The Predictability of Absence and Propensity to Leave from Employees' Job Satisfaction and Attitudes Toward Influence in Decision-Making

Abstract

Absenteeism and labor turnover rates have not proved to be consistently predictable on the basis of individual attitudes towards work. It is argued that this inconsistency might in part be attributed to three factors: (a) the lack of studies using the individual worker as a unit of analysis; (b) the use of inappropriate measures of labor turnover; and (c) insufficiently broad coverage of worker attitudes in the measures used. In the present study an attempt is made to avoid these problems. Individually reported absence and the propensity to leave were examined as correlates of satisfaction with several work dimensions and attitudes towards influence at different levels of organizational decision-making. It was found that satisfaction, particularly with the work itself, was negatively related to both absence and the propensity to leave. Moreover, perceived influence in decision-making, especially at lower organizational levels, was related to the two dependent variables. The implications of these findings for research and practice are discussed.