Organizational, work, and personal factors in employee turnover and absenteeism.

Critically examines research over the past 10-12 yrs concerning factors related to turnover and absenteeism in work situations. On a general level, overall job satisfaction was consistently and inversely related to turnover. In an effort to break down the global concept of job satisfaction, various factors in the work situation were analyzed as they related to withdrawal behavior. 4 categories of factors, each representing 1 "level" in the organization, were utilized: organization-wide factors, immediate work environment factors, job-related factors, and personal factors. Several variables in each of the 4 categories were found to be related fairly consistently to 1 or both forms of withdrawal. An attempt is made to put the diverse findings into a conceptual framework centering around the role of met expectations. Methodological considerations and future research needs are also discussed. (83 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

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. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting absenteeism from prior absenteeism, attitudinal factors, and nonattitudinal factors.

Prior absenteeism, job attitudes, demographic variables, and personality variables were correlated in a longitudinal study with absence frequency for 174 employees (mean age 34 yrs) in a manufacturing plant. Measures included the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire, Health Locus of Control (LOC) Scale, and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Multiple regression analysis showed, as hypothesized, that tenure, marital status (married), group cohesiveness, self-esteem, and an internal health LOC were negatively related to absenteeism and that sex (female) and prior absenteeism were positively related to absenteeism. Job satisfaction, job level, and age did not predict absenteeism. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that prior absenteeism, group cohesiveness, and an internal health LOC accounted for unique variance in absenteeism. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Understanding the "personological" basis of employee withdrawal: The influence of affective disposition on employee tardiness, early departure, and absenteeism.

This study investigated the impact of positive affectivity (PA) and negative affectivity (NA) on employee tardiness, early departure, and absenteeism, controlling for demographic, job-related, and environmental variables. The 3 temporary withdrawal measures were collected from organizational records in the 12 months following the survey. The LISREL analysis was based on a sample of 362 blue-collar employees from a multinational automotive manufacturer. The results indicate that individuals high in PA were associated with increased tardiness and early departure but decreased absenteeism. Individuals high in NA were associated with increased early departure. In terms of moderator effects, job satisfaction had a significant negative impact for individuals low in PA in predicting tardiness and early departure, whereas job satisfaction displayed a significant negative relationship with early departure for individuals high in NA. Implications of the findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

EAP utilization patterns and employee absenteeism: Results of an empirical, 3-year longitudinal study in a national Canadian retail corporation.

Despite the increasing need for employee assistance program (EAP) providers and human resources (HR) departments to demonstrate outcomes resulting from the availability and use of EAP services, few empirical studies have examined the relationship between EAP utilization and objective organizational outcome measures. This study made use of a unique longitudinal archival data set to examine EAP utilization, the problems for which help was sought, and the relationship of EAP utilization to absenteeism over 3 consecutive years among all EAP-eligible (N = 3,448) employees in all locations of a large national Canadian retail store. Patterns of usage were examined by gender and age with a clearly defined EAP utilization statistic. Most frequently, the reasons for help seeking were personal issues, marital/family problems, and (a distant third) work-related issues. Longitudinal hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was used to examine the differences in yearly absentee hours between EAP users versus non-EAP users. The results showed that EAP users generally had higher rates of absenteeism than nonusers during the year in which EAP was used but (with some exceptions) did not differ from the non-EAP user groups in the year(s) before and after treatment. Implications for consulting psychology are suggested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Group structuring techniques and their influence on process involvement in a group counseling training group.

Investigated the role of a group structuring technique developed by G. Egan (1973, 1976) on the amount and depth of process involvement in 2 8-member counseling training groups consisting of graduate students (aged 21–56 yrs). The primary hypothesis was that the structured group would have a higher amount and depth of process involvement scores across time than the no-structure group. Results partly support the conclusion that early structure significantly affects process involvement among group members. Findings also indicate that both groups showed strong gains in depth of process involvement over time. Results are discussed in terms of previous research by R. L. Bednar et al (see record 1974-25973-001) and C. Y. Crews and J. Melnick (see record 1976-21029-001). It is suggested that future research should explore interactions between interpersonal style differences of individual members and various structuring techniques. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Group psychotherapeutic factors in a self-assertive group

