The Unethical Consequences of Daily Presenteeism: Schadenfreude and Negative Gossip Toward Peers

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.