Visual Presenteeism in the digital workplace: A scoping review of dry eye disease, digital eye strain and work productivity
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Systematic Review
Abstract: Introduction: Screen-based work now dominates the digital economy, and dry eye disease (DED) and digital eye strain (DES) are among its most prevalent health correlates; their effect on work is increasingly expressed as reduced output while present (presenteeism) rather than as absence. Objectives: To map evidence linking DED, DES, screen-based work, visual symptoms, presenteeism and work productivity in adult workers, and to articulate "visual presenteeism" as a candidate construct. Material and Methods: This scoping review followed the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology and PRISMA-ScR reporting. Using a Population-Concept-Context framework, studies addressing at least two of four domains (ocular surface, digital visual fatigue, screen exposure, work outcome) were eligible without date limit. PubMed/MEDLINE and the regional LILACS/SciELO collection were searched, with trial registries and citation chaining; subscription databases were not searched. Thirty primary studies plus secondary reviews and instrument-validation sources were charted across ten themes; no meta-analysis was performed. Results: The evidence concentrates on cross-sectional, self-reported associations between visual symptoms and presenteeism, which consistently dominates over negligible absenteeism and is more closely tied to symptom severity than to clinical signs. A graded association between screen-exposure hours and ocular-surface symptoms is reported and physiological plausibility is well described, but objective performance measures, interventional evidence with a work endpoint, and causal designs are almost absent. Conclusions: Visual presenteeism is proposed as an emerging, integrative construct—not a clinical diagnosis—to organise this field; causal and economic claims are not yet warranted.
Language: English
Subfield: Human Factors and Ergonomics
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7202299072