Abstract
This study aimed to clarify the relationship between presenteeism and the level of satisfaction with the work environment in the anime industry. Data from the Animation Producers Survey 2023 were analyzed. A total of 366 laborers were included in this study. Presenteeism was assessed using the Work Functioning Impairment Scale (WFun). The satisfaction levels with eight items were evaluated, including current income level, income stability, working hours, workload, professional content, work relationships, job stability, and prospects for future work and work style. No significant differences were observed in the current income level and working hours, which were not according to the Effort–Reward Imbalance model, whereas those of other items were consistent with the model or the Job Demand–Control–Support model. Providing occupational health services tailored to the industry’s characteristics is necessary for preventing occupational dysfunction among animators.
Keywords: Animation producer, Self-employees, Presenteeism, Work Functioning Impairment Scale (WFun), Work environment
The gross productivity of the anime industry has not kept up with the growth of demand1). Even for individual workers, the so-called animators, work disability is crucial because most animators regard their work as their fulfillment and purpose2). Therefore, it is necessary for animators to inhibit work disability, including the issue of presenteeism.
In the USA, an analysis of questionnaires that assess occupational dysfunction revealed that presenteeism was the most significant component and the leading driver of overall costs across the top 10 health conditions, which accounts for a large portion of an organization’s medical cost burden3). In Japan, the Work Functioning Impairment Scale (WFun) was developed to assess work functioning impairment based on the Rasch model4). Previous studies have proven the validity and responsiveness of the WFun in workers with any health problems affecting their work, such as pain and depression5,6,7).
Few occupational health studies have been conducted in the animation industry because animators are unlikely to receive occupational health services because of legal requirements. Approximately half of the animators work as self-employed2), who are generally not considered “workers” under the Labor Standards Act or Industrial Safety and Health Act and are not protected by the laws8). Furthermore, even if employed, most studios have less than 50 workers9), and are not required to appoint an occupational health physician10). Previous studies on the anime industry have considered the poor work environment a significant industry-wide issue and have attempted to analyze its causes11). In occupational health studies, one previous study suggested that employees in the animation industry had high levels of job stress, which could lead to burnout12). However, how a poor work environment influences the productivity of animators has not been verified.
Therefore, this study aimed to identify factors associated with presenteeism by analyzing data from a survey of animators conducted by an animation industry organization.
This was a cross-sectional study using data from the Animation Producers Survey of 2023. This survey was conducted by the Japan Animation Creators Association (JAniCA) as an integral facet of the Agency for Cultural Affairs “Project to Promote the Advancement of Infrastructure for Collaborative Pursuits in Media Arts” for 2022. The responses of 429 participants during December 2022 were used in this study, anonymized and provided by JAniCA. This dataset included information on respondents’ occupational roles, working milieus, residential conditions, and overall health status. Since this study involved the secondary use of deidentified data, the requirement for ethical approval was waived.
Corporate executives and individuals with ambiguous employment designations were excluded from the analysis, thus facilitating an investigation into the interrelation between occupational functional impairments among laborers and their contentment levels with life and work. Furthermore, cases with missing data were excluded.
The attenuation in workforce operational efficacy arising from presenteeism was assessed using the WFun. The WFun was developed as a self-reported survey instrument based on the Rasch model. The WFun consists of seven items. Each item is scored from 1 to 5. The total score ranges from 7 to 35, which indicates the extent of impairment in functional capacity. A higher score indicates an escalated severity of functional incapacitation. The validation process of the WFun encompassed multiple facets, including hypothesis testing, responsiveness, and criterion-related validity, and was aligned with established benchmarks for selecting health status assessment tools based on consensus.
Eight items were evaluated, including current income level, income stability, working hours, workload, professional content, work relationships, job stability, and prospects for future work and work style. These items were rated on a 5-point scale: extremely dissatisfied, slightly dissatisfied, neither, slightly satisfied, and extremely satisfied.
The covariates used included a selection of survey items hypothesized to be associated with presenteeism such as age, gender, educational attainment, marital status, and engagement in nocturnal labor.
The association between presenteeism and contentment levels with life and work was estimated using linear regression adjusted for gender, age, educational attainment, marital status, and nocturnal work. A trend assessment was performed for the computation of the trend’s statistical significance. All statistical analyses were performed using Stata version 17 (Stata Corp., College Station, TX, USA).
