level comparable to smoking or armed conflict.

How Workplace Obesity Interventions Can Improve Productivity

Fortunately, there is potential for companies to recover productivity by proactively addressing obesity. For example:

• Studies have shown that when employees achieve significant weight loss through workplace weight management programs, absenteeism decreases, and comorbidities (such as diabetes or heart disease) improve, thereby enhancing productivity.
• With more aggressive treatments, including bariatric surgery, presenteeism has been observed to improve dramatically in the short term and remain favorable over time.

In other words, medical interventions for obesity not only improve individual health issues but may also improve the work environment, boost overall corporate productivity and competitiveness, and ultimately benefit the broader economy.

Shaping the Future of Business Through Health Strategies

Engaging with obesity medicine is no longer just a personal matter; it is a critical management issue. Visualizing the “invisible losses” of presenteeism and implementing early interventions are essential to protecting corporate performance. Business leaders must strategically promote employee health improvement to maximize workplace performance.

References

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3. Andreyeva T, Luedicke J, Wang YC. State-level estimates of obesity-attributable costs of absenteeism. J Occup Environ Med. 2014;56(11):1120-1127.
4. Harden SM, You W, Almeida FA, et al. Does successful weight loss in an internet-based worksite weight loss program improve employee presenteeism and absenteeism? Health Educ Behav. 2015;42(4):450-458.
5. Tremmel M, Gerdtham UG, Nilsson PM, Saha S. Economic burden of obesity: a systematic literature review. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2017;14(4):435.