Background and Organizational Factors in Absenteeism1

Abstract

SummaryT0he availability of data on absenteeism for all nonsupervisory employees of a major airline for a full calendar year presented a unique opportunity for investigating some of the correlates of absenteeism. The quantitative analysis of these data was guided by two major objectives: the first was to test the prediction that the larger the size of the location (or “plant”) the higher the absenteeism, and the second was to determine how age, wage rate, seniority, and job classification were related to absenteeism with sex and “collar” held constant. The findings support the hypothesis that absenteeism is higher in larger units and thus lend credence to the notion that the characteristics of larger organizational units lead to lower levels of involvement and personal satisfaction. Other findings of the study indicate that the relationships between background factors and absenteeism are different for “blue collar” men than for other categories of employees. Among “white collar” men and women and among “blue collar” women, older, longer service, and higher paid employees are more often absent with length of service having the greatest influence. For “blue collar’ men longer length of service and higher job status are associated with lower absence rates. These findings indicate that great care should be taken in making any over‐all generalization about the factors influencing absenteeism and, particularly, that careful controls should be established in making any inferences concerning “morale” or “supervisory skill” on the basis of comparative absenteeism figures. The findings of this study, while based on data from only one company, would indicate that constructive personnel programs aimed at minimizing absenteeism should focus effort on the following work settings: larger plants, high seniority white collar personnel and blue collar women, and blue collar, male job classifications characterized by low status and little “freedom.”