The technique of group psychotherapy has recently been introduced to the practice in self-assertiveness training group. This study aims to assess various group factors that are hypothesized to be effective in the group process in a self-assertive group. Subjects of the study were participants in a 13-member self-assertiveness training group, with 4 female nurses and 8 male employees and 1 male student. The average age of this group was 35.2 years. Assessment of the group was based on Yalom's concept of twelve therapeutic factors in the group process. The results showed that 'identification', 'The existential factor' and 'interpersonal learning-input' were the three most important factors demonstrated during the group process. There were no significant age and gender differences in the above 'identification' and 'existential' factors. However, different beneficial factors were found for each group: for subjects aged 40 and above and males, it was 'interpersonal learning-output'; while in those with aged under 40 and females, 'universality' was more important than 'interpersonal learning-input'. Comparison of therapeutic factors among different groups was attempted. The above results were found different from patient groups, or the groups of university students. The discrepancy is due to different composition and tasks of each group.     

Objective stress factors, accidents, and absenteeism in transit operators: a theoretical framework and empirical evidence

The authors used observational job analysis as a conceptually based technique to measure stress factors unbiased by worker appraisal with 81 transit driving tasks on 27 transit lines. Stressor dimensions included work barriers that interfere with task performance due to poor technical-organizational design, time pressure, time binding (autonomy over time management), and monotonous conditions. Line-specific average stressor values were assigned to 308 transit operators who mainly worked the particular line. Logistic regression analyses showed associations for high work barriers and sickness absences (odds ratio [OR] = 3.8, p = .05). There were elevated risks for work accidents for high time pressure operators (OR = 4.0, p = .04) and for the medium time-binding group (OR = 3.3, p = .04) and significant (alpha = .20) unadjusted interaction terms for barriers and time pressure in predicting accidents and absences, and barriers and time binding in predicting absences. Findings suggest guaranteed rest breaks and flexible timing for accident prevention and removal of work barriers for reducing absenteeism.     

The effect of system restructuring on absenteeism due to sickness in the work place. I. Sickness absenteeism during the period 19989-1994

The current transformation of property relations and economic restructuring, along with many other factors, influence the health condition of workers. The objective of the study was to illustrate the size of the problem and to identify the major causes of work disability among persons employed in enterprises undergoing those processes during the years 1989-94 against the situation observed in the whole country during the same period. The study was carried out in one of the largest industrial plants undergoing the process of economic restructuring. The group investigated was composed of 8,588 workers (including 62.6% of males). In individual years the number of workers in this group was decreasing, and in 1994 the employment status in the group accounted for 37% in relation to the number of workers employed during the first year under observation. The analysis of work disability was based on the rate of sickness absenteeism calculated as a relationship between the number of days of work disability and the number of working days during that particular period. Due to the application of this method it was feasible to consider both workers employed and persons who left the plant, regardless of their employment duration during a year. The study showed a 20 per cent increase in sickness absenteeism during the period of 1989-94. The highest rate (8.60) was noted in 1994. It was higher by 16% in comparison to the rate for the whole country. The greatest difference between these rates was observed in 1990 (the rate in the group investigated was higher by 46%). As to the causes of work disability, the main differences concerned two categories of illnesses, diseases of the circulatory system, a major cause of sickness absenteeism in the group studied (21%), and diseases of the musculoskeletal system, a major cause of sickness absenteeism in Poland. The change in the relationship between sickness absenteeism and the age during the period of the plant restructuring resulted from the fact that a large number of workers left the job. It was observed that the rate of the sickness absenteeism was almost directly proportional to the percentage of persons leaving the plant in individual years. The study showed that changes in the size and the structure of employment resulting from the plant restructuring influence the level of sickness absenteeism, and the age-related diversification in causes of diseases, and in consequence alter the established regularities.     

Alcohol consumption and workplace absenteeism: The moderating effect of social support.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 95(3) of Journal of Applied Psychology (see record 2010-09357-014). the R-square estimates for models 4 and 5 of Table 2 on page 343 are incorrectly reported. The correct R-square values are .10 for both of these models (instead of .010). All the other values reported in this table are correct.] Although it is commonly assumed that alcohol consumption has a significant impact on employee absenteeism, the nature of the alcohol–absence relationship remains poorly understood. Proposing that alcohol impairment likely serves as a key mechanism linking drinking and work absence, we posit that this relationship is likely governed less by the amount of alcohol consumed and more by the way it is consumed. Using a prospective study design and a random sample of urban transit workers, we found that the frequency of heavy episodic drinking over the previous month is positively associated with the number of days of absence recorded in the subsequent 12-month period, whereas modal consumption (a metric capturing the typical amount of alcohol consumed in a given period of time) is not. In addition, consistent with both volitional treatments of absenteeism and social exchange theory, perceived coworker support was found to attenuate, and supervisory support to amplify, the link between the frequency of heavy episodic drinking and absenteeism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The moderating effect of employee hostility on the association of long-term elderly care unit's negative resident characteristics to employee stress and well-being.

