Determinants of sickness presenteeism

Last registered on September 12, 2024
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Determinants of sickness presenteeism
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0014193
Initial registration date
September 03, 2024

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
September 12, 2024, 5:39 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Philipp Kugler
Affiliation
Institute for Applied Economic Research
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2024-05-28
End date
2024-10-13
Keywords
Behavior, Gender, Health, Labor
Additional Keywords
factorial survey, information experiment, sickness presenteeism
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We conduct a survey with several sub-surveys to study sickness presenteeism, the phenomenon that individuals work (also from home) while they are sick. We design factorial surveys, which we combine with information experiments and specific subgroup analyses to study the overall phenomenology of presenteeism, the connection between career ambitions and presenteeism, how the team situation affects presenteeism behavior and to what extent women with menstrual complaints show different presenteeism behavior, for instance due to social pressure.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Kugler, Philipp. 2024. "Determinants of sickness presenteeism." AEA RCT Registry. September 12. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.14193-1.0
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Respondents are assigned to one of three vignette experiments: (1) a main experiment without restriction to certain characteristics, (2) one experiment aimed at analyzing the role of career ambitions (targeted at highly educated respondents who mainly work in projects), and (3) one experiment focused on examining the impact of menstrual discomfort (targeted at women between the age of 18 and 50). The generic vignettes are designed similarly, but differ in important aspects so that different factors can be analyzed (see generic vignettes in the pre-analysis plan).
We integrated an information experiment in two of the three experiments, i.e., in the main experiment and the experiment to analyze the role of career ambitions. For the experiment on career ambitions, individuals in the treatment group receive the information that the project they are working on has the potential to significantly advance their careers. For the control group, the project is not described in more detail in the vignettes, i.e. there is no information that the project can advance the career.
Intervention Start Date
2024-05-28
Intervention End Date
2024-10-13

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
1) Working (at work place or at home) vs. not working
2) Staying at home (working from home and not working) vs. going to work
3) Going to work vs. working at home vs. not working
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
1) Working from home vs. not working
2) Going to work vs. not working
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The study is a follow-up survey of the BIBB/BAuA Employment Survey 2024. The BIBB/BAuA Employment Survey is a representative telephone survey of about 20,000 individuals in the labor force, conducted jointly by the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) and the Federal In-stitute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA).

Initially, respondents are asked questions to determine their eligibility for each of the three experiments (gender, age, education, and whether they work in projects). Once their eligibility is established, they are randomly assigned to one of the experiments for which they qualify, and (if applicable) whether they should receive the information treatment or not. Assignment probabilities are set (and during field phase adjusted accordingly) in accordance to the target sample size of each experiment. After each vignette, respondents are asked whether they would go to work at the workplace, work from home (if this applies), or do not work under the aforementioned circumstances. Each respondent is asked to rate ten vignettes.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
For assignment to a specific vignette experiment as well as information treatment, randomization is done by a computer such that target size of sample is reached.

Within the experiments respondents are randomly assignment to a deck of vignettes by a computer.
Randomization Unit
We randomize on individual level. One individual obtains 10 different vignettes. The information treatment varies only between individuals and not between vignettes.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
In total the planned number of individuals is 3.500.

The main experiment without restriction to certain characteristics contains 2.000 individuals. 500 individuals receive the information treatment.

The experiments aimed at analyzing the role of career ambitions contains 1.000 individuals, of which 500 receive the information treatment.

The experiment focused on examining the impact of menstrual discomfort contains 500 individuals.
Sample size: planned number of observations
The units are vignettes. In total the planned number of individuals is 3.500, each answering 10 vignettes (35.000 rated vignettes). The main experiment without restriction to certain characteristics contains 2.000 individuals (20.000 rated vignettes). 500 individuals receive the information treatment. The experiments aimed at analyzing the role of career ambitions contains 1.000 individuals (10.000 rated vignettes), of which 500 (5.000 rated vignettes) receive the information treatment. The experiment focused on examining the impact of menstrual discomfort contains 500 individuals (5.000 rated vignettes).
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
In total the planned number of individuals is 3.500, each answering 10 vignettes (35.000 rated vignettes).

The main experiment without restriction to certain characteristics contains 2.000 individuals (20.000 rated vignettes). 500 individuals receive the information treatment.

The experiments aimed at analyzing the role of career ambitions contains 1.000 individuals (10.000 rated vignettes), of which 500 (5.000 rated vignettes) receive the information treatment.

The experiment focused on examining the impact of menstrual discomfort contains 500 individuals (5.000 rated vignettes).
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Ethikkommission der Bundesanstalt für Arbeitsschutz und Arbeitsmedizin
IRB Approval Date
2024-04-30
IRB Approval Number
N/A
Analysis Plan

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