Job demands and job resources as predictors of absence duration and frequency

This study among 214 nutrition production employees uses the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model to predict future company registered absenteeism. According to this model, job demands are primarily responsible for health impairment, whereas job resources lead primarily to increased motivation and attachment to work and the organization. Consistent with hypotheses derived from the JD-R model and the absenteeism literature, results of structural equation modeling analyses show that job demands are unique predictors of burnout (i.e., exhaustion and cynicism) and indirectly of absence duration, whereas job resources are unique predictors of organizational commitment, and indirectly of absence spells. These findings have implications for individual and organizational interventions aimed at reducing absenteeism.     

Social Comparisons and Absenteeism: A Structural Modeling Approach1

In this study a social comparison model is constructed that predicts objectively recorded absence frequency among male Dutch blue-collar workers from a metal factory in the Netherlands. By employing LISREL, the model is developed (tested and revised) in Plant North (N = 254), and successfully cross-validated in Plant South (N= 199). The study demonstrates the impact of two social comparison processes upon absenteeism. Absenteeism is the result of: (a) the perception that one is less well-off than one's colleagues on several job aspects, and (b) the adjustment of one's personal absence norm to that of the work group. In addition, our study reveals that, rather than being absent or having tolerant absence norms, employees may develop feelings of resentment in response to perceived inequity and a tolerant group absence norm. It is concluded that social comparison theory enhances our understanding of absenteeism.     

TESTING THE DURABILITY OF JOB CHARACTERISTICS AS PREDICTORS OF ABSENTEEISM OVER A SIX-YEAR PERIOD

The purpose of this study was to test the relationships between job characteristics and absence over a 6-year period. Civilian employees from a large military organization participated. The results indicated that job characteristics continued to correlate significantly with a measure of absence frequency up to 6 years after the job characteristics had been assessed. The job characteristics measures also correlated significantly with a measure of time-lost absenteeism. Regression analyses revealed that job characteristics predicted absence frequency significantly over a 6-year period and time-lost absence for up to 4 years after job characteristics were assessed. The magnitudes of these relationships remained fairly constant across time. Results from regression analyses controlling for demographic variables indicated that job characteristics predicted time-lost and absence frequency for most years. Competence and need for achievement failed to moderate the job characteristics-absence relationships.     

The Effect of Employee Assistance Services on Reductions in Employee Absenteeism

Personal and work-related stressors experienced by employees can result in substantial costs to employers in the form of employee absenteeism. Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) provide an important vehicle to assist employees with behavioral health issues, personal concerns, and work-related problems that impact employee absenteeism. This study tested the impact of EAPs on reducing employee absenteeism utilizing a well-matched control group and human resource timecard data. The study recruited employees from 20 areas of state government and used a prospective, quasi-experimental design with propensity score matching. EAP (n = 145) users were matched to non-EAP (n = 145) users on baseline demographic, psychosocial, and work-related characteristics that differentiate the groups. Hours of sick time recorded were provided by human resource offices. Differences in sick leave usage were tested using mixed model repeated measures. A steeper decline in sick leave usage for EAP than non-EAP employees was found, with estimates of 4.8 to 6.5% fewer hours lost per month to illness. Further analysis found that EAP services were most effective in helping clients move from moderate to low levels of sick leave rather than in reducing sick leave for those experiencing chronic absenteeism. Research on the effectiveness of EAPs rarely utilizes well-matched control groups and frequently relies on self-reported outcomes. Using an objective measure of work time lost, this study provides empirical evidence that users of EAP services tend to reduce their absenteeism at a faster pace than non-EAP users experiencing similar challenges to maintaining productivity.     

Chronic absence,eighth-grade achievement,and high school attainment in the Chicago Longitudinal Study

Although not as commonly reported as average daily attendance, chronic absence data may be of significant importance for understanding student success. Using data from 1148 participants in the Chicago Longitudinal Study, we assessed the associations of chronic absence in the early middle grades, grades fourth through sixth, with eighth-grade achievement and three measures of high school attainment including four-year graduation by diploma, graduation by diploma by age 21, and any high school completion by age 21. The rate of chronic absenteeism, defined here as students missing approximately 14 days of school or more in a year, was 15%. Using Ordinary Least Squares, probit regression, and inverse-probability-weighting regression-adjustment methods (IPWRA), results indicated that chronic absence in the early middle grades was negatively associated (d = − 0.17) with eighth-grade math achievement and reduced the probability of four-year graduation by diploma by 18 percentage points, graduation by diploma by age 21 by 17 percentage points, and any high school completion by age 21 by 11 percentage points. IPWRA yielded similar estimates. Coefficients varied by subgroup with males and children of mothers who completed high school experiencing more detrimental effects. Associations of chronic absence with outcomes are important to understand because school interventions and practices which begin early can be effective in reducing the prevalence of absenteeism.     

