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MBA VI Master of Business Administration Program in Management and Finance 2009 2011

Absenteeism: A Myth or Reality? A study of an agriculture Company in Suriname By Permila Bissumbhar

Supervisor: Dr. Geert Heling, PhD Date: December 2011

Maastricht School of Management (MSM) in Netherlands and F.H.R. Lim A Po Institute for Social Studies in Suriname

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ABSTRACT

Many production companies in Suriname have the challenge to improve productivity and cost price in order to remain successful in an increasingly competitive world. One factor that leads to lower productivity is absenteeism. This thesis therefore focuses on the main determinants of employee absenteeism in an agriculture production company of Suriname. The study was divided in two parts. The objective of the first part was to learn and quantify the reasons for employee absenteeism from workers themselves and management. Management and workers agreed that illness was the most important reason for being absent. Other common reasons are illness of a child or family members, and tiredness. However workers mentioned also having appointment with a doctor and injuries as important reasons, while management believed that transport problems, wage rate and no childcare were important reasons. In the second part of this thesis a quantitative research was carried out to examine the relationship between absenteeism and 5 independent variables of wellbeing ; job satisfaction, job design, workload, organizational commitment and psychological wellbeing. Also 5 moderated variables were included in this study. The results show psychological wellbeing as the most significant predictors of absenteeism. Availability of money, safety, age and tenure were also significantly correlated to absenteeism. Some results are similar to result found in past research and some are the contrary. By understanding what causes employees to miss work, a company can find ways to reduce and control this phenomenon in order to increase productivity and decrease cost price. 2|Page

Table of Contents
ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................................................. 2 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................ 5 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 2 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES ..........................................................................................................................................7 THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS ....................................................................................................................................7 RESEARCH MODEL................................................................................................................................................7 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS .........................................................................................................................................8 METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................................................................................9

LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................................................... 11 2.1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................................11 2.2 ABSENTEEISM ....................................................................................................................................................12 2.3 WELLBEING .......................................................................................................................................................14 2.3.1 Job satisfaction and Absenteeism ........................................................................................................15 2.3.2 Job design and absenteeism ................................................................................................................16 2.3.3 Organizational commitment and absenteeism ....................................................................................18 2.3.4 Psychological wellbeing .......................................................................................................................19

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................................ 21 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................................21 RESEARCH MODEL..............................................................................................................................................22 RESEARCH METHOD ...........................................................................................................................................23 SAMPLING AND DATA COLLECTION ........................................................................................................................25

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ANALYSES AND RESULTS ............................................................................................................................. 28 4.1 REPORTED REASONS FOR BEING ABSENT .....................................................................................................................28 4.2 RESULTS AND ANALYSES OF WELLBEING AND ABSENTEEISM ........................................................................................31 4.2.1 Reliability .............................................................................................................................................31 4.2.2 Descriptive Statistics ............................................................................................................................32 4.2.3 Correlation between variables of employee wellbeing and absenteeism ............................................33 4.2.4 Regression Analyses ............................................................................................................................35

5. 6.

DISCUSSION & CONCLUSIONS ..................................................................................................................... 39 RECOMMENDATIONS & LIMITATIONS ........................................................................................................ 42 6.1 6.2 RECOMMENDATIONS ..........................................................................................................................................42 LIMITATIONS & FUTURE RESEARCH ........................................................................................................................43

BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................................................................... 45 APPENDIX I: APPENDIX II: APPENDIX III: QUESTIONNAIRE "REASON FOR ABSENTEEISM" ........................................................................ 51 VRAGENLIJST "REDEN VOOR ABSENTEEISME" .......................................................................... 52 VRAGENLIJST OVER BELEVING EN BEOORDELING VAN ARBEID ................................................ 53

APPENDIX VI: QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY PART 2 ABSENTEEISM ........................................................................... 57

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APPENDIX V:

RESULTS REGRESSION ANALYSES .............................................................................................. 61

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1.

INTRODUCTION

In many businesses in Suriname absenteeism is one of the most important challenges they face in trying to increase efficiency and productivity. They have problems in meeting deadlines and the lost time and production is very difficult to manage without negative consequences in quality and costs. Today with globalization the market is accessible for everyone and to stay in the market you need to be highly competitive to keep the market or to increase market share. This is also a very important aspect for especially the export companies in Suriname. Absenteeism occurs when an employee is not present at his/her work when he/she is expected to be at work according to the schedule (Brooke, 1986).The management of absenteeism is a fundamental part of the human resources function, which still is very poorly understood by management. This research focuses on absenteeism in one agriculture labor intensive production company. Data is collected in the banana producing company of Suriname, SBBS (Stichting Behoud Bananen Sector). It is a production company operating on the international market. Not only in this company, but almost all companies working with mostly low skilled labor have problems with high absenteeism. For the agricultural sector this absent phenomena is very costly because agricultural products are perishable (fresh fruit & vegetables). In order to control these costs, this phenomenon needs to be studied to find methods to reduce employee absence. Most of the research done on absenteeism assumes that some of the factors leading to absenteeism possible can be influenced. This suggests that absenteeism is sensitive to some degree of volition (Stamm, C & Farrel, D, 1988). (Steers, R. & Rhodes, S, 1978) have developed a model explaining absenteeism and attendance. Attendance and absence are influenced by two important factors; the employees motivation to attend and the employees ability to attend (Steers, R. & Rhodes, S, 1978). An employee is present at work when he/she is

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motivated, or has reasons to come to work, and also must be able to come to work (Rhodes, S & Steers, R. M., 1981). Numerous studies have examined the relationship with absenteeism and job satisfaction, but the empirical findings have not been consistent (K.D. Scott, G.Stephen Taylor , 1985).The meta-analyses of the relationship between employee absenteeism and job satisfaction (K.D. Scott, G.Stephen Taylor , 1985) showed that job satisfaction was found consistently to be negatively associated with absence. A person who is not satisfied with his or her job has a higher intent to be absent (Jase Ramsey, Betty Jane Punnett and Dion Greenidge, 2008). (J. R. Rentsch, R.P. Steel, 2003) have identified individual characteristics, job-related characteristics, and contextual characteristics as three major types of potential absence determinants. Employees with high levels of organizational commitment are less likely to miss work because it jeopardizes their membership in the company (Harrison, D. A., & Martocchio, J. , 1998). Job satisfaction, job related characteristics like job demand and workload are some of the factors of employee wellbeing. In many studies employee wellbeing has been operationalized by these variables (Wright, 2005). Employee wellbeing can be defined as the overall quality of an employees experience and functioning at work (Warr, 1987). If employees feel better they are likely to perform better and take fewer days off sick. Employee well-being has also a significant impact on also the performance of companies by its effect on costs which are related to sickness, absenteeism and turnover (Spector, P., 1997). The focus of this study is to understand why individuals are absent from work. With this knowledge, HR managers can better select the most cost-effective interventions aimed at preventing or reducing absence.

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1.1

Research Objectives

When an employee decides not to come to work there can be different reasons for this behavior. Some of these reasons may be in his/her control and some may not. When the causes of the absenteeism are determined than strategies can be developed to reduce the rate of absenteeism in production companies in Suriname. The main objectives of this study are to identify the main factors leading to absenteeism and to measure the impact of these variables on absenteeism.

1.2 The Research Questions

The main research question is: What are the main determinants of employees absenteeism? Sub Research Questions are:

1. 2. 3.

What are according to employees the main reasons for being absent? What are according to management the reasons why their workers are absent? How can absenteeism be reduced in this company?

