Construct validity of voluntary and involuntary absenteeism

Construct validity of voluntary and involuntary employee absenteeism is examined in this study. Canonical correlation analysis of absenteeism measures and organizational, personal and attitudinal variables is used to assess empirically the discriminant validity of voluntary and involuntary absenteeism. The empirical results provide evidence consistent with the interpretation that voluntary and involuntary absenteeism are distinct constructs that are associated differentially with subsets of organizational, personal and attitudinal variables. Further study of causal absenteeism models that include voluntary and involuntary absenteeism constructs and organizational, personal and attitudinal variables is needed to more clearly explicate the antecedents of absenteeism.Research support for Collin J. Watson was provided by a Faculty Fellow Research Award from the University of Utah Research Committee, a Graduate School of Business Research Award, and a sabbatical leave.     

The economy and absenteeism: a macro-level study

Despite much speculation, little is known about the net effects of the economy on the employed workforce. To fill this gap, we used state-level data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to examine the effects of the condition of the economy, as indicated by the unemployment rate, on incidence rates of absence reportedly due to symptoms of illness and violent acts in the workplace for 43 states from 1992 to 2009. Our results suggest that the unemployment rate is positively associated with these indicators of absenteeism, and that these effects are delayed in time.     

Predictors of absenteeism among primary school teachers

The present study was designed in order to examine the contribution of personal attributes, teachers organizational commitment, and two organizational attributes, school climate and culture of absence at, school, vis-à-vis two different types of teacher absences from work, namely voluntary and involuntary absence. For that purpose, 200 teachers (74% answered) from Jerusalem (Israel), were required to complete the following scales: the Organization commitment scale, the primary school climate scale and the culture of absence scale. Results indicated that the correlations between attitudes and voluntary measures differ from the same correlations involving the involuntary measures. None of the biographical (gender, age and seniority, education) and/or attitudinal variables can explain the variance for any of the involuntary indices. Lower teachers commitment to school, principals restrictive behavior and absentee school culture offer a better explanation of variances in teacher absenteeism than any of the biographical variables.     

The effect of track position on absenteeism

Absenteeism is one of the major problems facing America's schools. Absenteeism disrupts the learning environment, is related to lower levels of achievement, and is associated with problems of crime and delinquency. While previous research has identified many of the determinants of absenteeism, the role of a student's position in the tracking structure within a school has not been explored. The purpose of this paper is to explore this relationship. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression results reveal that students who are in the lower tracks within the tracking structure in a school are more likely to be absent than other students and that Black and female students in low tracks are more adversely affected by the low-track environment that non-Black and male students. These results suggest that track position must be taken into consideration when dealing with the problem of absenteeism. The author would like to thank Maureen Hallinan for the use of her data set and for her comments and suggestions on previous drafts. The author would also like to thank Richard Williams and Kathryn Schiller for their comments and suggestions.     

The impact of vacation and job stress on burnout and absenteeism

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to test the hypothesis that vacation relief decreases psychological and behavioral strains caused by job stressors. We examined the impact of job stress and vacation on strain on 87 blue-collar employees in an industrial enterprise in central Israel. Whereas former respite research focused on the impact of vacation only on psychological strains such as burnout and job and life satisfaction, the current study also examined a behavioral strain, absenteeism. The employees completed questionnaires before and after vacation and again four weeks later. Our findings show that vacation alleviated perceived job stress and bumout as predicted, replicating findings that a respite from work diminishes levels of strain to lower than chronic, on-the-job levels. We found declines in burnout immediately after the vacation and a return to prevacation levels four weeks later, and a similar pattern with regard to absenteeism.     

The impact of vacation and job stress on burnout and absenteeism

Abstract The purpose of the present study was to test the hypothesis that vacation relief decreases psychological and behavioral strains caused by job stressors. We examined the impact of job stress and vacation on strain on 87 blue-collar employees in an industrial enterprise in central Israel. Whereas former respite research focused on the impact of vacation only on psychological strains such as burnout and job and life satisfaction, the current study also examined a behavioral strain, absenteeism. The employees completed questionnaires before and after vacation and again four weeks later. Our findings show that vacation alleviated perceived job stress and bumout as predicted, replicating findings that a respite from work diminishes levels of strain to lower than chronic, on-the-job levels. We found declines in burnout immediately after the vacation and a return to prevacation levels four weeks later, and a similar pattern with regard to absenteeism.     