THE EFFECTS OF ON-SITE CHILD CARE ON EMPLOYEE ATTITUDES AND PERFORMANCE

Using a quasi-experimental posttest design, this study compared supervisor perceptions of performance and absenteeism and employee attitudes of 155 child care center users and waiting list employees. Although child care was not related to supervisor views of performance or absenteeism, employees were more likely to receive favorable appraisals if absenteeism was low. Child care had greatest impact on females and employees without a family buffer. Child care positively influenced users' attitudes toward managing work and child care responsibilities, and views on the attractiveness and administration of benefits. The greater the use of care across all dependents, the more favorable the attitudes. A "frustration effect" occurred involving the lowering of waiting list employees' perceptions of the attractiveness and fairness of child care. The study suggests that child care benefits are more likely to significantly effect employee attitudes and membership behaviors such as recruitment and retention than performance or absenteeism.     

Doing bad through being selective in doing good: the role of within-unit variability in ethical leadership

Although it is commonly assumed that perceptions of equity at work have a significant impact on employee absenteeism, our understanding of the equity–absence relationship is limited in that (1) little is known about equity concepts other than procedural and distributive justice; and (2) for the most part, research has overlooked variables likely to mediate and moderate the impact of equity on absenteeism. Drawing from the effort–reward imbalance model (ERI; Siegrist, 1996), our study advances past research by investigating the association between status inconsistency (a situation in which there is a mismatch between, for example, a person's education and his/her income) and absenteeism, and the variables likely to account for this association. Results from a sample of 416 customer-care employees show that stress mediates the relationship between status inconsistency and absenteeism, and that HRM practices attenuate this relationship. Moderated mediation analyses further reveal that HRM practices moderate the indirect effect of status inconsistency on absenteeism via stress.     

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.     

THE RELATIONSHIP OF PERSONALITY VARIABLES TO ORGANIZATIONAL WITHDRAWAL

The relationship of personality variables to turnover and absenteeism was investigated using Cattell's 16 PF. Results indicated Factors G (conscientiousness) and Q₄ (anxiety) accounted for most of the predictable variance in both indices or organizational withdrawal. The Porter and Steers "polar" hypotheses for organizational withdrawal were not confirmed except for the anxiety factor. Results are discussed in terms of Lyons'(1972) conclusions on the relationship of absenteeism and turnover and the generality of findings to other samples of employees.     

Toward a better understanding of psychological contract breach: a study of customer service employees

Experiences of psychological contract breach have been associated with a range of negative behavior. However, much of the research has focused on master of business administration alumni and managers and made use of self-reported outcomes. Studying a sample of customer service employees, the research found that psychological contract breach was related to lower organizational trust, which, in turn was associated with perceptions of less cooperative employment relations and higher levels of absenteeism. Furthermore, perceptions of external market pressures moderated the effect of psychological contract breach on absenteeism. The study indicated that psychological contract breach can arise when employees perceive discrepancies between an organization's espoused behavioral standards and its actual behavioral standards, and this can affect discretionary absence.     

Job-content Perceptions, Performance–reward Expectancies, and Absenteeism among Low-wage Public-sector Clerical Employees

This study explored relations of job-content perceptions (i.e., skill variety and task significance), and performance–reward expectancies, with absenteeism among 134 low-wage public-sector clerical employees. Results indicated that those employees who perceived limited performance–reward expectancies (i.e., lower instrumentality), and who considered their jobs to be either higher on skill variety or task significance, were likely to be absent more often. Moreover, the link between skill variety and absenteeism was moderated by instrumentality in a manner suggesting that respondents may have utilized absenteeism as a means of compensating for perceived workplace contributions not extrinsically rewarded. These findings further suggest that employees in occupational settings for which performance-related extrinsic rewards are less available may not respond to favorable job-content perceptions in the positive manner generally predicted by job characteristics theory.     

Social Comparison,Inequity, and Absenteeism among Bus Drivers

Abstract

In this study, absenteeism among bus drivers is predicted on the basis of equity theory and social comparison theory. The number of objectively recorded absence spells (up to a maximum of 14 calendar days) is assessed in a sample of 116 bus drivers from a transport company in the Netherlands. Using the program LISREL, a social psychological model is developed (i.e. tested and revised). The study demonstrates the impact upon absenteeism of two social factors: (1) conflicts with superiors, which are associated with drivers' perception of investing more in the exchange relationship with the company than they receive in return; and (2) the perceived norms of colleagues regarding being absent from work. In addition to their impact upon absence behaviour, both social factors also seem to influence the personal norm regarding being absent. Unexpectedly, the personal absence norm is not significantly associated with absence behaviour. It is concluded that equity theory and social comparison theory enhance our understanding of absenteeism among bus drivers.     

