Reciprocal Effects of Sickness Presence, Job Satisfaction, and Health: A Six-Wave Longitudinal Study

Numerous cross-sectional studies have examined associations of employees’ sickness presence (i.e., working while being ill) with job satisfaction and health. However, these studies conflate between- and within-person variance and do not allow disentangling the direction of effects among these constructs. Sickness presence may have positive or negative within-person effects on job satisfaction and health, and vice versa. Based on conservation of resources theory, the effort-recovery model, and the job demands-resources model, we test a set of competing hypotheses using a six-wave longitudinal study over 15 months with N = 363 employees. Results of random-intercept cross-lagged panel modeling showed that both sickness presence spells and frequency had negative within-person effects on job satisfaction, but did not predict health. In addition, job satisfaction had a negative within-person effect on sickness presence spells, and health had a negative within-person effect on sickness presence frequency. Overall, these findings contribute to the organizational literature by providing evidence for reciprocal and negative effects among sickness presence and job satisfaction, as well as a negative effect of health on sickness presence at the within-person level. Based on the findings, organizational practitioners could implement programs to enhance job satisfaction and health and to raise awareness about the potential negative consequences of sickness presence.