Absenteeism, Withdrawal [e.g., alcohol, drug use
BUS159 - Group 2
Brianda Acosta, Lupe Banuelos, Jessica
Martinez & Valerie Pacheco
Absenteeism:
The Relationship Between
Individual Job Satisfaction and
Work-Unit Absenteeism
By: Jessica Martinez
Key Terms
Externally focused satisfaction: an employee’s relationship or attitude towards his or her job
Internally focused satisfaction: an employee’s relationship with his or her coworkers or work-unit
Mean level of work-unit absenteeism: a contextual cue that determines the level of absence that is
allowed in a work-unit
Background
Individual absenteeism can come from an employee’s job environment
Influenced by social-contextual features of work-units that may also determine a degree to which job
satisfaction levels relate to patterns of absence behavior
Work-unit absenteeism is most important and influential social-contextual cue that influences the
satisfaction-absenteeism relationship
The Social Conformity Theory
an employee can develop the behavior patterns of those around them
Studies
Participants asked to complete questionnaires with questions related to individual externally and
internally focused job satisfaction and individual and work-unit absenteeism
Externally focused job satisfaction
assessed by questions that relate to working conditions, organization and management, and career
opportunities
● Internally focused job satisfaction
○ assessed by questions that refer to work-unit colleagues and supervisors
● Individual and work-unit absenteeism
○ assessed by the number of absences the individual and work-unit has had while working
Study Results
● High mean levels of workunit absenteeism= High
internally focused job
satisfaction
● Low mean levels of workunit absenteeism= High
internally focused job
satisfaction
Take Home Message
Focus on ensuring appropriate team composition
Encourage social relationships between teammates and supervisors
Formalized attendance procedures, feedback systems, or unit-level incentives
Implement cultural development and team building programs
Aversive
Conditions in the
Workplace
By Brianda Acosta
Cost of Absenteeism
In the United States absenteeism results in an estimated $225.8 billion per
year due to losses in productivity.
Key Terms
Aversive Conditions: work characteristics perceived by the employee as noxious or threatening
Group Norms: set of shared beliefs and perceptions regarding what is an acceptable rate of, or justification for,
employee absences
Supervisor Support: the degree to which a supervisor is viewed as both caring and able to provide emotional support
Background
● Studies have found a positive correlation between aversive conditions and high
rates of absenteeism.
● A study composed of a random sample of workers
● Workers were asked to fill out questionnaire about peer norms, job hazards, &
supervisor support
● Two key moderators: group norms and supervisor support.
RESULTS
Take Home Message
● Encourage a supportive supervisor-employee relationship.
● Implement a realistic and formal attendance policy.
● Pay attention to the role of normative and supervisory factors in the organization.
Predictors of Abusive
Supervision
Supervisor Perceptions of Deep-Level
Dissimilarity, Relationship Conflict, and
Subordinate Performance
By: Valerie Pacheco
Definitions
Perceived Deep Level Dissimilarity: refers to the perception that the subordinate’s values and
attitudes differ from the supervisor’s
Moral Exclusion Theory: prediction is that abusive supervision is positively related to perceived
deep-level dissimilarity and supervisor perceptions of relationship conflict with
subordinates, and negatively related to supervisor evaluations of subordinate performance
Empathy Trait: the dispositional tendency to take the perspective of others thoughts and to
recognize and experience concern for others’ thoughts and feelings
Background
How does absenteeism affect a company?