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Research Model

The research model has 2 constructs, absenteeism and employee wellbeing. Absenteeism is the dependent variable and the construct employee wellbeing consist of 5 independent variables. There are also 5 moderating variables included in this study, which can influence the dependent variable. 7|Page

Employee Wellbeing
Independent Variables 1. Job satisfaction 2. Job Design 3. Organizational Commitment 4. Workload: perceived & physical 5. Psychological Wellbeing Moderating Variables 1. Age 2. Gender 3. Marital Status 4. Job Tenure 5. No of children living at home

Absenteeism
Dependant Variable Absenteeism (Frequency)

1.4 Research Hypothesis

Ho1: Employees who are more satisfied with their job are less absent Ho2: High perceived workload result in higher absenteeism Ho3: High physical workload results in higher absenteeism Ho4: There is no relation between job design and absenteeism Ho5: More committed employees are less absent. Ho6: Employees with higher level of psychological wellbeing are less absent

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1.5

Methodology

Absence can be voluntary and involuntary. Voluntary absences are absences that the worker has control over and consist of those absences which occur when the worker is able to work but for some reason decides to miss work (Hinze, J., Ugwu, M., and Hubbard, L., 1985). Involuntary absences are absences that the worker has little control over and consist primarily of illnesses and injuries (Hinze, J., Ugwu, M., and Hubbard, L., 1985). In this study both type of absence will be considered, since employees who are absent due to sickness sometimes are not really sick. Measure of absence frequency is derived from the personnel records of participating employees. Absence frequency referred to the total number of absence incidences, ignoring the length of each absence event. Absence duration (total days lost) is also available but will not be used in this study because it is likely to show extreme deviations in their statistical properties (Hammer, T. H., & Landau, J. , 1981). To identify the reasons employees are absent, a questionnaire was developed to collect quantitative data from workers and management. This would give their perception of the factors leading to employee absenteeism. This questionnaire consist of 15 reasons why a worker might be absent from work (Awad S. Hanna, Cindy L. Menches, Sullivan, & Sargent, November 2005) .The workers had to rate each factor as strong or weak reason for their absence at work on a 5point liker scale. The management had to rate also each factor as strong or weak factors for their workers absence. The management and the workers could add other factors if necessary. With this first part of the study the perception of workers and management for the main determinant of absenteeism becomes clear. A comparison will be made between the perception of workers and management. 9|Page

To reduce absenteeism it is important to know the underlying causes for the absence behavior. In this second part of the study the construct employee wellbeing with 5 variables will be measured to find the relations between these variable and absenteeism. Job satisfaction was measured with the Job Satisfaction Questionnaire of (Warr, P. B., Cook, J. and Wall, T. D. , 1979). Job features were measured by a scale of (Warr, P., 2007), which include some of the scale of the Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS) (Hackman, J. R., & Oldham, G. R. , 1975) (Organizational commitment was measured by 4-items scale employed by (Currivan, 2000). This measure was assessed on a 5-point scale. The general perceptions of workload were measured by a 3-items scale employed by (Currivan, 2000) and the physical workload was measured by (Hollmann S, Klimmer F, Schmidt K-H, Kylian H., 1999). Psychological Well-Being was measured by the General Health Questionnaire GHQ12 (Goldberg, D. & Williams, P, 1988).

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2.1

LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction

Suriname is a developing country with only half a million people. The labor force is thus very limited and needs to be managed properly. Employees not showing up at work when they are scheduled is one of the mayor problems many company face and finding solutions to reduce this absence is very essential. There are currently no reliable statistics on absenteeism in Suriname available, but from different personal resources there are some indications that it varies between 7% and 20 %. This percentage is the number of days lost to absenteeism divided with the total no of day scheduled. Barbados; also a developing country in the Caribbean, has around 7% absenteeism (Betty Jane Punnett, Dion Greenidge, Jase Ramsey, 2007). This is an indication that we could find possibilities in Suriname to reduce the absenteeism. A reduction of the absenteeism rate can have a substantial impact on the labor force, the productivity of companies and ultimately the whole economy. The absenteeism rate will vary with the type of industry, organization, occupation and culture, but they are all experiencing this increasingly costly problem (Fred Luthans & Mark Martinko , 1976); (Steers, R. M., & Rhodes, S. R. , 1984). These large differences led researcher to hypothesize that working conditions experienced by employees will influence the pattern of absenteeism (Chadwick-Jones, J. K., Nicholson, N., & Brown, C., 1982) (Kaiser, 1998) .

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2.2

Absenteeism

Attending work or being absent from work are behaviors and this behavior is caused by different factors (Fred Luthans & Mark Martinko , 1976) It is a behavior where positive and negative reinforces (rewards and punishments) are interacting with one another. When an employee is less absent after a verbal reprimand than the verbal reprimand is a punisher. But if instead of decreasing, the absenteeism increases, than the verbal reprimand is reinforcing absenteeism. In the research done by Luthans and Martinko it is states that in order to analyze attendance or absenteeism, the antecedents and also the consequences must be analyze. Examples of some of the variables in this kind of analyses are given in Figure 1. Figure 1: Functional analyses of absenteeism behavior

Illness/accident Hang-over Lack of transportation Traffic No day care facilities Family problems Company policies Group/personal norms Seniority/age Awareness/observation of any consequence

Getting up late Sleeping-in Staying home Drinking Fishing/hunting Working at home Visiting Caring for sick child

Discipline Programs Verbal reprimands Written reprimands Pay docks Layoffs Dismissals Consequences from co-workers Escape and avoidance of working Nothing 12 | P a g e

In absenteeism a distinction is made in paid and unpaid absence. Paid absence can be absence due to sickness or injuries. All public companies and many of the private companies provide healthcare and also normal payment on sick leave which is authorized by a physician. Other researchers divide the absenteeism in voluntary or involuntary absence (Brooke, P.P. and Price, J.L., 1989). Voluntary absence occurs when an employee by its own choice doesnt attend work for reasons that are within his or her control. Involuntary absence is more or less beyond the control of the employee like illness and injuries. The distinction between the two components is often whether the employee had an approved excuse for being absent. Being on sick-leave when the employee is not really sick is within the control of the employee. In this case the employee was not motivated to attend work for some reason. Most of the times employees are absent from work for reasons other than sickness (Fred Luthans & Mark Martinko , 1976). In this research absenteeism includes paid as well as unpaid absence and also voluntary and involuntary absence since there are overlapping issues between them. One of the most cited models used in the absenteeism research is the process model of employee absence by (Steers, R. M., & Rhodes, S. R., 1978). This model is the result of analyses done on 104 empirical studies on absenteeism. It states that for an employee to be present at work, the employee must be motivated or have a reason to come to work and in addition must be able to come to work. Attendance motivation is largely influenced by satisfaction with the job situation and the social, economic and personal pressure to attend (Steers, R. M., & Rhodes, S. R. , 1984). It is difficult for employers to verify the claims of employees about the causes of their absence. How will an employer check if the employee claims that he or she had to look after a sick child? It is self-reported and it is difficult to obtain objective evidence. Also questioning an

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employees claim can damage the relationship between the employer and employee, which is not in favor for both parties. Asking employees to report on their previous absences can give biased results due to errors of memory and unconscious processes can occur (Nicholson. N,. & Payne. R., 1987). In this study the opinions of the workers and also the management about the cause of absenteeism will be assessed and compared.

2.3

Wellbeing

Employee wellbeing can be defined as the overall quality of experience and functioning at work (Warr, 1987). This definition suggests that employee wellbeing can have an impact on the performance and sustainability of organization. Happy and healthy employees make more effort resulting in an increase of their contribution and productivity (Fisher, 2003). Research has also indicated that employee wellbeing affects the cost of health care, absenteeism and turnover in a company (Spector, P., 1997). When an employee doesnt feel well in an organization he will tend to go frequently to the doctor, be more absent and the risk that he will leave the company will increase. In organizational research employee wellbeing has been divided in 3 dimensions: the psychological wellbeing, the physical wellbeing and the social wellbeing (Warr, 1987) (Diener, E., & Seligman, M. E. P., 2004). The psychological wellbeing of employees is the subjective experience and functioning of the employee. This has more to do with the satisfaction of their job and lives (Judge, T. A., & Watanabe, S. , 1993). Other researchers describe the psychological wellbeing as the employees feelings of fulfillment and purpose in their effort (Wrzesniewski, A., Dutton, J. E., & Debebe, G. , 2003).