A total of 366 subjects were included in the analysis. Table 1 shows the characteristics of the study subjects. The most common employment status was full-time (42%). Table 2 shows the results of the multivariate model of work functioning impairment. The WFun scores were significantly higher for those who were “extremely dissatisfied” or “slightly dissatisfied” with their job stability than for those who were “neither”, whereas no significant difference was observed between those who were “extremely satisfied” or “slightly satisfied” and those who were “neither”. The WFun scores were significantly lower for those who were “extremely satisfied” or “slightly satisfied” with work relationships than for those who were “neither”, whereas no significant difference was observed between those who were “extremely dissatisfied” or “slightly dissatisfied” and those who were “neither”. Furthermore, the WFun scores were significantly higher for those who were “dissatisfied” and significantly lower for those who were “satisfied” with income stability, workload, professional content, and prospects for future work and work style. However, no significant differences were observed in the current income level and working hours. Except for working hours, the trend test results of each question were significant.
Table 1. Characteristic of the subjects.
| Characteristic | Total N=366 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Sex | ||
| Men | 195 (53.3%) | |
| Women | 163 (44.5%) | |
| Neither | 8 (2.2%) | |
| Age, median (IQR) | 37 (29–45) | |
| Employment | ||
| Permanent | 155 (42.3%) | |
| Contract employees, part-time | 35 (9.6%) | |
| Freelance | 114 (31.1%) | |
| Self-employed | 62 (16.9%) | |
| Marriage status | ||
| Married | 134 (36.6%) | |
| Unmarried | 220 (60.1%) | |
| Bereavement/Separation | 12 (3.3%) | |
| School career | ||
| High school or lower | 54 (14.8%) | |
| Vocational school, College of technology, junior college | 154 (42.1%) | |
| University or higher | 158 (43.2%) | |
| Night work | ||
| No | 239 (65.3%) | |
| Yes | 127 (34.7%) | |
| WFun | 15 (10–20) | |
Table 2. Coefficient for multivariate model of work function impairment.
| Coefficient | 95% CI | p | p for trend | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current income level (vs. Neither) | 0.015 | ||||
| Extremely dissatisfied | 2.1 | −0.09 to 4.37 | 0.060 | ||
| Slightly dissatisfied | 1.6 | −0.35 to 3.46 | 0.109 | ||
| Slightly satisfied | −0.1 | −2.01 to 1.83 | 0.928 | ||
| Extremely satisfied | 0.0 | −3.05 to 2.97 | 0.979 | ||
| Income stability (vs. Neither) | <0.001 | ||||
| Extremely dissatisfied | 2.6 | 0.23 to 5.06 | 0.032 | ||
| Slightly dissatisfied | 0.3 | −1.74 to 2.28 | 0.792 | ||
| Slightly satisfied | −1.8 | −3.59 to −0.01 | 0.049 | ||
| Extremely satisfied | −1.9 | −4.13 to 0.28 | 0.087 | ||
| Working hours (vs. Neither) | 0.059 | ||||
| Extremely dissatisfied | 2.7 | −0.06 to 5.4 | 0.055 | ||
| Slightly dissatisfied | 0.3 | −1.57 to 2.11 | 0.774 | ||
| Slightly satisfied | −0.8 | −2.55 to 1.01 | 0.397 | ||
| Extremely satisfied | −0.4 | −2.64 to 1.92 | 0.755 | ||
| Workload (vs. Neither) | <0.001 | ||||
| Extremely dissatisfied | 3.7 | 0.66 to 6.73 | 0.017 | ||
| Slightly dissatisfied | −0.5 | −2.27 to 1.29 | 0.589 | ||
| Slightly satisfied | −2.2 | −3.78 to −0.55 | 0.009 | ||
| Extremely satisfied | −3.0 | −5.75 to −0.26 | 0.032 | ||
| Professional content (vs. Neither) | 0.001 | ||||
| Extremely dissatisfied | 3.2 | 0.34 to 6.15 | 0.029 | ||
| Slightly dissatisfied | −0.8 | −2.83 to 1.2 | 0.424 | ||
| Slightly satisfied | −1.1 | −2.77 to 0.49 | 0.169 | ||
| Extremely satisfied | −2.9 | −5.14 to −0.73 | 0.009 | ||
| Work relationships (vs. Neither) | <0.001 | ||||
| Extremely dissatisfied | 2.9 | −1.18 to 6.96 | 0.163 | ||
| Slightly dissatisfied | 0.0 | −2.17 to 2.18 | 0.994 | ||
| Slightly satisfied | −2.2 | −3.73 to −0.59 | 0.007 | ||
| Extremely satisfied | −3.2 | −5.21 to −1.2 | 0.002 | ||
| Job stability (vs. Neither) | 0.004 | ||||
| Extremely dissatisfied | 3.7 | 1.15 to 6.15 | 0.004 | ||
| Slightly dissatisfied | −0.7 | −2.66 to 1.27 | 0.485 | ||
| Slightly satisfied | −1.5 | −3.31 to 0.25 | 0.091 | ||
| Extremely satisfied | −1.0 | −3.15 to 1.13 | 0.353 | ||
| Prospects for future work and work style (vs. Neither) | <0.001 | ||||
| Extremely dissatisfied | 2.6 | 0.34 to 4.85 | 0.024 | ||
| Slightly dissatisfied | 0.9 | −0.69 to 2.56 | 0.258 | ||
| Slightly satisfied | −2.5 | −4.38 to −0.7 | 0.007 | ||
| Extremely satisfied | −3.1 | −6.34 to 0.21 | 0.067 | ||
Adjusted variables are gender, age, educational attainment, marital status, and nocturnal work.
