INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE HUMANITY & MANAGEMENT RESEARCH
ISSN (p in ) 2833-2172, ISSN (online) 2833-2180
Volume 04 Issue 11 No embe 2025
DOI: 10.58806/ijsshm .2025 4i11n13, Impac Fac o : 6.79
Page No. 2156-2158
IJSSHMR, Volume 04 Issue 11 No embe 2025 www.ijsshm .com Page 2156
The E ec o Sickness Absence on Wo kplace Pe o mance in Nige ia
P incewill Abume e
Lagos, Nige ia
ABSTRACT: Sickness absence emains a signi ican issue in Nige ian wo kplaces, a ec ing p oduc i i y, employee engagemen ,
and o e all o ganisa ional pe o mance. Building on p io esea ch ela ed o employee wellness and wellbeing in Nige ia, his
pape examines how sickness absence a ec s indi idual and eam pe o mance in key sec o s, including heal hca e, educa ion,
and echnology. The s udy employs he Job Demands-Resou ces (JD-R) model and he PERMA amewo k o in es iga e he
ela ionships among employee heal h, o ganisa ional suppo , and job ou comes. The indings show ha sickness absence has a
nega i e co ela ion wi h job sa is ac ion, p oduc i i y, and engagemen . Howe e , e ec i e wellness p og ams can signi ican ly
educe hese ad e se e ec s. Recommenda ions a e made o o ganisa ions o enhance heal h managemen sys ems, in eg a e
wellness ini ia i es, and adop lexible wo k policies o minimize sickness- ela ed absen eeism and sus ain high pe o mance.
KEYWORDS: sickness absence, employee pe o mance, absen eeism, wellness p og ams, occupa ional heal h, Nige ia
I. INTRODUCTION
Sickness absence e e s o he ime employees a e absen om wo k due o illness, inju y, o medical condi ions. In Nige ia,
whe e access o heal hca e se ices and comp ehensi e occupa ional heal h policies a e s ill e ol ing, he impac o sickness
absence on wo k o ce e iciency is signi ican . O ganisa ions a e inc easingly ecognizing he link be ween employee well-being
and o e all p oduc i i y. As a esul , o ganisa ions iew absen eeism no jus as a ou ine adminis a i e issue bu as a c ucial
s a egic challenge in managing hei wo k o ce (Obodoechi e al., 2021). This shi in pe spec i e emphasizes he need o
o ganisa ions o implemen p oac i e measu es ha c ea e a heal hy wo k en i onmen , ul ima ely aiming o educe employee
absen eeism and imp o e bo h engagemen and p oduc i i y.
Recen e idence om o ganisa ions in Nige ia unde sco es a signi ican connec ion be ween employee wellness and pe o mance
ou comes (Abume e, 2024; Ajayi e al., 2024). When employees enjoy be e physical and men al heal h, hey end o be mo e
engaged, exhibi g ea e loyal y o he o ganiza ion, and ha e lowe absen eeism a es. F equen absences due o illness can lead o
dec eased p oduc i i y, lowe mo ale, and highe employee u no e (EA Jou nals, 2025).
This s udy explo es he impac o sickness absence on pe o mance ac oss di e en sec o s. I d aws on insigh s om employee
wellness esea ch and applies es ablished heo e ical models wi hin he Nige ian con ex .
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Sickness Absence and Pe o mance
Global s udies con i m ha equen sickness absence educes bo h indi idual and eam pe o mance (Hansen & Ande sen, 2008).
Absence leads o wo k low dis up ions, educed se ice deli e y, and inc eased wo kload o p esen employees. Nige ian
o ganisa ions—especially in public adminis a ion and heal hca e—a e hea ily impac ed due o limi ed s a ing and high job
demands.
Da a om Abume e (2024) demons a e ha wellness ini ia i es signi ican ly imp o e p oduc i i y me ics: 64% o employees
epo ed enhanced physical i ness, and 56% epo ed imp o ed s ess managemen . The in e se is equally ue—poo wellness o
sickness absence di ec ly co ela es wi h a igue, p esen eeism, and educed wo k e iciency.
2.2 Theo e ical F amewo ks
The Job Demands-Resou ces (JD-R) model, p oposed by Bakke and Deme ou i in 2007, sugges s ha he balance be ween job
demands and job esou ces in luences employee well-being. Job demands can include ac o s like wo kload and s ess, while job
esou ces encompass suppo and au onomy. When employees ace excessi e demands wi hou su icien esou ces, i can lead o
bu nou and inc eased a es o sickness absence.
The E ec o Sickness Absence on Wo kplace Pe o mance in Nige ia
IJSSHMR, Volume 04 Issue 11 No embe 2025 www.ijsshm .com Page 2157
Simila ly, he PERMA model (Seligman, 2011) iden i ies i e pilla s o well-being: Posi i e Emo ion, Engagemen ,
Rela ionships, Meaning, and Accomplishmen . Sickness absence unde mines each dimension, while wellness p og ams enhance
hem, leading o imp o ed job sa is ac ion and esilience.