Taking a sickie: Job satisfaction and job involvement as interactive predictors of absenteeism in a public organization

Correlations between absenteeism and work attitudes such as job satisfaction have often been found to be disappointingly weak. As prior work reveals, this might be due to ignoring interactive effects of attitudes with different attitude targets (e.g. job involvement and organizational commitment). Drawing on basic principles in personality research and insights about the situational variability of job satisfaction judgments, we proposed that similar interactions should be present also for attitudes with the same target. More specifically, it was predicted that job involvement affects absenteeism more if job satisfaction is low as this indicates a situation with weak constraints. Both attitudes were assessed in a sample of 436 employees working in a large civil service organization, and two indexes of absence data (frequency and time lost) were drawn from personnel records covering a 12‐month period following the survey. Whereas simple correlations were not significant, a moderated regression documented that the hypothesized interaction was significant for both indicators of absence behaviour. As a range of controls (e.g. age, gender, job level) were accounted for, these findings lend strong support to the importance of this new, specific form of attitude interaction. Thus, we encourage researchers not only to consider interactions of attitudes with a different focus (e.g. job vs. organization) but also interactions between job involvement and job satisfaction as this will yield new insights into the complex function of attitudes in influencing absenteeism.     

EFFECTIVENESS OF AN ATTENDANCE CONTROL POLICY IN REDUCING CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM

An attendance control policy based on the Katz and Kahn (1966) motivational pattern of legal compliance was implemented in one department of a large manufacturing organization with two comparable departments serving as controls. A pre-post measure of absenteeism served as the criterion in a 2 × 3 factorial analysis of variance. The factors were the attendance control policy and 3 levels of absence groups (high, average, and low). It was hypothesized that a control policy based on legal compliance would lead to a meaningful reduction in absenteeism among high absence workers who were considered to be chronic absentees by the organization. The results supported the effectiveness of the attendance control policy among chronically absent workers, although the policy did not lead to improvements in attendance among regular attenders. The implications of the study are discussed in the context of organizational efforts to control chronic absenteeism.     

A Qualitative and Quantitative Review of Antecedents of Counterproductive Behavior in Organizations

This paper presents a qualitative and quantitative review of the antecedents of counterproductive behaviors (CPB). The qualitative review organizes antecedents identified in past research into four broad categories: personal, organizational, work, and contextual factors. The quantitative review includes metaanalyses of 40 published studies with a combined sample size of 42,359. The results indicate that employees who are young or dissatisfied engage in more CPBs. In addition, absenteeism is more prevalent among employees who are young, female, have lower income, have lower job satisfaction, and who perceive a stronger absence norm, or a stronger ability to be on time.     

An evaluation of preemployment drug testing

As part of a blind longitudinal study, 5,465 job applicants were tested for use of illicit drugs, and the relationships between these drug-test results and absenteeism, turnover, injuries, and accidents on the job were evaluated. After an average 1.3 years of employment, employees who had tested positive for illicit drugs had an absenteeism rate 59.3% higher than employees who had tested negative (6.63% vs. 4.16% of scheduled work hours, respectively). Employees who had tested positive also had a 47% higher rate of involuntary turnover than employees who had tested negative (15.41% vs. 10.51%, respectively). No significant associations were detected between drug-test results and measures of injury and accident occurrence. The practical implications of these results, in terms of economic utility and prediction errors, are discussed.     

The determinants of employee absenteeism: An empirical test of a causal model*

LISREL estimates of the parameters of a causal model of absenteeism are reported for a sample of 425 full-time employees of a 327-bed medical centre. The model modifies and extends the conceptual framework of Steers & Rhodes (1978) and includes routinization, centralization, pay, distributive justice, work involvement, role ambiguity, conflict and overload, kinship responsibility, organizational permissiveness, job satisfaction, job involvement, organizational commitment, health status and alcohol involvement as the determinants of absenteeism. Based on self-report measures of absence frequency, significant positive direct effects of kinship responsibility, organizational permissiveness, role ambiguity and alcohol involvement, and negative direct effects of centralization, pay and job satisfaction yielded an R² for absenteeism of 21.6. Job satisfaction completely mediated the effects of routinization and work involvement, and partially mediated the effects of centralization and role ambiguity.     

EMPLOYER SUPPORTED CHILD CARE, WORK/ FAMILY CONFLICT, AND ABSENTEEISM: A FIELD STUDY

This study examined the relations among employer supported child care, work/family conflict and absenteeism. No support was found for the hypothesis that use of a child care center at work would reduce the amount of work/family conflict and absenteeism of employed parents. Consistent with our hypotheses, the results indicated that supportive supervision and satisfaction with child care arrangements (regardless of location) were related to less work/family conflict. Further, it was found that less work/family conflict was related to lower levels of absenteeism. The results have implications for the role of employers in addressing child care concerns of employees.     

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.