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The physical wellbeing of employees refers to the health and functioning of the employee. The social wellbeing of employees focus on the quality of an employees relationship with other employees and his/her functioning (Bradbury, H., & Lichtenstein, B. M. B. , 2000). The construct employee wellbeing is according to the literature very broad and has different variables. In this study we will focus on the variables job satisfaction, job characteristics, perceived workload, physical workload, organizational commitment and psychological wellbeing in term of perception of general health. Health of an individual is also a very broad concept and the status of health should be determined by physicians. This study focuses on organizational behavior and therefore it is important to know how an employee feels about certain health aspects.

2.3.1 Job satisfaction and Absenteeism

Job satisfaction is a variable that is widely and extensively researched by many researchers in organizational psychology (Spector, P., 1997). It is defined as "the extent to which people like (satisfaction) or dislike (dissatisfaction) their jobs" (Spector, P., 1997). This definition gives an accurate picture of the perception, the employees have about their job. Accept a global, general appreciation of their job; it is for some researchers more interesting to know the satisfaction of the different aspects of the job and the work situation. Assessing the different aspects like: relation with the supervisor, pay or working conditions gives a more detail and clear view of the job satisfaction. The satisfaction level is normally a combination of the different aspects, but it can be largely influenced by one or few aspects. Many of the scales used to measure job satisfaction have included different aspects and combined these to have an overall global

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assessment of job satisfaction (Weiss, D. J., Dawis, R. W. and Lofquist, L. H., 1967) (Warr, P. B., Cook, J. and Wall, T. D. , 1979). The relationship between job satisfaction and absenteeism is extensively and widely researched. Contradictory to the model of Steers and Rhodes, other researchers have found very weak correlations between job satisfaction and absenteeism (Chadwick-Jones, J. K., Nicholson, N., & Brown, C., 1982). According to (Steers, R. M., & Rhodes, S. R. , 1984), the relationship is not direct, but biographical and situational factors like job involvement moderate it. The metaanalysis of (Harrison, D. A., & Martocchio, J. , 1998), concluded that in addition to job satisfaction, absence relationship, a number of direct relationships exist. Another meta-analysis of the relationship between employee absenteeism and job satisfaction (K.D. Scott, G.Stephen Taylor , 1985) concluded that this relationship was consistently negative. Employees, who are more satisfied, are less likely to be absent or to leave a job (Lease S., 1998). They are also more committed and usually more satisfied with their lives. In this study a hypothesis is formulated and this will test the strength of the relationship between job satisfaction and absenteeism in the agricultural industry.

Ho1: Employees who are more satisfied with their job are less absent

2.3.2 Job design and absenteeism

Job design refers to the components of an individual job, in a very broad sense (Mandy Unterslak , 2009). In research many different terms are used with overlapping and additional aspects which make these terms different and specific. Job characteristics, job content, job demand, work design and job features are some examples. Two of the most influential and dominated models in 16 | P a g e

job design are the Job Characteristics Model of (Hackman, J. R., & Oldham, G. R., 1975) and the Demand-Control-Support Model of (Karasek, R. A., Jr., 1979), (De Jonge, J., & Schaufeli, W. B., 1998). The Job Characteristics Model (JCM) proposes five core job dimensions (autonomy, feedback, skill variety, and task identity and task significance) which reflect the experienced meaningfulness, responsibility and knowledge of the job (R. B. Briner , 2000). In the Demand-Control-Model (DCM) the relationship between job demand and wellbeing (health) depends on the level of control. Jobs which have negative impact on health are jobs combined with high demand and low control (Karasek, R. A., Jr., 1979). Many researchers who focus on job characteristics have used these models. Warr (1999) developed a model incorporating the JCM and the JDC model. This model is part of his vitamin model which includes many variables of wellbeing. It is based on 12 job features which can make a job enjoyable or not. Also (Frederick P. Morgeson and Stephen E. Humphrey, 2006) have developed another model for job design. They have divided job design in motivational, social and contextual job design characteristics. They have included also a wide range of job designs to acknowledge the job and the links between job and the environment in which the job is performed (Parker, S. K., & Wall, T. D. , 1998). Researcher have used different approached to assess job designs. Most of the research done on the relationship between job design and absenteeism have found a significant negative correlation (Stamm, C & Farrel, D, 1988) and (J. R. Rentsch, R.P. Steel, 2003) and especially for autonomy, feedback from the job and skill variety (Fried, Y., & Ferris, G. R. ., 1987). Absenteeism is assumed to be influence by the job design aspects as low autonomy and repetitiveness (Bain, P. and Taylor, P. , 2000), (Peter G. W. Smulders, 1983) and bad working condition (Peter G. W. Smulders, 1983) Low autonomy and repetitiveness

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(monotony of work) restricts the opportunity for learning and handling problems at work properly and thus implying negative relationship with job satisfaction and workload (Hackman, J. R. and Oldham, G. R., 1980). Researchers as (Philipsen, H. , 1969) and (Shepherd, R. D. and Walker. J., 1957), have found a positive relation between one or more unpleasant working conditions (noise, dust, heavy work, etc.) and absence. More recent research shows that workload is related to health problems (Hendrix, W.J., Steel, R.P. & Shultz, S.A., 1987). Also there is a relationship between job characteristics and job satisfaction. Work which is more challenging, meaningful and autonomous is also more satisfying and motivational (Fried, Y., & Ferris, G. R. ., 1987) and (Hackman, J. R., & Oldham, G. R., 1975). The study is carried out in the agriculture banana industry. Work in a banana farm is labor intensive and 90 % of the work is done manually. The work itself is mostly repetitive with low autonomy. The physical working conditions are specific and the general perception of workload is high or heavy workload. To assess the relation between job design and absenteeism the following hypothesis are formulated: Ho2: High perceived workload result in higher absenteeism Ho3: High physical workload result in higher absenteeism Ho4: There is no relation between job design and absenteeism

2.3.3 Organizational commitment and absenteeism


Organizational commitment can be referred to as a behavior or an attitude (Mowday, R. T., Porter, L. W., & Steers, R. M., 1982) When an employee becomes committed because of financial consequences in case he/she decides to leave it is a behavior. Organizational 18 | P a g e

commitment referred as an attitude can be defined as a state in which an employee identifies with a certain organization and its goal, and the employee wishes to be a member of this organization in order to facilitate its goals. Other researchers divide organizational commitment in 3 types of commitment: the affective, the continuous and the normative commitment (Allen, N. J. and Meyer, J. P., 1990). The affective commitment is the emotional attachment, the identification with and the involvement in the organization. Continuous commitment is the commitment linked to the costs that an employee associates with, in case of leaving the company. And normative commitment has to do with the feeling of obligation to stay in the organization. Most of the studies done on organizational commitment and absenteeism have found a negative relationship (Payne, S.C., & Huffman, A.H. , 2005); (Harrison, D. A., & Martocchio, J. , 1998); (Mowday, R. T., Porter, L. W., & Steers, R. M., 1982). Employees who are committed are dedicated, loyal, looking for long term relationships with the organization and social responsible. They are less likely to be absent because of the negative consequences it can have on the company. Some researchers suggest that when organizational commitment increases, job satisfaction increases, and absenteeism decreases (Stamm, C & Farrel, D, 1988); (Somers, M. , 1995). In this study the general perception of organizational commitment will be assessed in relation with absenteeism. The following hypothesis will be tested: Ho5: More committed employees are less absent.