Age-related differences in employee absenteeism: a meta-analysis

Meta-analyses were performed on 34 samples that included correlations of the age and employee absenteeism relationship. Samples were categorized into 2 groups for voluntary absenteeism and involuntary absenteeism based on the frequency index and the time-lost index, respectively. Results indicated that both voluntary and involuntary absence are inversely related to age. Unexplained variance remained for each of the absence measures after variance due to sampling error and measurement unreliability was statistically estimated. Work demand was negatively associated with age, but not in the expected direction. Work demand did not moderate the age-absence relationship for either voluntary or involuntary absence. Sex moderated the relationship between age and voluntary absenteeism only. For men, the relationships were negative; for women, they did not differ significantly from 0. Implications for research and human resource management practices regarding aging and absenteeism are discussed.     

Employee absenteeism: A review of the literature

The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on employee absenteeism as a form of withdrawal behavior apart from turnover. Studies examining the psychometric properties of absence measures are reviewed, along with the relationship between absenteeism and personal, attitudinal, and organizational variables. Studies exploring the relationship between absenteeism and turnover are examined according to the unit of analysis studied in the research. Programmatic efforts to reduce employee absenteeism are also reviewed. Throughout the paper emphasis is placed on the indices used by investigators to measure absenteeism, and the problems that have arisen in the literature through the use of multiple indicators of absenteeism. The review concludes with suggestions for research that are of both theoretical and practical concern.     

Consequences of person-environment incongruence: absenteeism, frustration, and stress

Two correlational studies using English nurses and working adults are reported that examined the relationship between the three measures of person-environment (P-E) fit as derived from Holland's (1973) theory and three dependent work-related variables. In the first study, the P-E fit measures of congruence, consistency, and differentiation were correlated with two measures of absenteeism, frustration, and various demographic variables. Contrary to predictions, two measures of absenteeism were positively correlated with congruence and consistency. In accordance with the hypothesis, however, frustration was highly negatively correlated with congruence and consistency. In the second study, consistency, but not congruence or differentiation, was significantly negatively correlated with stress, as predicted. These studies provide some support for Holland's theses, although not all hypotheses were supported, both for methodological and theoretical reasons. It is argued that P-E fit measures are useful predictors of occupational behavior in conjunction with other major determinants.     

School absenteeism and mental health among sexual minority youth and heterosexual youth

Adolescent school absenteeism is associated with negative outcomes such as conduct disorders, substance abuse, and dropping out of school. Mental health factors, such as depression and anxiety, have been found to be associated with increased absenteeism from school. Sexual minority youth (youth who are attracted to the same sex or endorse a gay, lesbian, or bisexual identity) are a group at risk for increased absenteeism due to fear, avoidance, and higher rates of depression and anxiety than their heterosexual peers. The present study used longitudinal data to compare sexual minority youth and heterosexual youth on excused and unexcused absences from school and to evaluate differences in the relations between depression and anxiety symptoms and school absences among sexual minority youth and heterosexual youth. A total of 108 14- to 19-years-old adolescents (71% female and 26% sexual minority) completed self-report measures of excused and unexcused absences and depression and anxiety symptoms. Compared to heterosexual youth, sexual minority youth reported more excused and unexcused absences and more depression and anxiety symptoms. Sexual minority status significantly moderated the effects of depression and anxiety symptoms on unexcused absences such that depression and anxiety symptoms were stronger predictors of unexcused absences for sexual minority youth than for heterosexual youth. The results demonstrate that sexual minority status and mental health are important factors to consider when assessing school absenteeism and when developing interventions to prevent or reduce school absenteeism among adolescents.     

Improving subjective health and reducing absenteeism in a natural work life-intervention

A natural one-year work-life intervention to improve occupational health and reduce absenteeism was designed as a field experiment. The intervention allowed the employees in the health care sector of a municipality to take up to five days of self-administered sick leave with full financial compensation up to four times a year. 165 employees in the intervention group and 100 employees in the control group filled out a questionnaire before and after the intervention. The result showed no evidence of misuse of this sick-leave option and some positive subjective health effects were found among those who used the option. Slight improvements were found in musculoskeletal problems and for cold/influenza. There were no effects on overall absenteeism. The question of the impact of local cultures on interventions to improve occupational health is also discussed.     

