Effect of Obesity and Stress at Workplace on Healthcare Absenteeism

This report investigates the impact of obesity and stress on absenteeism among healthcare workers, focusing on the New Zealand context. The introduction defines obesity as a medical condition and highlights its link to absenteeism, citing global and New Zealand statistics, including data on Maori, Pacific, and Pakeha populations. It explores the effects of obesity and stress on worker productivity and identifies gaps in current health promotion programs. The literature review delves into the interrelationship between obesity and stress, examining the impact of stress on physical and mental health, and how it contributes to absenteeism. It discusses government approaches to address obesity and stress, including health promotion initiatives. The report emphasizes the importance of understanding the effects of obesity and stress on healthcare workers, organizational stress, and potential approaches to reduce their impact. The research question explores the specific impact of obesity on absenteeism and how it affects stress levels among healthcare workers. The report uses quantitative research methods to address the research question, with findings, results, and recommendations for managers to address the issues of obesity and stress.

Running Head: Effect of Obesity and Stress at Workplace Among Healthcare Workers Contributing to
Absenteeism
EFFECT OF OBESITY AND STRESS AT WORKPLACE
AMONG HEALTHCARE WORKERS CONTRIBUTING TO
ABSENTEEISM

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Effect of Obesity and Stress at Workplace Among Healthcare Workers Contributing to Absenteeism
Table of Contents
2. Introduction............................................................................................................................3
3. Literature review....................................................................................................................5
Reference list............................................................................................................................10

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Effect of Obesity and Stress at Workplace Among Healthcare Workers Contributing to Absenteeism
Research question is:
What is the impact of obesity on absenteeism of staff and how it affects the stress level
of healthcare worker?
2. Introduction
Obesity can be identified as a medical condition that occurs when excess body fat is
accumulated that creates an adverse impact on health. Different risk factors are associated
with this condition that includes cardiovascular disease, diabetes and high blood pressure
(Theodore, McLean & TeMorenga, 2015). Moreover, obese person are also having high risk
of cancer. This problem is becoming predominant especially in urban setting. Absenteeism in
the workplace is a major impact of obesity, which was noticed in different previous studies. It
was found that major portion of absentees consumes improper diet and leads an unhealthy
lifestyle, which causes obesity (Fitzgerald, Kirby, Murphy & Geaney, 2016). In this research
it was proved that obesity and obesity related diseases like diabetes, stroke and heart failure
are some major causes of employee productivity loss in a workplace and absenteeism. The
problem of obesity increases the chance of absenteeism by 72%, which occurs due to high-
quality diet and low engagement in physical activity (Fitzgerald, Kirby, Murphy & Geaney,
2016).
New Zealand is considered as third highest adult obese country among OECD and
obesity rates is still rising here. It can be seen that 1 in 3 adults in this country and 1 in 10
children are obese. Furtur, 35% of adults in this country are overweight with high risk of
obesity. Moreover, it was seen that about 15% of maori children and 25% of pacific children
are suffering from obesity (Healthnavigator.org.nz, 2019). Moreover, high levels of stress
also causes different impacts like chest pains, low sleep rate, which contributes to

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Effect of Obesity and Stress at Workplace Among Healthcare Workers Contributing to Absenteeism
absenteeism (Healthnavigator.org.nz, 2019). Healthcare workers faces stress due to work
pressure, improper work environment and complicated patients.
Approximately 48% people of maori community are suffering from obesity and it is
affecting their daily lives (Health.govt.nz, 2019). On the other hand, more than 66% of
pacific people of NZ are dealing with this disease. Among the NZ population, more than 135
Asian people and near about 29% Europeans are obsessed. As mentioned by Theodore,
McLean & TeMorenga (2015), overweight is one of the main reasons behind loss of
productivity and absenteeism. Obsessed workforce includes people with certain diseases like
diabetes, cancer, heart disease and others. It is very obvious that this kind of people is unable
to perform well due to their physical problems. Hence, obsessed workforce leads to
absenteeism.
Many researchers have investigated the consequences of obesity and findings of these
searching indicate that obesity reduces the ability of a person to perform and it can cause
many harmful diseases. Obesity creates stress in people, which can reduce the ability to work
and concentrate. As stated by Fitzgerald et al. (2016), healthcare workers of NZ often face
issues due to lack of energy to work, higher stress levels and suffering from diseases.
However, the impact of obesity on business has not been evaluated. Due to this reason, this
study is focusing on investigating the relation between obesity and absenteeism of healthcare
workers.
In 1997, the government has measured that the number of deaths due to obesity was
approximately 3000, which was considered as 11% of total deaths in NZ (Foe.org.nz, 2020).
The NZ government has taken several initiatives for addressing the issue of obesity and
stress. Healthy Active learning, Eating and Activity guideline, Healthy Families NZ, Physical
activity guidelines, advising about stress management and other clinical guidelines have been
formed to deal with these issues (Health.govt.nz, 2019).