Moral exclusion literature identifies three predictors of abusive supervision:
○ Supervisor perceptions of deep-level dissimilarity
○ Relationship conflict
○ Subordinate Performance
Hypothesized Model
This model was used during the study to
test whether these factors correlated
with abusive supervision
Hypotheses
1. Supervisor’s perceptions of relationship conflict partially mediate the relationship between the
supervisor’s perceived deep-level dissimilarity with a subordinate and abusive supervision directed
toward that subordinate
2. A supervisor’s perceptions of a subordinate’s performance partially mediate the relationship between the
supervisor’s perceived deep-level dissimilarity with a subordinate and abusive supervision directed
toward that subordinate
3. Relationship conflict is a distal partial mediator and supervisor evaluation of subordinate performance is a
proximal partial mediator of the relationship between perceived deep-level dissimilarity and abusive
supervision
4. Supervisor perceptions of subordinate performance moderate the indirect effect of perceived deep-level
dissimilarity on abusive supervision (through relationship conflict); the mediated effect is stronger when a
Study Information and Results
Study measures:
● Perceived Dissimilarity
● Relationship Conflict
● Subordinate Performance
● Abusive supervision
● Control Variables
Through regression analysis the authors of
the article were able to prove:
Hypothesis 1 was not supported
Hypothesis 2 and 3 were supported
Hypothesis 4 depended on the level of
subordinate performance
Table 2: Results
● The lower subordinate
performance is, the higher
abusive supervision would be
Take Home Message
Provide employee training on open communication and diversity
Provide proper job training to decrease low performance appraisals to prevent other supervisors
from seeing subordinates as being of low utility decreasing the chances of abusive
supervision
Hiring or promoting supervisors or management that carry an empathy trait
Having the company value a culture of teams where employees look forward to coming to work
Supervisor's
Aggressive Humor
And it’s Impact to Absenteeism via
Addictive Behaviors
by: Lupe Banuelos
Key Terms
Aggressive Humor
“humor that teases, denigrates, criticizes, maligns, disparages, is
disrespectful, is mean-spirited, intends to embarrass, or ridicules
individuals or groups of individuals.”
Strain
Employees’ physical and psychological stress in their work environment
Aggressive Humor by Supervisor- Background
To determine whether Aggressive Humor by a supervisor can cause strain on the focal employee so great that it
may lead or contribute to behaviors such as internet, alcohol or smoking addictions all of which can result in
excessive absenteeism, alienation, poor work performance and workplace safety
The detrimental effects of aggressive humor by supervisors when the negative behavior is targeted to a specific
(focal) employee rather than a group or workforce
Three Key Objectives of the Aggressive Humor Study
(a) To examine the effects of supervisors’ aggressive humor on the strain of focal employees - Hypothesis 1:
Supervisors’ aggressive humor relates positively to focal employee's’ strain
(b) To explore how supervisors’ aggressive humor with the peers of focal employees influences the
strength of the association between the supervisors’ aggressive humor with the focal employees and the
focal employee's’ strain - Hypothesis 2: Supervisors’ aggressive humor with the peers of focal employees negatively moderates the relationship between
supervisors’ use of aggressive humor with the focal employees and the focal employee's’ strain, such that the positive association becomes stronger when the level of supervisors’
aggressive humor with peers is low.
(c) To test how focal employees translate supervisors’ aggressive humor into their own addictive behaviors
through strain. - Hypothesis 3: Strain among focal employees mediates the interaction
Aggressive Humor Study - Results
Stress increases when
peers are not targeted
Stress decreases when
peers are also
targeted
Aggressive Humor Study - Results
Humor on focal employees related positively and caused much more strain on the employees than when
their peers received lower levels of aggressive humor from the supervisor
Treatment received by the peers of the focal employees influenced their reactions to aggressive humor;
Similar treatment lessened or buffered the effect
When focal employees experienced the strain, they were more likely to engage in addictive behaviors, like
internet addiction, problem drinking and problem smoking
Additional findings; Aggressive humor is unethical behavior;can be destructive and create lifelong
problems
Aggressive Humor - Take Home Message
HR must take all employee complaints seriously and intervene
Training should be conducted to help managers understand appropriate, positive ways to use humor
Implementation of support groups, team building activities, and counseling services should be
recommended when organizations are made aware of individuals suffering from workplace stress
These offerings will enable employees to minimize and control addictive behaviors and improve their
Absenteeism Take Home Message
Training should be conducted to help managers understand appropriate, positive ways to use humor and
communication
Implementation of support groups, team building activities, and counseling services should be
recommended when organizations are made aware of individuals suffering from workplace stress
Having the company value a culture of teams where employees look forward to coming to work
Encourage a supportive supervisor-employee and co-worker relationship.
Formalized attendance procedures, feedback systems, or unit-level incentives