The Unethical Consequences of Daily Presenteeism: Schadenfreude and Negative Gossip Toward Peers
研究带病上班（出勤主义）如何通过日常焦虑引发对同事的幸灾乐祸和负面八卦，揭示其社会与道德代价，对管理者理解病假文化有启示。
Abstract This study investigates the social and relational unethical consequences of presenteeism—working while sick—in the day-to-day work life. Specifically, it proposes and tests a theoretical model of the interplay of daily presenteeism components— start-of-workday and at-work presenteeism—and its association with negative social interactions in the workplace in terms of unethical responses—namely, schadenfreude (i.e., the experience of pleasure at others’ misfortunes) and negative gossip toward colleagues. In so doing, it identifies an explanatory emotion-based process linking presenteeism to unethical outcomes, that is daily anxiety. Combining conservation of resources (Hobfoll in Am Psychol 44(3):513–524, 1989) and ego depletion (Muraven and Baumeister in Psychol Bull 126(2):247–259, 2000) theories, the proposed model explains the effect of presenteeism on daily anxiety, which gives rise to schadenfreude and negative gossip behavior targeted at peers. Leveraging two daily diary studies (Study 1: daily observations = 664, individuals = 87; Study 2: daily observations = 528, individuals = 59) and multilevel modeling, the hypothesized model was empirically supported. The study presents novel insights into occupational health, behavioral ethics, and management, revealing the day-to-day social costs of working while ill that may affect coworkers’ reputation, ethical culture, and internal cohesiveness in the workplace.