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Effect of Obesity and Stress at Workplace Among Healthcare Workers Contributing to Absenteeism
Obesity is now a worldwide problem that has impacted the workforce to a great
extent. About 1.9 billion adults are overweight and 650 million are obese. This huge numbr
of overweight and obese people among workforce are increasing loss of productivity. Loss of
productivity contributes to the indirect costs of an organization. As said by Goettler, Grosse
& Sonntag (2017), customized prevention program in the workplace can help a healthcare
organization to decrease the rate of obesity and reduce absenteeism.
3. Literature review
Interrelationship of obesity and stress
Obesity causes different physical and mental problems, which increases stress level.
This causes absence from work and a recent study found that workplace absence cost the
economy $1.51 billion in the year of 2016 (Nzherald.co.nz, 2018). In a study conducted by
Rosnah, Idris, Azmi & Hassim (2017), it was found that obesity is directly associated with
psychological stress responses like tension and anxiety. This tension and anxiety can occur
due to job demands and environment in the workplace. Stress can be defined as a response of
an individual due to some environmental or physical conditions. Moreover, Koski &
Naukkarinen (2017) argued that obesity can occur due to hereditary problem and abnormal
diet. Different stress factors like poor parental support from childhood also contributes to
poor mental and physical growth. This causes obesity as lack of parental support also deficits
nutrition and healthy diet. Chronic stress is identified as a risk factor of obesity. Increased
levels of basal sympathetic nervous system activation can be seen in those people with
disorders like diabetes. This disease is seen commonly in obese peoples. The impact of stress
can also be seen in appetite and human diet that can give rise to obesity Ticharwa, Cope &
Murray (2019). It has been observed that people with high levels of stress have craving to
have calorie rich food, which is also called comfort food for them. These foods are high in
fat, protein and sugar. Thus, obesity is high related with stress. Moreover, Tomiyama (2019)

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Effect of Obesity and Stress at Workplace Among Healthcare Workers Contributing to Absenteeism
argued that having awareness about healthy eating is very essential for individuals which
helps to increase consciousness of diet. Unconscious or mindless eating habit is associated
with a stressful life that influences the occurrence of obesity. Stress in the workplace is
generally associated with increased consumption of fast food, which instigates obesity.
Current approaches to deal with obesity and stress
In NZ, there are several government approaches available that are helping people
from different ethnicity to deal with stress and obesity. According to Harb et al. (2017), these
approaches help people to stay fit and healthy mentally and physically, which can help them
to perform well at workplaces. The government of this country has developed the Health
Active Learning under the Wellbeing budget of 2019. Aim of this initiative is to encourage
future workforce to maintain a certain body weight to avoid the issues related to obesity. This
initiative has been taken collaboratively by the Sports NewZealand and the ministries of
health and education. As mentioned by Choudhury (2019), the updated Eating and Activity
guideline for adults of NZ is helpful for guiding people regarding healthy eating for staying
fit. It helps to understand the importance of having a healthy diet and regular physical
activity.
Physical Activity Guidelines has been developed to guide young people about the
importance of exercise for avoiding obesity and stress. As mentioned by Jackson & Frame
(2018), this guideline can help health workers to stay fit through exercising, which can help
them to be energetic at the workplace. Healthy Families NZ initiative has been taken in
approximately 10 places of this country to encourage families to stay healthy through
maintaining a healthy lifestyle. This initiative is helping families to take care of body weight
of every member of the family. For improving nutrition and increasing physical activity, the
government of NZ has planned initiatives Activities Families (Foe.org.nz, 2020).