2.3.4 Psychological wellbeing


Researchers have used many different definitions of psychological wellbeing. Psychological wellbeing is a persons cognitive and affective evaluation of his/her life (Diener, E., Seligman, 19 | P a g e

M.E.P., 2002) and it refers to how healthy, satisfied and happy someone is about life (Rainey, D., 1995). It is their own perception about the quality of their life which can be influence by different factors (Wright, T.A. & Staw, B.M., 1999). (Ryff, C. D. , 1989) has divided psychological wellbeing in 6 dimensions; self-acceptance, environmental mastery, positive relations with others, purpose in life, personal growth and autonomy. Employees achieve higher psychological wellbeing by working towards a goal they think are worthwhile, with the support of the manager and the whole team (Ivan T. Robertson, Cary L. Cooper, 2010). Psychological wellbeing has an impact on absenteeism since healthier, happier and more satisfied employees, are likely to work harder and take less sick days (Ivan T. Robertson, Cary L. Cooper, 2010). In this study we therefore hypothesize that: Ho6: Employees with higher level of psychological wellbeing are less absent

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1

Introduction

The research was conducted in the banana production company of Suriname Stichting Behoud Bananen Sector (SBBS) employing 2500 employees. This company cultivates, harvests, packages and exports the fruit with around 2200 employees, mostly low skilled. Almost 90 % of the work in the farms and packing stations are done manually. Besides absenteeism due to sickness, employees are absent for many different reasons. Employees who are on sick leave are also sometimes not really sick. Perhaps there are other underlying reasons why they didnt come to work and sometimes they even dont realize that. For this reason this research is divided in two parts. In the first part a survey was conducted to have an opinion from employees and management about the main reasons of absenteeism. The second part of this research was implemented to find the relationship between absenteeism and 5 variables of employee wellbeing. The data of the first part was analyzed only descriptive and the second part a regression analysis was carried out.

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3.2

Research Model

Job Satisfaction

Most of the research done on absenteeism, have found relationship with these variables; job satisfaction, job design, workload, organizational commitment and psychological wellbeing. These variables were measured by different validated scales to establish the correlation with absenteeism in this company.

EMPLOYEE WELLBEING

ABSENTEEISM

Job Design

Workload

Organizational Commitment Psychological wellbeing

Age, Gender, Tenure, No of children, Marital Status

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3.3

Research Method

To investigate opinions from management and workers about the reasons why workers missed work, a questionnaire was developed. This questionnaire was listed with 15 reasons for being absent, as identified in previous research and also from information of human resources department of the company. Management was asked to identify why they feel that their workers were absent from their work and workers were asked to identify the reasons why they actually missed work. Both types of respondents had to rate each reason as strong or weak on a scale from 0 to 6. It was also possible to write down additional reasons for absence. The data collected is a mix qualitative and quantitative. A comparison is made between the opinion and perception of the employees and management. Absenteeism can be measured in frequency and duration. Frequency is the number of absence occurrence (incidences) and duration is the total number of days absent. In this study absenteeism is measured in frequency and all types of absence are included since sick leave or leave because of injuries in many cases are not clear. I have gathered one year absenteeism data from the selected sample through the human resources department of SBBS. The scales to measure the variables included in this study of the construct employee wellbeing have demonstrated acceptable reliability and validity in previous studies (Warr, P. B., Cook, J. and Wall, T. D. , 1979), (Currivan, 2000), (Hollmann S, Klimmer F, Schmidt K, Kylian H. , 1999), (Goldberg, D. & Huxley, P. , 1980). The Job Satisfaction Scale of (Warr, P. B., Cook, J. and Wall, T. D. , 1979) was used to measure job satisfaction. From this scale with 15 items, 2 items were excluded due to misinterpretations. The 13 items consisted of different aspects of the job. None of the items were reverse scored. 23 | P a g e

Respondents had to indicate their level of satisfaction for each items on a 7-point liker scale how satisfied they were with the different aspects, from very dissatisfied to very satisfy. For the measurement of job design, the scale of (Warr, P. , 1999) was used. This scale was developed on the basis of the 12 features of the Vitamin Model of (Warr, P. , 1999). It consists of 26 items which account for each of the 12 features in this model. Due to a low number of items in each subscale it was not possible to determine the reliability of all the 12 subscales. On a 7-point liker scale the respondents had to indicate from 0 to 6 how much of each features included in their job. None of the questions were reverse-scored. The score of this scale gives an interpretation of how enjoyable a job is for a respondent. A high score indicate an enjoyable job (Warr, P. , 1999). The perceived workload was measured by the 3 item scale of (Currivan, 2000). Respondents had to indicate on a 5-point liker scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree for the 3 items related to the speed of working, the time available and how heavy the job is. All 3 items were reverse scored. For assessing the physical workload a questionnaire of (Hollmann S, Klimmer F, Schmidt K, Kylian H. , 1999) with 19 items, describing different work situations was used. Five items described the postures of the trunk, 3 items asked for the positions of the arms, 5 items asked for positions of the legs and the last 6 items described the lifting of weights. Respondents were asked how often they have to work with the body postures described and how often they have to lift or carry the weights mentioned. The answers were given on a 5-point liker scale from never to very often. The score of these 19 items were multiplied with weighting factors to calculate an index of physical workload (Hollmann S, Klimmer F, Schmidt K, Kylian H. , 1999). A high score indicates a higher physical workload.

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Organizational Commitment was measured by the 4 item scale of (Currivan, 2000) on a 5-point liker scale. Three items were reverse scored. A high score indicates that the respondent is more committed to the organization he or she works for. The score of psychological wellbeing tend to be relative when people compare themselves with others or with other periods in their past lives (Argyle, M., 1997). The same amount of' happiness can be scored differently or different levels of happiness can have the same score. Thats why it is important for this study to find a more objective questionnaire. The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) is objective and reliable indicator of psychological distress (Argyle, M., 1997), and is used by many researchers to asses psychological wellbeing (Goldberg D, 1978) The GHQ-12 is a 12 item scale of (Goldberg, D. & Williams, P, 1988) and it measures both positive and negative aspects of mental health. It focuses on the inability to carry out normal functions and the appearance of new distressing experiences. Each item is rated on a 4point liker scale from strongly disagree (scored 0) to strongly agree (scored 3). From the 12 items 6 are reverse coded (question 1,3,4,7,8,12). High score for this scale correspond with low feelings of psychological wellbeing (high levels of stress/depression) and healthy individuals will score around 10-13 (Goldberg, D. & Williams, P, 1988).

3.4

Sampling and Data Collection

The survey was conducted by two students of the local university. They were involved from the sampling, the testing of questionnaires and collecting the data. Eight employees were involved in testing the questionnaires and after that some small corrections were made to clarify some

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questions. All questionnaires were back to back translated in Dutch before. It was also clear during this testing that except of the illiterate employees, some of the others also needed assistance in understanding the questions. So for both part of the survey assistance to fill in the questionnaire was necessary due to the fact that some employees were illiterate, and some didnt understand the Dutch language. The questionnaires for the management were filled in by themselves. The sampling for the first part of the survey was at random. From 5 different farms 20 workers were selected at random. This survey was anonymous. The management team consists only of 75 employees and compared to the rest of the workforce it is very small. All 75 were chosen for the survey. For the second part the sampling was done on basis of the different functions in the company, except the management. This was to include as much as possible all types of work with different aspects. With the support of the human resources department 30 functions were identified. From each function 5 employees, employed longer than one year were selected. In total 150 employees were selected. Only employees working more than one year were included in this study, since I needed absenteeism data for one year. The first survey was done in small groups of ten, at convenient times and the second was done per person. It was organized per department and mostly early in the morning and late in the afternoons. The two students explained the purpose of this study and how to complete the questionnaire. They stressed also to all the respondents that the results of the survey would be handled with strict confidentiality. No contact with co-respondents was allowed during these sessions to avoid influencing each other. The 150 respondents for the second part of the survey had to write down their registration number on the questionnaire in order to link the information on the questionnaire with absenteeism data. The complete survey was done in 3 weeks. From the 26 | P a g e

150 questionnaire 43 were rejected because I was unable to match their code with company absenteeism data. Some codes were missing, some were incorrect and some were incomplete.

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4.

ANALYSES AND RESULTS

4.1 Reported Reasons for being absent

The purpose of this mix of qualitative and quantitative analysis was to identify the reasons why workers miss work, as believed by management and reported by the workers themselves.

