SELF-REPORTS OF WORK ABSENCE AS A FUNCTION OF PERSONAL ATTITUDES TOWARDS ABSENCE, AND PERCEPTIONS OF THE ORGANIZATION

Ten scales measuring individual attitudes towards absence and perceptions of the organisation were collected, together with self-reports of absence and demographic variables from a sample of employees in a hospital in Quebec. People representing all job categories within the hospital made up this volunteer sample (N = 176). An exploratory factor analysis of the ten scales identified four components: absence as a social exchange, absence culture, the inadequacy of absence control, and disbelief in sanctions. The demographic variables as well as the scales that composed the components were then correlated with the self reports of absence. The results provided support for the use of specific attitude measures for understanding employee absence, and they were interpreted in light of the 'social-exchange' and 'absence-culture' theories of employee absence, providing a greater level of empirical support to the latter as opposed to the former view.