Absenteeism

Absenteeism is a habitual pattern of absence from a duty or obligation. Traditionally, absenteeism has been viewed as an indicator of poor individual performance, as well as a breach of an implicit contract between employee and employer; it was seen as a management problem, and framed in economic or quasi-economic terms. More recent scholarship seeks to understand absenteeism as an indicator of psychological, medical, or social adjustment to work.[1]

Workplace

"So You're not coming in Tomorrow Bud"

High absenteeism in the workplace may be indicative of poor morale, but absences can also be caused by workplace hazards or sick building syndrome. Many employers use statistics such as the Bradford factor that do not distinguish between genuine illness and absence for inappropriate reasons. In 2013 in the UK the CIPD estimated that the average worker had 7.6 sick days per year[2] and that absenteeism cost employers £595 per employee per annum.[3]

As a result, many employees feel obliged to come to work while ill, and transmit communicable diseases to their co-workers. This leads to even greater absenteeism and reduced productivity among other workers who try to work while ill. Work forces often excuse absenteeism caused by medical reasons if the employee provides supporting documentation from their medical practitioner. According to Nelson & Quick (2008) people who are dissatisfied with their jobs are absent more frequently. They went on to say that the type of dissatisfaction that most often leads employees to miss work is dissatisfaction with the work itself.

The psychological model that discusses this is the "withdrawal model", which assumes that absenteeism represents individual withdrawal from dissatisfying working conditions. This finds empirical support in a negative association between absence and job satisfaction, especially satisfaction with the work itself.[1]

Medical-based understanding of absenteeism find support in research that links absenteeism with smoking, problem drinking, low back pain, and migraines.[4] Absence ascribed to medical causes is often still, at least in part, voluntary. Research shows that over one trillion dollars is lost annually due to productivity shortages as a result of medical-related absenteeism, and that increased focus on preventative wellness could reduce these costs.[5] The line between psychological and medical causation is blurry, given that there are positive links between both work stress and depression and absenteeism.[4] Depressive tendencies may lie behind some of the absence ascribed to poor physical health, as with adoption of a "culturally approved sick role". This places the adjective "sickness" before the word "absence", and carries a burden of more proof than is usually offered.

Evidence indicates that absence is generally viewed as "mildly deviant workplace behavior". For example, people tend to hold negative stereotypes of absentees, under report their own absenteeism, and believe their own attendance record is better than that of their peers. Negative attributions about absence then bring about three outcomes: the behavior is open to social control, sensitive to social context, and is a potential source of workplace conflict.

In the United States, some employers use Absence Control Policies to manage chronic absenteeism.[6]

Bullying

Main article: Workplace bullying

Nearly every workplace that has a bully in charge will have elevated staff turnover and absenteeism.[7]

Narcissism and psychopathy

According to Thomas, there tends to be a higher level of stress with people who work or interact with a narcissist, which in turn increases absenteeism and staff turnover.[8] Boddy finds the same dynamic where there is a corporate psychopath in the organisation.[9]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Johns 2007, p. 4
  2. ↑ CIPD Absence management 2013
  3. ↑ The Case For Health Benefits
  4. 1 2 Johns 2007, p. 5
  5. ↑ Roland, Brian, Abenity President & CEO (May 4, 2012). "Hot Topic: Why Is Employee Wellness Important?". Abenity. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
  6. ↑ See for example: Neutral Absence Control Policies, Texas Workforce Commission
  7. ↑ Robert Killoren (2014) The Toll of Workplace Bullying - Research Management Review, Volume 20, Number 1
  8. ↑ Thomas, D (2010), Narcissism: Behind the Mask.
  9. ↑ Boddy, CR (2011), Corporate Psychopaths: Organizational Destroyers.

Notes

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