Workplace productivity loss as a result of absenteeism and presenteeism in chronic and episodic migraine: a scoping review

Abstract

Purpose

Migraine consists of a chronic neurological disorder with episodic attacks. Migraine prevails in people of their most productive working age, followed by difficulties at work and social functions. This scoping review aims to analyze the economic burden on a workplace due to chronic migraine compared to episodic migraine by focusing on the indirect costs of absenteeism and presenteeism and addressing the research gaps in this field.

Design/methodology/approach

According to the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews, a comprehensive electronic literature search was carried out from 2010 to 2020 using the Google Scholar and Medline/PubMed databases.

Findings

The findings confirm that chronic and episodic migraine harm the workplace's productivity, escalating with the frequency of migraine attacks. Differences occur between presenteeism and absenteeism rates among chronic and episodic migraine, and higher presenteeism than absenteeism rates.

Originality/value

This review sheds new light on the indirect burden of migraine. It shows the gaps in the explored research area and the need for more targeted and extended research that could provide a deeper understanding of the workplace's hidden costs of migraine. The issues discussed are important as they can raise awareness of the interested parties, policymakers, employers and vocational rehabilitation specialists on the work disability associated with migraine.

Citation

Papakonstantinou, D. and Tomos, C. (2022), "Workplace productivity loss as a result of absenteeism and presenteeism in chronic and episodic migraine: a scoping review", International Journal of Workplace Health Management, Vol. 15 No. 1, pp. 38-53. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJWHM-05-2021-0123