Self-reported reason for being absent Workers had to rate the actual reasons for missing work using a scale from 0 to 6, with 0 indicating not a reason for absenteeism, 1 indicating a weak reason and 6 indicating a strong reason. None of the respondents added another reasons for being absent on the list. The data was analyzed in a descriptive way. The average rating for the different reasons was calculated and is presented in Table 2. The rating of the 17 reasons the workers reported for actually missing work are arranged from strongest to weakest reason. The 5 strongest reasons for absenteeism as reported by the workers were (1) personal illness, (2) doctor appointments, (3) injuries, (4) child/family illness, and (5) tired.

Reported reasons for absenteeism as believed by Managers Managers were asked to rate a list of reasons they felt (believed) workers are absent. The rating was the same as that of the workers. Two respondents added 3 other reasons they believe workers are absent and they are: time needed to arrange their personal schedule, lack of responsibility (towards company or family) and no permitted days on leave available. Because of the low rating for these reasons they were excluded from further analysis. The results are also

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presented in Table 2. The 5 strongest reasons managers believed workers are absent were (1) personal illness, (2) tired, (3) child/family illness, (4) transport problems, and (5) wage rate.

Table 2: Rating of reported reasons for absenteeism


Mean rating Workers Management 2.15 2.57 1.75 1.24 1.44 1.29 1.30 1.75 1.16 1.83 0.94 0.72 0.89 1.54 0.65 1.22 0.63 1.37 0.60 1.00 0.46 0.69 0.37 1.25 0.37 0.27 0.32 0.83 0.31 0.52 0.28 0.28 0.10 0.58 Mean difference Significance 0.011 0.017 0.375 0.017 0.000 0.206 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.006 0.149 0.000 0.360 0.000 0.128 0.951 0.000

Reason for Absenteeism Personal illness Doctor appointments Injury Family/Child illness Tired Excessive rework Transport problems Wake up late Wage rate Simply did not feel like working Too much overtime No childcare Unsafe working conditions Bad weather Travel distance Bad relations with boss/co-worker Under influence of drugs or alcohol

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Comparison between the reasons reported from workers and management Both managers and workers agreed that the strongest reason for being absent is personal illness. Also illness of a child or family member and tiredness are also two important reasons. To compare the rating of the two groups, the mean difference was calculated with an independent sample test in SPSS. For 4 reasons there is a significant difference and practical importance in the mean rating between the workers and management. The workers reported doctor appointment as the second important reason while management believed that workers rarely miss work because of this. Management believed that 3 reasons were significant causes for absenteeism while workers reported that they often miss work for these following reasons: transport problems, wage rate and no childcare.

Graph 1 Rating reasons for absenteeism

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4.2

Results and analyses of Wellbeing and Absenteeism

4.2.1 Reliability

The reliability tests were done with SPSS and the Cronbachs Alpha was above 0.7. This means that all scales used in this study were reliable. Three questions from the Job Design scale were not included in the analyses since these question were not clear to the respondent which led to misinterpretations (no5, 8, and 10). Table 3 shows the results of the reliability tests. It was not possible to test the reliability of all the 12 subscales of the job design scale. Only from the subscales with 3 or more items the test was done and those are job demand (0.54), feedback (0.286) and safety (0.614). The Cronbachs Alphas were lower than 0.7, indicating a low reliability. From the scale of wellbeing question 12 was also removed since this question seems to be contradictory to the rest of the questions and in a way misleading the respondents of this survey. Table 3: Reliability Statistics

Cronbach's Alpha Job Satisfaction Job design - Job Demand - Feedback - Safety Organizational commitment Perceived Workload Physical workload Psychological wellbeing .724 .766 .540 .286 .614 .745 .706 .772 .708

No of Items 13 23 5 3 3 4 3 19 11

N 107 105 105 105 105 105 107 107 107

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4.2.2 Descriptive Statistics

The descriptive analysis of the data from the second part of the survey was done with SPPS. Table 4 presents the mean, the standard deviations and significance level of the mean difference of the moderating, independent variables and dependent variables, separately for men and women. For the analysis the item marital status was re-coded; 0 was coded for living alone and1 for married or living together. Gender was coded 1 for men and 2 for women. To analyze the difference of the different variables, an independent sample test was carried out to compare the means with significant differences. The majority of the sample consisted of men (70%). The mean age of the sample is 41.4 years and there is no significant difference in the mean of men (41.9 years) and women (40.1 years). Table 4 shows that men and women had significantly different means on marital status, no of children living at home, tenure and physical workload. Approximately half of the sample is married or living together, but men were married or living together (67%) in more significant cases than women (25%). This means that women employees are more single or living alone, than men. The average number of children living at home is 1.83. Women have significantly more children at home (2.47) than men employees (1.56). The average number of years employed in the company is 6.45 years and it is significantly longer for men (6.91) compared to women (5.38). There is no significant difference between men and women in the mean of job satisfaction, job design, organizational commitment, perceived workload and psychological wellbeing. The average score of job satisfaction was 63.18 from a maximum of 91. The employees were on average satisfied for 70%. The job design score gives an indication of how enjoyable a job is perceived and the mean score was 87.28 from a maximum of 156. This indicates that the level of 32 | P a g e

enjoyment of the job is 56%, which is low. Employee commitment is around 70% and perceived workload 64 % from the maximum scores. The physical workload is significantly different for men and women. Men have an average score of 21.22 and women have 11.63. This means that the workload of men is almost the double of that of the women. The results of psychological wellbeing in this survey was on average 10.98 and according to Goldberg, D. and Williams, P. (1988) healthy employees will score around 10-13. This indicates that the employees in this survey had normal levels of stress/depression and could be considered psychologically healthy.

Table 4:

Descriptive Statistics N (107) SD Mean 41.4 11.03 0.50 0.54 1.83 6.45 63.18 87.28 13.86 9.56 18.35 10.98 17.20
1.93 2.43 11.01 16.94 3.54 2.99 12.97 4.53

Moderating Variables Age Marital Status No of children living at home Tenure Independent Variables Job Satisfaction Job Design Organizational Commitment Perceived Workload Physical Workload Psychological Wellbeing Dependant Variable Absenteeism

Male (N=75) Mean SD 11.09 41.9 0.47 0.67 1.56 6.91 62.59 85.33 13.61 9.8 21.22 11.53 16.21
1.52 2.38 11.45 17.44 3.64 3.06 13.79 4.76

Female (N=32) Mean SD 10.9 40.1 0.44 0.25 2.47 5.38 64.56 91.88 14.44 9 11.63 9.69 19.5
256 2.22 9.94 14.96 3.26 2.78 7.41 3.68

Mean diff t Sign. 0.794 0.429 4.247 0.000 -2.28 3.108 -0.85 -1.85 -1.11 1.27 3.708 1.957 -1.08 0.025 0.020 0.398 0.067 0.272 0.207 0.000 0.053 0.281

14.39

13.87

15.51

4.2.3 Correlation between variables of employee wellbeing and absenteeism

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A correlation analyses was carried out in SPPS to measure the relationship between the moderating, the independent and the dependent variables. The results are presented in table 5. From the moderating variables only age and tenure were significantly correlated to absenteeism. Older employees are significantly less absent than younger employees (p<0.05) and employees who have more time in the company are significantly less absent than employees with less years working for the company. The results show also that there is a significant correlation between gender and physical workload. Women have a significant lower physical workload in this company than men (p<0.001). Also older employees have a significantly higher rating of job design, indicating that older employees perceive their job more enjoyable than younger employees. None of the independent variables were significantly correlated to absenteeism. Job Satisfaction was significantly correlated with job design, perceived workload and wellbeing (p <0.001). The strongest positive correlation was with job design; employees who are more satisfied have a perception of a more enjoyable job. Workload and wellbeing are negatively correlated to job satisfaction. A higher perceived workload results in less satisfied employees. A high score of wellbeing indicated a low feeling of psychological wellbeing (high levels of stress/anxiety). Employees with low feelings of psychological wellbeing are significantly less satisfied with their job (p<0.001). Job design is also significantly negatively correlated to workload and wellbeing. And perceived workload is also significantly positively correlated to workload and wellbeing. There is no significant correlation between commitment and any of the independent variable.