This study examined the moderating effect of employee hostility on the association of unit-level resident characteristics (depression and behavioral problems) to individual-level employee's resident-related stress and psychological well-being during 1-year follow-up study among 501 employees in elderly care. Our results showed that employee hostility was associated with decreased psychological well-being. In addition, hostility moderated the association between unit-level proportion of depressive residents and resident-related stress experienced by the individual employees. Hostile employees reported increased resident-related stress irrespective of the proportion of depressed residents in the unit. Instead, nonhostile employees were sensitive to the depression in the unit. They reported low levels of stress when depression levels in the unit were low and increased stress when depression levels were high. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Work-related risk factors and employee substance use: Insights from a sample of Israeli blue-collar workers.

Although studies have found evidence that certain workplace conditions in North American enterprises may serve as risk factors for alcohol and illicit drug use, little is known regarding the generalizability of these findings to enterprises in other countries. To address this gap, we collected data from a random sample of 569 blue-collar workers employed in nine different facilities of one of Israel's largest manufacturing firms. The results of zero-inflated Poisson and ordered probit regressions partly confirmed earlier findings reported in North America, with a heightened rate of a substance use among those perceiving (a) more permissive drinking norms, (b) lower supervisor ability to handle substance use problems, (c) greater exposure to job hazards, and (d) lower levels of coworker interactions. Permissive drinking norms were also found to moderate the associations between the other risk factors and substance use. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Further considerations on alcohol intake and coronary risk factors in a Rome working population group: HDL-cholesterol

A study on the relationships between habitual alcohol consumption and the main coronary risk factors was carried out in 520 consecutive high-risk men examined during an annual rescreening of a working population group within the Rome Project of Coronary Heart Disease Prevention. Alcohol intake was determined by means of a semiquantitative questionnaire. The mean daily wine intake was about 0.5 liter, the consumption of other alcoholic beverages being negligible. No statistically significant correlations were found between average daily wine consumption and the main coronary risk factors, while a strongly positive correlation (p less than 0.001) was observed with plasma HDL-cholesterol levels. Also differences in HDL-cholesterol between occasional drinkers and moderate drinkers were statistically significant. No differences were observed in total cholesterol and triglycerides. The findings suggest that habitual moderate amounts of alcohol may increase HDL-cholesterol between occasional drinkers and moderate drinkers were statistically significant. No differences were observed in total cholesterol and triglycerides. The findings suggest that habitual moderate amounts of alcohol may increase HDL-cholesterol levels.     

The effect of severity of initiation on liking for a group.

"An experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that persons who undergo an unpleasant initiation to become members of a group increase their liking for the group; that is, they find the group more attractive than do persons who become members without going through a severe initiation. This hypothesis was derived from Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance." 3 conditions were employed: reading of "embarrassing material" before a group, mildly embarrassing material to be read, no reading. "The results clearly verified the hypothesis." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of group climate on outcome in two forms of short-term group therapy.

The authors investigated the association between dimensions of perceived group climate (engagement, avoidance, and conflict) and treatment outcome in 2 forms of short-term group psychotherapy. They were particularly interested in the relationship between early group climate and outcome. They also examined whether average group climate and change in group climate were associated with outcome. Both engagement after Session 4 and engagement averaged over the course of therapy were directly associated with improvement. Significant interactions among the group climate dimensions were also found. These findings support the contention that aspects of the group environment influence patient benefit from psychotherapy groups. Possible explanations and implications of the findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Difficult patients: their construction in group therapy

Written from the perspective of intersubjective theory, this article addresses how the leader and group members co-construct the difficult patient. Too often, therapists and patients have tended to attribute difficulties in therapy groups to "the difficult patient" without appreciating how they themselves contribute to the construction, the needs this construction serves, and the potential value of such patients to the group. Mistakes in group leadership, vicissitudes of intersubjectivity, disturbing intrapsychic defenses, and whole-group dynamics interact to produce the difficult patient. Also discussed is the group member who is difficult but who no longer meets the criteria for patienthood. By exploring the factors involved in the co-construction of the difficult patient, the authors hope to guide clinicians in the deconstruction of such impediments, thus allowing the difficult patient to become "just another group patient."