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Effect of Obesity and Stress at Workplace Among Healthcare Workers Contributing to Absenteeism
Besides, there are several approaches, taken by the government of the country and
other authorities to help healthcare workers to get rid of stress. As mentioned by Goettler,
Grosse & Sonntag (2017), healthcare workers are responsible to provide the best care and
cure to the patients and it is very important for them to remain stress free. However, in the
healthcare sector, these people face extreme workload and it creates stress. Several authorities
are there, who help in managing stress. These authorities are Health navigator, the Mental
Health Foundation, NHS Choice, and others (Health.govt.nz, 2019). These organizations
guide people to select the best way to manage stress. This approach may help health workers
from different ethnicities including Maori, Pacific and Pakeha to reduce their stress level
while providing care to patients. People, who are dealing with stress may obtain advocacy
and necessary information about this condition from the Mental Health Foundation and
Health Navigator. As mentioned by Choudhury (2019), these approaches may help healthcare
workers to identify primary signs of stress and the appropriate procedure to reduce its level.
The importance of understanding the effect of obesity and stress on absenteeism of
health workers
Social stress and obesity reduces productivity of a person by reducing both physical
and mental ability of a person. Health workers face different stress factors like poor work life
balance; inter employee conflicts, complicated cases that deteriorate their quality of diet.
Hence, obesity of these employees in healthcare setting increases that influence absenteeism.
One More explanation can be given regarding the relationship between obesity and
absenteeism. Overweight or obese people are considered negatively by the society. This is
because there is a negative association between society and obesity (Jackson & Frame, 2018).
Less social support and bullying from colleagues, impact on mental condition of obese
employees and creates stress. This influence in the absenteeism and they need proper
counseling to revive from the situation.

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Effect of Obesity and Stress at Workplace Among Healthcare Workers Contributing to Absenteeism
Moreover, in another study done by Ticharwa, Cope & Murray (2019), it was found
that obese individuals are more prone to sickness and natural immunity gets decreased.
Hence, for these employees in a healthcare setting, length of sick leave gets increased. In
addition, it is mentioned that obese person gets injured and remain absent as compared to
non-obese persons. Moreover, they are disabled to perform many activities that are necessary
to conduct many operational processes. Thus, absence of these obese employees and
disability impacts on the operational processes by causing delay and increasing operational
costs. On the other hand, Fitzgerald et al. (2016) stated that work pressure in a healthcare
setting like long working hours, use of inexpensive technologies and taking fast food
increases stress levels and obesity. Thus, the productivity of workers gets decreased and
absenteeism increases. Hence, it can be stated that workplace culture plays an essential role
as improper culture increases stress levels and obesity, which impacts on absenteeism. Thus,
different programs like providing healthcare benefits to workers and motivating them to lead
a healthy life can be effective to reduce absenteeism. However, these programs need to be
done by maintaining ethical norms. This Is because workers from different communities like
maori and pakeha has different beliefs regarding life style, which needs to be preserved.
Organizational stress and absenteeism
Rate of satisfaction is inversely proportional to absenteeism and stress. In an
organization, a good environment for work and support from management increases
satisfaction rate of employees in a healthcare setting. This, in turn, helps to reduce stress
levels among employees (Theodore, McLean & TeMorenga, 2015). On the other hand, low
level of support from managers and ineffective communication decreases job satisfaction
level of healthcare workers. This, in turn, creates stress and anxiety among workers. Hence,
absenteeism and turnover of employees increases. In addition, Rosnah et al. (2017),
contradicted that lack of proper leadership among healthcare workers also increases stress

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Effect of Obesity and Stress at Workplace Among Healthcare Workers Contributing to Absenteeism
level, which is directly proportional to absenteeism in a healthcare setting. Hence, it is
essential to improve organizational culture that is suitable all cultures and favors diversity.
Different religious and cultural beliefs of maori and pakeha communities must be maintained
while restructuring organizational culture.
Potential approaches to reduce the effect of obesity and stress on performance of
healthcare employees
Firstly, healthcare employees need to develop strategies to avoid stress and obesity.
They may take help from the government initiatives and other authorities to ensure mental
and physical wellbeing. As mentioned by Koski & Naukkarinen (2017), healthy eating and
regular exercise are two processes to maintain body weight. Healthcare professionals need to
communicate with experts for understanding about healthy diet and principles of doing
exercises. On the other hand, healthcare organizations need to encourage their employees to
avoid obesity. They can advise workers to check their body weights regularly to avoid the
issues related to obesity.
On the other hand, healthcare organizations need to ensure healthy working hours to
help employees to maintain balance between their personal and professional life. Harb et al.
(2017) have mentioned that this approach may help to reduce stress levels in healthcare
workers. Workshops can be arranged to educate health workers about effective processes of
managing stress. It must be ensured that they are getting sufficient wage and safe working
environment. Cooperative coworkers and supportive leaders in healthcare organizations may
help to get rid of workplace stress. Jackson & Frame (2018) have mentioned that avoiding
obesity may help health workers to reduce the risks of diseases. It can help them to ensure
physical as well as mental wellbeing. Sharing the cause of stress is another approach that can
be considered by health workers to deal with their stress. Being stress free can help them to
concentrate on works.

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Effect of Obesity and Stress at Workplace Among Healthcare Workers Contributing to Absenteeism
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