Exploring the experience of presenteeism among fathers returning to work following a perinatal death

ABSTRACT

Perinatal death is a frequent event that affects one in five pregnancies in western countries. It disrupts parents’ different life spheres, including their work. Fathers, more specifically, usually return to work quickly after their loss. Given the significant psychological impacts of this traumatic experience, they are likely to engage in presenteeism, i.e. reporting to work while still mourning their loss and experiencing psychological distress. However, few studies have documented this phenomenon. To fill this gap, the present study seeks to understand the nature, underlying motivations and perceived repercussions of presenteeism in fathers returning to work following a perinatal death. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 41 fathers who experienced an early or late perinatal death. Thematic analysis indicates that many fathers returned to work while still experiencing acute symptoms of psychological distress and thus engaged in presenteeism. For most fathers, presenteeism was involuntary and associated with working conditions beyond their control (e.g. workload, lack of paid leave). However, some participants returned to work out of intrinsic interest. Fathers perceived that their act of presenteeism affected them personally, as well as their organization, and their family (i.e. spouse, other children).

KEYWORDS:

• Perinatal death
• presenteeism
• fathers
• return to work
• masculinity norms

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Carl Lacharité, from Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, as well as Chantal Verdon and Diane Dubeau, from Université du Québec en Outaouais, for their contribution to the study design and the development of the interview guide. They would also like to thank Karen Grilis for her rigorous editing services.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Fonds de recherche du Québec Santé [grant numbers #22395 and #26811].

Notes on contributors

Sophie Meunier

Sophie Meunier is an organizational psychologist and professor of work and organizational psychology in the Department of Psychology at the Université du Québec à Montréal. Her research interests focus on the well-being and work functioning of employees living with mental health difficulties, such as perinatal grief.

Francine de Montigny

Francine de Montigny is a professor in the Department of Nursing at the Université du Québec en Outaouais. She held the Canada Research Chair in Family Psychosocial Health (2010–2020) and is Director of the Centre d'études et de recherche en intervention familiale (CERIF). She is also founder of the Groupe de recherche interdisciplinaire sur la paternité, la famille et la société. Her research interests focus on parents’ and families’ experiences of life transitions, such as pregnancy, birth, infancy, parenthood as well as nursing practices in relation to families.

Dominique Lalande

Dominique Lalande is a doctoral candidate in psychology at the Université du Québec en Outaouais. Her doctoral research deals with group facilitation best practices to support bereaved parents who participate in support groups after a perinatal death.

Jici Lord-Gauthier

Jici Lord-Gauthier holds a doctorate in psychology. During his academic career, he worked on various projects focusing on men's and fathers’ health. Today he works as a clinical psychologist in private practice.

Martin Lauzier

Martin Lauzier is an organizational psychologist and full professor of human resource management at the Université du Québec en Outaouais. He’s also a Senior Researcher at the Institut du savoir Montfort and Director of the Centre d'études et de recherches en psychologie industrielle et comportement organisationnel (CERPICO). His research interests mainly focus on presenteeism, employee wellness, change management and transfer of training.