Magnitude of relationship between burnout and absenteeism: a preliminary study

This study examined the influence of guilt related to a negative attitude toward patients and its relation with burnout and absenteeism. The sample consisted of 717 nursing professionals. Depersonalization was evaluated by the Maslach Burnout Inventory and Guilt was evaluated by one item. To estimate Absenteeism, participants were asked about the number of workdays they had missed in the past year. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses make it possible to conclude that guilt explains work absenteeism, and the interaction between depersonalization and guilt (Incr. R2 = .008, p < .05) indicates significant differences in the number of work days missed in the last year. Conclusions are limited, as these effects are quite weak: all variables together only explain about 4% of the shared variance in absenteeism. Researchers might assess whether feelings of guilt help explain the relationship between burnout and symptoms such as absenteeism.     

Academic locus of control, type A behavior, and college absenteeism

Responses from 40 women and 56 men to the Academic Locus of Control Scale and the Framingham Type A Scale were unrelated to each other but correlated .49 and .55 and -.32 and -.37, respectively, with absences from class. Elimination of illness-related absences raised the correlations.     

Personality and absenteeism: a meta‐analysis of integrity tests

Until recently, research focus has been on a variety of demographic, attitudinal, and organizational variables in predicting and explaining absenteeism. If personality traits predict absenteeism, then it may be possible to use measures of these traits to identify and select job applicants and thereby reduce absenteeism rates. In this research, our goal was to examine whether integrity tests could be used to predict absenteeism. Meta‐analysis was applied to studies of the validity of pre‐employment integrity tests for predicting voluntary absenteeism. Twenty‐eight studies based on a total sample of 13 972 were meta‐analysed. The estimated mean predictive validity of personality‐based integrity tests was 0.33. This operational validity generalized across various predictor scales, organizations, settings, and jobs (SD_ρ = 0.00). Overt integrity tests, however, showed much lower predictive validity for absenteeism and greater variability than personality‐based tests (ρ = 0.09; SD_ρ = 0.16). The results indicate that a personnel selection approach to reducing absenteeism in organizations may be a useful strategy, particularly if personality‐based integrity tests are utilized. Potential explanations for differences between these results and those found for Big Five measures of personality are offered. Future research investigating models of absenteeism should incorporate the personality constructs assessed by integrity tests. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effect of flextime on absenteeism and turnover for male and female employees

Interrole conflict resulting from the demands of work and family roles has become increasingly common over the past decade due to significant societal changes. Females are seen as more susceptible to this interrole conflict because maintaining the home is still perceived as primarily a woman's role. As such, females tend to have higher interrole conflict than males. Flextime may be instrumental in reducing work/family conflict because of the discretion it permits. In turn, the improved integration of conflicting roles is hypothesized to reduce absenteeism and turnover. Thus a longitudinal investigation of potential differences in absenteeism and turnover for females and males on-flextime and females and males not-on-flextime was conducted. Significant decreases in absenteeism but not turnover for females and males on-flextime were found. It was concluded that flextime, by reducing the need for absenteeism, has positive benefits for employees with interrole conflict problems (e.g., dual career families) and for the Organization.     

Group norms and excessive absenteeism: The role of peer referent others

Drawing from social identity and social influence theory, we propose that the absence-related norms of an individual’s work-based referent others will have a significant effect on the likelihood of excessive absence behavior. We then develop and test a model of the social mechanisms potentially underlying the relationship between referent absence norms and the likelihood of excessive absence behavior. Our findings indicate that referent group norms significantly explain excessive absence behavior, even when taking into account the absence norms associated with the formal organizational units within which these referent groups are often nested. They also indicate that permissive referent group norms are likely to have a greater impact on the probability of target excessive absence when the target has a more conformist disposition. Finally, post-hoc findings suggest that the more negative targets’ perceptions of the consequences of absenteeism, the more attenuated the impact of permissive group norms on excessive absence behavior.     

Aversive workplace conditions and absenteeism: taking referent group norms and supervisor support into account

Past research reveals inconsistent findings regarding the association between aversive workplace conditions and absenteeism, suggesting that other, contextual factors may play a role in this association. Extending contemporary models of absence, we draw from the social identity theory of attitude-behavior relations to examine how peer absence-related norms and leader support combine to explain the effect of aversive workplace conditions on absenteeism. Using a prospective design and a random sample of transit workers, we obtained results indicating that perceived job hazards and exposure to critical incidents are positively related to subsequent absenteeism, but only under conditions of more permissive peer absence norms. Moreover, this positive impact of peer norms on absenteeism is amplified among employees perceiving their supervisor to be less supportive and is attenuated to the point of nonsignificance among those viewing their supervisor as more supportive.