2.3 Employee Wellness and Absen eeism in Nige ia
Resea ch om Nige ian wo kplaces (Abume e, 2024) indica es ha o ganisa ions in es ing in in eg a ed wellness p og ams
expe ience lowe absen eeism a es and enhanced job sa is ac ion. Fo example, wo k-li e balance ini ia i es showed 68%
pa icipa ion and co ela ed wi h highe engagemen sco es. Employees wi h imp o ed heal h epo ed g ea e ocus and educed
s ess—highligh ing he p e en i e ole ha wellness p og ams play in educing sickness absence.
3. METHODOLOGY
This s udy adop s a mixed-me hods app oach, in eg a ing da a om p e ious wellness esea ch wi h new su ey esponses om
200 employees and 20 HR p o essionals ac oss Lagos, Abuja, and Po Ha cou .
3.1 Da a Collec ion
Quan i a i e: S uc u ed ques ionnai es cap u ing absen eeism equency, job sa is ac ion, and p oduc i i y a ings.
Quali a i e: In e iews wi h HR manage s and ocus g oups discussing wo kplace heal h managemen and absence policies.
3.2 Va iables
Independen Va iable: Sickness Absence (days absen pe qua e )
Dependen Va iables: Employee pe o mance, engagemen , and p oduc i i y.
Con ol Va iables: Sec o , job ole, and yea s o expe ience.
4. RESULTS
4.1 Quan i a i e Findings
Co ela ion analysis e ealed a s ong nega i e ela ionship ( = -0.62, p < 0.01) be ween sickness absence and employee
pe o mance. Employees wi h mo e han 10 days o absence pe qua e expe ienced a educ ion o up o 20% in indi idual
pe o mance and delayed p ojec deli e y.
C oss- e e encing wi h Abume e's (2024) wellness da a, o ganisa ions ha ha e ac i e wellness p og ams epo ed an a e age
absen eeism a e o 4.3 days pe qua e , compa ed o 10.5 days pe qua e o hose wi hou such p og ams. This sugges s ha
p oac i e wellness managemen can signi ican ly mi iga e he decline in pe o mance associa ed wi h sickness- ela ed absences.
4.2 Quali a i e Insigh s
In e iewees emphasized h ee key hemes:
1. Wellness Gaps: O ganisa ions lacking s uc u ed wellness p og ams expe ienced highe sickness- ela ed absences.
2. Cul u al A i udes: Employees o en ea disclosing illness, leading o p esen eeism and e en ual bu nou .
3. Leade ship Role: Ac i e manage ial suppo and communica ion we e ci ed as c i ical o educing heal h- ela ed absences.
5. DISCUSSION
Findings con i m ha sickness absence has a s ong nega i e impac on pe o mance ( = -0.62), bu he p esence o wellness
p og ams mi iga es his ela ionship. In wo kplaces whe e physical and men al heal h ini ia i es we e implemen ed (Abume e,
2024), job sa is ac ion ose by 70%, and engagemen inc eased by 64%. These igu es unde sco e he p o ec i e e ec o wellness
on a endance and pe o mance, a conclusion suppo ed by b oade in e na ional esea ch (Ganu e al., 2017).
The esul s also alida e he JD-R model, illus a ing how imp o ed esou ces (wellness p og ams, suppo sys ems) o se job
demands, educing sickness absence and enhancing pe o mance. Speci ically, in Nige ia, ac o s like poo emune a ion and
amily obliga ions ha e been iden i ied as key con ibu o s o o e all absen eeism (Ajayi e al., 2024; RSIS In e na ional, 2025),
indica ing ha holis ic wellness and suppo ini ia i es a e c ucial esou ces o educing heal h- ela ed ime o . Simila ly, om
he PERMA pe spec i e, wellness ini ia i es os e posi i e emo ions, meaning, and engagemen —all o which educe he isk o
absen eeism.
6. RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Ins i u ionalize Wellness P og ams: O ganisa ions should adop holis ic wellness s a egies (physical, men al, and inancial) as
p e en i e ools agains sickness absence.
2. Enhance Flexibili y: Hyb id and emo e op ions can help employees manage sho - e m illness wi hou comple e absence.
3. Imp o e Da a Managemen : T ack sickness absence me ics and link hem o p oduc i i y KPIs.
4. T ain Manage s: Encou age empa he ic leade ship ha p omo es psychological sa e y and suppo s eco e y.
5. In eg a e Heal h Policies: Align HR policies wi h na ional occupa ional sa e y s anda ds o educe p e en able illnesses.
The E ec o Sickness Absence on Wo kplace Pe o mance in Nige ia
IJSSHMR, Volume 04 Issue 11 No embe 2025 www.ijsshm .com Page 2158
7. CONCLUSION
Sickness absence emains a pe o mance-limi ing ac o in Nige ian companies. Howe e , e idence om employee wellness
esea ch sugges s ha p oac i e heal h and well-being p og ams can signi ican ly educe absen eeism, imp o e engagemen , and
enhance pe o mance. By in eg a ing s uc u ed wellness amewo ks in o hei HR s a egy, Nige ian employe s can ans o m
sickness absence managemen om a eac i e o a p oac i e app oach—s eng hening o ganiza ional esilience and p oduc i i y.
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