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Table 5: Results of Correlation Analyses Freq. of Absence Moderating Gender Age Marital Status No of Children Tenure Wellbeing Job satisfaction Job design Commitment Workload Psychological Wellbeing Physical Workload
.105 -.208* -.189 .119 -.197*

Job Job Commit Satisfaction Design ment


.083 .101 .073 -.055 -.002 .178 .220* .059 -.086 .038 .107 -.026 .054 .100 -.013

Work load
-.123 -.040 .161 -.062 .001

Well being
-.188 -.062 .092 -.061 .070

Physical Workload
-.340** -.023 .145 .004 -.063

.027 -.037 .096 .099 -.179 .081

1 .719** .015 -.389** -.452** -.104

.719** 1 .004 -.358** -.433** -.124

.015 .004 1 .151 .084 -.004

-.389** -.358** .151 1 .371** .270*

-.452** -.433** .084 .371** 1 .181

-.104 -.124 -.004 .270* .181 1

Frequency of 1 .027 -.037 Absence * p < 0/.05; ** p < 0/.001; (all two-tailed).

.096

.099

-.179

.081

A second correlation test was carried out to analyze the relation between the different subscales of job design and absenteeism (Table 6). The subscales money and safety were significantly correlated to absenteeism. Employees who were less satisfied with the payments were more absent. And employees who perceived their work environment as unsafe were more absent.

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Table 6: Results of Correlation Analyses of the 12 features of Job Design

12 Features of Job design Personal Control Skill use Job Demand Task variety Environmental Clarity Contact with others Money Safety Valued Social position Supportive supervision Career outlook Equity * p < 0/.05; ** p < 0/.001

Frequency of Absence -.049 -.102 -.056 -.022 -.040 -.098 -.197* -.201* .002 -.043 .091 -.079

Sign. 0.616 0.297 0.565 0.824 0.683 0.313 0.042 0.038 0.983 0.657 0.350 0.419

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4.2.4

Regression Analyses

To obtain a better view of the relationship between the dependent variable Absenteeism and the 5 independent variable and the 5 moderating variables a regression analyses was performed. A full regression analyses was carried out with the variable absenteeism on all the 10 variables and the results are presented in Table 7. The only variable which is significant predictor of absenteeism according to these results is psychological wellbeing (t=-2.225, p=0.028). Employees with higher levels (feelings) of psychological wellbeing are less absent. In the correlation analyses there were significant correlation between age and absenteeism and tenure and absenteeism.

Table 7:

Results of Regression Analyses

Unstandardized Standardized Coefficients Coefficients Model B Std. Error Beta 1 (Constant) 22.033 15.364 Gender -.386 3.695 -.012 Age -.254 .159 -.194 Marital Status -3.470 3.247 -.121 No of Children 1.304 .806 .174 Tenure -.357 .665 -.060 Physical Workload .089 .117 .080 Job Satisfaction .089 .186 .068 Job Design -.039 .124 -.046 Commitment .292 .394 .072 Workload .911 .533 .189 Wellbeing -.786 .353 -.247 a. Dependent Variable: Frequency of Absence

t 1.434 -.105 -1.600 -1.069 1.617 -.537 .763 .480 -.317 .742 1.708 -2.225

Sig. .155 .917 .113 .288 .109 .593 .447 .633 .752 .460 .091 .028

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The results of the regression analyses show that there is no correlation between independent variables job satisfaction, job design, workload (perceived and physical), organizational commitment and the dependant variable absenteeism. Therefore I reject the hypotheses: Ho1, Ho2, Ho3, and Ho5. Ho4 was accepted since the results shows that there is no significant relation between job design and absenteeism. Ho6 is also accepted since the results shows that higher levels of psychological wellbeing are significantly less absent.

Ho1: Employees who are more satisfied with their job are less absent (Reject) Ho2: High perceived workload result in higher absenteeism (Reject) Ho3: High physical workload result in higher absenteeism (Reject) Ho4: There is no relation between job design and absenteeism (Accept) Ho5: More committed employees are less absent. (Reject) Ho6: Employees with higher level of psychological wellbeing are less absent (Accept)

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5.

DISCUSSION & CONCLUSIONS

The aim of the present study was to determine the main reasons for absenteeism by first exploring and second by measuring. The results of the comparison made between the opinion of the workers and the management reveals that management may not understand the true causes of absenteeism in this company. Management and workers agreed that illness is a common reason for being absent. However workers reported appointment with a doctor as the second important reason while management believed that is was not an important reason. Management believes that transport problems, the wage rate and no childcare are also important reasons while according to the workers they rarely miss work for these 3 reasons. Some of the reasons mentioned by workers and management as important reasons for being absent can be controlled by management. When doctor appointments is given as a second important reason for being absent, than it must be possible to give permission to workers take leave. Also transport problems can be solved by management since the company is responsible for transportation of their employees. Age and tenure were negatively correlated to absenteeism. This is contrary to the findings that tenure is positive correlated to absenteeism (Robinson and Rousseau, 1994). Contrary to our expectations, job satisfaction, job design, workload and organizational commitment did not play an important role as determinants of absenteeism. Job satisfaction shows no significant relationship with absenteeism. Some researchers have found very weak correlations between job satisfaction and absenteeism (Chadwick-Jones, J. K., Nicholson, N., & Brown, C., 1982) and some have found consistent negative relations (Lease S., 1998). Although there was no relation

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with absenteeism, the satisfaction level of employees was medium (70%). Job satisfaction had on the other hand strong significant positive correlation with Job design. From the 12 job features of job design, availability of money and safety emerged as the two features that significantly contribute to absenteeism. Pfeifer (2010) also found that absenteeism was negative correlated to pay. Early studies have also found that income level is more important for lower-earning employees (Kornhausers (1965). The subscale safety includes absence of danger, ergonomically adequate equipment, and good working conditions (Warr, 2007). These aspects are in control of management. This study shows that there is no relation between absenteeism and organizational commitment. Previous studies which focused mostly on affective, normative and continuance commitment (Gellatly, 1995) have found significant correlation with absenteeism (Stamm, C & Farrel, D, 1988). One possible reason for these results can be the scale that is used, which was probable to general. Organizational commitment was also not correlated to the other independent variables in this study. Contrary to the expectation, the perceived workload and physical workload were not related to absenteeism. Workload has been associated with higher absence rates in other studies (Dwyer & Ganster, 1991). The results also shows that the physical workload of men is almost the double of women, and there is no significant different in the mean of the absent rates of men and women. This explains the results. The strongest relation that was found was the negative relation between absenteeism and psychological wellbeing. Psychological wellbeing is also positively correlated to job satisfaction, job design and negatively correlated to workload. These 3 independent variables are the main aspects of a job and thus indirectly related to absenteeism.

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The conclusion of this study is that absenteeism is significantly influenced by illness, thus the psychological wellbeing of the employee, availability of money, safety, age and tenure.

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6.

RECOMMENDATIONS & LIMITATIONS

6.1

Recommendations

The results of both surveys show that illness is the mayor reasons for employees absence. In practice we see that employees often have sick leave, when they are not really sick. In Suriname also the culture exist that when an employer has a doctor appointment, the doctor normally gives on day leave even if the employer is not sick. To solve this, method must be developed to ensure that doctors do not issue unjustified sickness certificates. This only can ensure that workers report sick when they are really sick. This for example can be controlled with special company doctors or company clinics.

Before recruitment of employees, a medical check must be done to ensure that the new employees are medically fit to do the job. Another recommendation is to send employees who are regularly sick for a second medical check to ensure that the employee is medical and physically fit to do the job required. This is very important because of the physically intensive labor requirements. Policies need to be put in place how to handle employees after a medical recheck.

In both studies was safety given as one of the significant reasons for being absent. The company has to look into this and find solutions for a safe work environment and adequate equipment with the right procedures. The risk assessment should be evaluated and possibly extended.

