Off-campus UMass Amherst users: To download campus access theses, please use the following link to log into our proxy server with your UMass Amherst user name and password.
Non-UMass Amherst users: Please talk to your librarian about requesting this thesis through interlibrary loan.
Theses that have an embargo placed on them will not be available to anyone until the embargo expires.
Access Type
Open Access
Document Type
thesis
Degree Program
Hotel & Tourism Management
Degree Type
Master of Science (M.S.)
Year Degree Awarded
2009
Month Degree Awarded
September
Keywords
Presenteeism, Health & Productivity
Abstract
Presenteeism is the state of being physically present but less than fully functional because of illness or other distraction. Health and Productivity Management (HPM) professionals and academics seek to quantify losses attributable to this phenomenon. The Stanford SPS-6 is selected as the most useful instrument to test for the characteristic of presenteeism as intrinsic capacity for performing while distracted. This study tests graduate students from a variety of curricula, as examples of career choice, to determine whether some groups would have greater capacity to perform under distraction. Results of the study showed differences in presenteeism scores between groups. Males scored higher than females, and more work experience may bring greater capacity. Evidence of a relationship between severity and score was found for those with psycho-emotional distractors, but not when the source was physical. For those reporting psycho-emotional sources of distraction, severity was a predictor. Similarly, correlations were found such that an increase in self-perceived severity could be associated with a reduction in capacity to perform when the source of distraction was psycho-emotional. It is possible that presenteeism can be quantifiable and associated with career-choice. This may be useful for hospitality and other industries as a test for suitable workers.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7275/867522
First Advisor
Chris Roberts
Second Advisor
Linda Shea