The findings of this study are consistent with those of previous studies using the Job Demand–Control–Support (JDCS) model, which is a well-studied occupational health research risk model. This model proposes that job strain consists of a high workload, low job control (including quiet skill discretion and decision latitude), and insufficient support from supervisors and peers, which induce occupational stress13). Previous studies have clarified the relationship between these work-related factors and presenteeism14). In this study, the association between presenteeism and level of satisfaction with work relationships, workload, and professional content could be explained by the JDCS model. In summary, the findings indicate that animators can apply the JDCS model as efficiently as general workers.
The analysis revealed mixed results concerning the association between “effort” and “reward”. The Effort–Reward Imbalance model is a well-studied risk model based on the notion that high work-related efforts exceeding the received rewards, including salary, recognition, job security, and promotion prospects, can induce stress15). Previous studies have shown that failed reciprocity leads to presenteeism14). In this study, presenteeism was correlated with satisfaction with job and income stability and prospects for future work and work style, which aligns with the Effort–Reward Imbalance model. However, contrary to the Effort–Reward Imbalance model theory, the effect of dissatisfaction with current income level and working hours on presenteeism was not observed. Sociological studies of the anime industry have a hypothesis that could explain this result. According to the hypothesis, animators regard their low-paid and long-time work as tolerable problems because they improve themselves not to raise living standards but to become “competent animators” who can show their originality to the extent upstream workers allow11). This result indicates that tailoring occupational health services to suit cultural characteristics may efficiently improve their work functioning impairment.
The strength of this study lies in its being the first work dysfunction study on anime industry workers. Additionally, this study included the most significant number of self-employees in work dysfunction studies, including 118 freelancers and 64 self-employees. Furthermore, this is the first study to examine the need for occupational health services for self-employees legally outside the obligation to provide occupational health services in Japan.
This study has some limitations. First, there may be selection bias. The JAniCA expected that the duration to answer this questionnaire would be 30–60 min, which could make financially constrained animators working on commission hesitate to answer this questionnaire. Furthermore, the JAniCA asked anime studios to complete the questionnaire publicly and distribute it to animators in each studio, whereas the participation of individual animators depended on their recognition and autonomy. Second, there may be recall bias because individuals aware of work dysfunction are more likely to remember detailed dissatisfaction than those who are not. Third, this study did not include the frequency of working from home, changes in working hours compared with those during the COVID-19 pandemic, and cumulative infection rate by prefecture as covariates, which were used to adjust for potential confounders in previous studies16). Finally, some subjects may not be suitable for sociological studies. One study refers to directors, designers, storyboard artists, key animators, and in-between animators collectively as “animators”11). While about 63% of subjects engage in either of them as the main source of income, the others could not correspond with the subjects of the previous studies.
In conclusion, the results showed that implementing occupational health services using the JDCS model decreases work-related problems for animators. Furthermore, low income and long working hours were not significantly associated with occupational dysfunction, indicating the limitations of interventions based on the Effort–Reward Imbalance model. Providing occupational health services tailored to the industry’s characteristics is beneficial.
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Data Citations
- Sailaja P .(2015) Occupational stress in animation industry.