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Return to work interview is also a recommendation in order to decrease absenteeism. When an employee is absent for a day, his direct supervisor should have an interview the next day he/she is present, to find out what the reasons is for the absence and find solutions for the reason which are in control of management and give support, if possible for reasons out of management control. Injury was the third important reason for being absent and this is largely controllable by management. Preventive is always better than curative.

6.2

Limitations & Future Research

One of the important limitations of this study was the language barrier. Many respondents had problems with the Dutch language since it wasnt their main language and it was difficult to understand the questions. The respondent group consisted also of foreigners from Haiti and Guyana. Most of the Surinamese respondents have also their own language (dialect). The two students from the university helped in translating and explaining the question verbally. The survey was done mostly per respondent. Another potential limitation for the second part of the survey was that it could not be anonymous. In order to link the variables that were measured with actual absenteeism data, it was necessary to have individual information. Confidentially was assured by expressing that this research was for academic use and only the results would be presented to the company. A few participants had some concern in this regard, and I cant be sure that this didnt bias the responses. The questionnaires without registrations coded were excluded for further analyses.

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Analyses in dept of the subscales of job design would have given also more insight in the different aspect of the job design. Due to a low reliability of some of the subscale the decision was taking to measure job design as one variable.

In this survey 5 independent variables were measured. It is also possible that one or more important variable was not included. There is not must research done in Suriname and the Caribbean about this topics and it is interesting to explore to find more information on causes of absenteeism. Culture could be probable one of them. For future research it is also important to make distension between absenteeism and sickness absenteeism. This will allow having more detailed analyses about the relation between the different variables. This survey was carried out in the agricultural sector and the results could be generalized to other sector were physical labor is essential like the building and construction sector. Research in other sectors and comparisons between sectors is also necessary for efficient human resources management in the future.

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Spector, P. (1997). Job satisfaction: Applications, assessment, causes, and consequences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Stamm, C & Farrel, D. (1988). Meta Analysis of the corelates of employee absence Human Relations, volume 21. 211 -227. Steers, R. & Rhodes, S. (1978). Major Influences on employee Attendance: A Process model. Journal of Applied Pschychology, 63, 391-407. Steers, R. M., & Rhodes, S. R. . (1984). Knowledge and speculation about absenteeism. In P. S. Goodman & R. S. Atkin (Eds.),Absenteeism: New approaches to understanding, measuring . Steers, R. M., & Rhodes, S. R. (1978). Steers, R. M., & Rhodes, S. R. (1978). Major influences on employee attendance: A process model. Journal of Applied Psychology, 63(4): 391. Journal of Applied Psychology, Volume 63. No 4, 391-407. Warr, P. . (1999). Well-Being and the Workplace. In D. Kahneman, E. Diener & N. Schwarz (Eds.), Well-being: The foundations of hedonic psychology (pp.392-412). New York: Russell Sage Foundation. Warr, P. (1987). Work, unemployment, and mental health. Oxford: Oxford Clarendon Press. Warr, P. (2007). Work, Happiness, and Unhappiness. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Publishers. Warr, P. B., Cook, J. and Wall, T. D. . (1979). WarrScales for the Measurement of Some Work Attitudes and Aspects of Psychological Well-Being. Journal of Occupational Psychology. Volume52, 129-148. Weiss, D. J., Dawis, R. W. and Lofquist, L. H. (1967). Manual for the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire, Minnesota Studies in Vocational Rehabilitation: XII. Minneapolis. Weiss, D. J., Dawis, R. W. and Lofquist, L. H. Manual for the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire, Minnesota Studies in Vocational Rehabilitation: XII. Minnesota: University of Minnesota Industrial Relations Center, Work Adjustment Project. Wright, T. (2005). Wright, T.A. 2005. The role of happiness in organizational research: Past, present and future directions. In P. L. Perrewe & D.C. Gangster (Eds). Wright, T.A. 2005. The role of happiness in organizational research: Past, present and future directions. In P. L. Perrewe & D.C. Gangster Research in occupational stress and well-being, Vol.4, 225-268. Wright, T.A. & Staw, B.M. (1999). Affect and favorable work outcomes: two longitudinal tests of the happy productive worker thesis . Journal of Organizational Behavior, Volume 20, 1-23.

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APPENDIX I:

QUESTIONNAIRE "REASON FOR ABSENTEEISM"

Management rate reasons they believe workers are absent from work Workers rate de reasons for actually missing work Reasons for being absent at work
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Personal illness Doctor appointments Injury Family/Child illness Tired Excessive rework Transport problems Wake up late Wage rate Simply did not feel like working Too much overtime No childcare Unsafe working conditions Bad weather Travel distance Bad relations with boss/co-worker Under influence of drugs or alcohol

Other reasons

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APPENDIX II:

VRAGENLIJST "REDEN VOOR ABSENTEEISME"

Management geeft aan wat de reden is dat werknemers niet aan het werk komen wanneer ze gescheduled zijn. Werknemers geven de reden aan waarom ze niet aan het werk zijn gekomen. Reden waarom je niet aan het werk kon komen
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 1 2 3 4 5 6

Ziekte Ziekte van Kind of Familie Afspraken met de dokter Geen opvang voor kinderen Moe Verslapen Ik voelde niet voor om te werken Onder invloed van drugs of alcohol Slecht weer (regen) Ongeval Transportproblemen (bus gemist/ autopech etc.) Slechte relatie met de baas/ collega's Afstand van huis naar werk Veel herstel werk Erg veel overtime Lonen Onveilige werkomstandigheden

Andere

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APPENDIX III: VRAGENLIJST OVER BELEVING EN BEOORDELING VAN ARBEID


Geslacht: man/ vrouw Leeftijd:. Burgelijke Staat: ongehuwd/ gehuwd Aantal inwonende kinderen: . Wat is je hoogste opleiding:.. Hoe lang werk je al voor dit bedrijf (jaren):.. Wat voor werk doe je (functie) :. Wat is afstand van huis naar werk: Transport: bedrijfbus / eigenvervoer

Tevredenheid over je werk (Warr-Cook-Wall)


Geef aan hoe tevreden je bent over de onderstaande items van je werk 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Fysieke werkomstandigheden Vrijheid om eigen manier van werken te kiezen Je collega's en medewerkers Waardering (erkenning) die je krijgt voor goed werk (geen geld) Hoeveelheid verantwoordelijkheid die je hebt gekregen Je salaris (Loon) Gelegenheid om je bekwaamheid te tonen (laten zien wat je kan) Je uren dat je werkt Variatie in je werk Je directe baas (leidinggevende) Zekerheid over je werk De aandacht die gegeven wordt aan voorstellen die je doet Als je alles in overweging neemt, hoe voel je over je werk ?
Heel erg ontevreden 1 2 3 4 5

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Taak Karakteristieken
Ga na in jouw werk hoeveel van elk onderdeel aangegeven voorkomt in je werk (1= niets, 7= heel veel) 1 1 Mogelijkheid om onafhankelijk te werken 2 Invloed om besluiten te kunnen nemen 3 Gebruik van je vaardigheden (skills) 4 Nieuwe dingen leren 5 Aantal taakeisen 6 Moeilijkheids graad van taakeisen 7 Mogelijkheid om een taak af te ronden van begin tot eind 8 Problemen met taakeisen 9 Problemen tussen werk en thuis 10 Hoeveelheid aan verschillende taken 11 Toekomst voorspellingen 12 Duidelijke omschrijving van je functie 13 Is er feedback over je werk (goed/slecht) 14 Mate van sociaal contact onderling 15 Kwaliteit van sociaal contact 16 Salaris niveau 17 Plezierige werkomgeving 18 Veilige werk omstandigheden 19 Adequate equipment 20 Belangrijkheid voor de rest van de gemeenschap 21 Belangrijkheid voor jezelf 22 Zorg voor werknemers 23 Zekerheid van je werk 24 Goede toekomst perspectieven 25 Werknemers worden eerlijk/gelijk behandeld 26 Normen en waarden van het bedrijf 2 3 4 5

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Betrokkenheid bij de organisatie (Currivan 2000) Het bedrijf waar ik werk is de beste plaats van alle plaatsen om te werken Ik maak me niet druk om het lot van dit bedrijf Ik spreek heel positief over dit bedrijf tegen mijn vrienden Ik ben trots om anderen te vertellen dat ik deel ben van dit bedrijf (1= helemaal eens, 2= eens, 3=nog eens of oneems, 4=oneens, 5=helemaal oneens)

1 2 3 4

Arbeidsbelasting (Currivan 2000) 1 Ik moet erg snel werken (heel veel doen in een bepaalde tijd) 2 Ik heb niet voldoende tijd om mijn taak af te ronden 3 De arbeidsbelasting van mijn werk is zwaar
(1= helemaal eens, 2= eens, 3=nog eens of oneems, 4=oneens, 5=helemaal oneens)

Algemene Gezondsheids Vragenlijst (GHQ 12) Goldberg & Williams (1988)


(1=helemaal eens, 2= eens, 3=oneens, 4=helemaal oneens) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Je kan je concentreren op wat je ook doet. Niet geslapen omdat je je zorgen maakt Je voelt dat je een nuttig rol hebt Voelt in staat of besluiten te nemen over dingen Voel regelmatig onder druk Voel dat ik moeilijkheden niet kan overwinnen Ben in staat om te genieten van de normale dag tot dag activiteiten Ben in staat om problemen te confronteren Voel niet gelukkig en ben depressief Heb minder vertrouwen in mezelf Denk dat ik een waardeloos persoon ben Voel redelijk gelukkig met alles

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Fysieke Werkbelasting (Hollmann S, Klimmer F, Schmidt K-H, Kylian H., 1999)

Schat, hoe vaak je moet werken met je lichaamshoudingen onderstaand aangegeven en hoe vaak je moet tillen of gewicht dragen zoals onderstaand aangegeven. Vul alle rijen. 1= nooit, 2= zelden, 3=soms, 4=vaak en 5=heel vaak Romp Rechtop Licht gebogen Sterk gebogen Gedraaid Zijwaarts gebogen Armen Beide armen onder schouderhoogte 1 arm boven schouderhoogte beide armen boven schouderhoogte Benen Zittend Staand Squatting Geknield of een knie of op beide Lopend bewegend Gewicht, dragen met rechte romp Licht (tot 10 kg) Medium (10-20 kg) Zwaar (meer dan 20 kg) Gewicht, dragen met gebogen romp Licht (tot 10 kg) Medium (10-20 kg) Zwaar (meer dan 20 kg) 1 2 3 4 5

4 5

4 5

4 5

4 5

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APPENDIX IV:

Questionnaire Survey part 2 Absenteeism

Gender: Male/ Female0 Age:. Marital Status: Single/ Married (living together) No of children living at home: .

Tenure (years):..

Job Satisfaction (Warr, Cook, Wall,1979)


Give a rating how satisfied you are about these aspect of your job(1-7) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 The physical work conditions The freedom to choose your own method of working Your fellow workers The recognition you get for good work The amount of responsibility you are given Your rate of pay Your opportunity to use your abilities Your hours of work The amount of variety in your job Your immediate boss Your job security The attention paid to suggestions you make Now, taking everything into consideration, how do you feel 13 about your job as a whole
Satisfied 1 2 3 4 Dissatisfied 5 6 7

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Job Design
How much of each aspect do you have in your job (1= nothing, 7= a lot) 1 Ability to work independently 2 Influence over decisions made in the organization 3 Skill use 4 New learning 5 Number of job demands 6 Difficulty of job demands 7 Ability to perform a complete task, from beginning to end 8 Conflict between job demands 9 Conflict between work and home 10 Range of different tasks 11 Future predictability 12 Clear role requirements 13 Availability of feedback 14 Amount of social contact 15 Quality of social contact 16 Pay level 17 Pleasant work environment 18 Safe work practices 19 Adequate equipment 20 Value to society 21 Significance to self 22 Concern for staff 23 Job security 24 Good future prospects 25 Fair treatment of employees 26 The organizations business ethics 1 2 3 4 5 6

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Organizational Commitment (Currivan 2000) The company in which I work is the best of all possible places to 1 work. (r) 2 I do not care about the fate of the company in which I work. 3 I speak highly of the company in which I work to my friends. (r) I am proud to tell others I am part of the company in which I 4 work. (r)
(1= strongly agree, 2= agree, 3=agree/disagree, 4=disagree, 5=strongly disagree)

Workload (Currivan 2000) I have to work very fast on the job (e.g., cover a lot of material). 1 (r) 2 I do not have enough time to get everything done on my job. (r) 3 The workload on my job is too heavy. (r)
(1= strongly agree, 2= agree, 3=agree/disagree, 4=disagree, 5=strongly disagree)

General Health Questionnaire (GHQ 12) Goldberg & Williams (1988)


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Been able to concentrate on whatever you are doing?* Lost much sleep over worry? Felt that you are playing a useful part in things?* Felt capable of making decisions about things?* Felt constantly under strain? Felt you couldnt overcome your difficulties? Been able to enjoy your normal day to day activities?* Been able to face up to your problems?* Been feeling unhappy and depressed? Been losing confidence in yourself? Been thinking of yourself as a worthless person? Been feeling reasonably happy all things considered?* Answers are coded on a four-point scale running from Disagree strongly (coded 0) to `agree strongly

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Physical workload (Hollmann S, Klimmer F, Schmidt K-H, Kylian H., 1999) Please estimate, how often you have to work with the body postures displayed below, and how often you have to lift or to carry the weights mentioned below. Please fill up all lines! 1= never, 2= seldom, 3=somethimes, 4=often en 5= very often Trunk straight, upright slightly inclined strongly inclined Twisted laterally bent Arms both arms below shoulder height one arm above shoulder height both arms above shoulder height Legs Sitting Standing Squatting kneeling with one knee or with both walking, moving Weight, lifted 1 carried with upright trunk light (up to 10 kg) medium (10 - 20 kg) heavy (more than 20 kg) Weight, lifted I carried with inclined trunk light (up to 10 kg) medium (10 - 20 kg) heavy (more than 20 kg) 1 2 3 4 5

4 5

4 5

4 5

4 5

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APPENDIX V:

RESULTS REGRESSION ANALYSES

Model Summary b Std. Error of the Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Estimate a 1 .418 .174 .079 13.806 a. Predictors: (Constant), Wellbeing, No of Children, Marital Status, Commitment, Physical Workload, Tenure, Workload, Job Design, Gender, Age, Job Satisfaction b. Dependent Variable: Frequency of Absence

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ANOVA b Sum of Mean Model Squares df Square F Sig. Regression 3827.527 11 347.957 1.826 .060a 1 Residual 18107.352 95 190.604 Total 21934.879 106 a. Predictors: (Constant), Wellbeing, No of Children, Marital Status, Commitment, Physical Workload, Tenure, Workload, Job Design, Gender, Age, Job Satisfaction b. Dependent Variable: Frequency of Absence

Model 1 (Constant) Gender Age Marital Status No of Children Tenure Physical Workload Job Satisfaction job Design

Coefficients a Unstandardized Standardized Coefficients Coefficients B Std. Error Beta 22.033 15.364 -.386 -.254 -3.470 1.304 -.357 .089 .089 -.039 3.695 .159 3.247 .806 .665 .117 .186 .124 .394 .533 .353 -.012 -.194 -.121 .174 -.060 .080 .068 -.046 .072 .189 -.247

t 1.434 -.105 -1.600 -1.069 1.617 -.537 .763 .480 -.317 .742 1.708 -2.225

Sig. .155 .917 .113 .288 .109 .593 .447 .633 .752 .460 .091 .028

Commitment .292 Workload .911 Wellbeing -.786 a. Dependent Variable: Frequency of Absence

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