EFFECTS OF EMPLOYEES ABSENTEEISM ON ORGANISATIONS PERFORMANCEA
CASE STUDY OF MASAKA POLICE STATION
A RESEARCH PROPOSAL SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND
MANAGEMENT IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF REQUIREMENTS FOR AN AWARD OF A
DEGREE IN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT OF KAMPALA UNIVERSITY.
TABLE OF CONTENTS1. Title of the study Chapter one2.
Introduction.3. Background of the study..4. Statement of the
problem.5. Objectives of the study.6. Research questions7. Scope of
the study8. Significance of the study..9. Definition of key
terms10. Conceptual framework.Chapter two: Review of related
literature11. Review of related literatureChapter three:
Methodology12. Research design.13. Study area..14. Study Population
..15. Sample size and selection..16. Sampling techniques17.
Research tools18. Data collection procedure..19. Secondary data20.
Data analysis and presentations21. Ethical consideration22.
Limitations and delimitationsAppendicesBudgetQuestionnaire
INTRODUCTIONThis proposal shows the background of the study,
problem statement, objectives of the study, scope of the study,
conceptual framework, significance of the study it also looks at
the review of various literature related on the meaning of
absenteeism, the research design, study area, population size,
sampling strategy, research instrument, viability and reliability,
data analysis, research procedures, ethical consideration,
limitations and delimitations of the study.Background of the
studyAbsenteeism is the avoidance or failure to attend one's place
of work hence unable to perform a contractual working obligation
owing to absence. In other words, absenteeism is unplanned or
planned absence created by an employee intentionally such as
deliberately avoiding work through non-attendance for personal
reasons or unintentionally like maternity leave, bereavement and
ill-health.In general absenteeism is defined as the failure to show
for work or any other habitual duty. This usually disrupts work
schedules adding workloads to those who are at work which might
lead to low morale among employees. Therefore, absenteeism
obstructs the good functioning of production and efficient running
of an organization. Lokke A.K, Eskildsen. J and Jesen. T. W (2007)
similarly reported that the traditional definition of absence is
about not being physically present at the place and time the
employee is expected to be.
1Employee absenteeism is a costly yet poorly understood
organizational phenomenon (e.g. Johns and Nicholson, 1982;
Martocchio and Harrison, 1993; Mowday, Porter and Steers, 1982;
Rhodes and Steers, 1990; Gellatly, 1995). The consequences of
employee absenteeism are widespread and consist of direct and
indirect effects. For instance higher costs are a result of
absenteeism, which can be caused both directly as indirectly.
Direct costs of sickness absence to employers include statutory
sick pay, expense of covering absence with temporary staff and lost
production. Indirect costs, such as low morale among staff covering
for those absent because of sickness and lower customer
satisfaction, are difficult to measure, while they also influence
the overall levels of output (Leaker, 2008). Other effects
associated with absenteeism are disruption of the work flow and
reduction in product quality (Klein, 1986). The impact of
absenteeism on firms or even a nations economy is enormous, taking
account of the costs associated with it. A better understanding of
the determinants of absenteeism can be valuable for firms and
policymakers (Strmer and Fahr, 2010). As stated by Barmby, Ercolani
and Treble (2002), absence is not purely a medical condition. While
employee absence often is described as sickness, there are more
aspects which play a role or have an effect on the absence behavior
of employees. Johns and Nicholson (1982) describe this as an
essential problem, because absenteeism is actually a variety of
behaviors with different causes masquerading as a unitary
phenomenon. Whitaker (2001) also stressed this aspect; sickness is
a complex phenomenon that is influenced strongly by factors other
than health. Throughout previous research many determinants have
been tested upon their possible explanatory abilities on employee
absence behavior. While these determinants often showed similar
results it is sometimes difficult to compare these outcomes since
other exogenous factors influenced them. For example as Gimeno et
al. (2004) explained in their article that studies have examined
the relation between psychosocial work conditions and sickness
absence. Some have found that sickness absence is related to high
demands, low control, or a combination of both, while other studies
have found no relation. Another example of different relations
found in previous research concerns the relation between absence
and an employees age, some found positive relations while others
found negative. Davey, New burn-cook, and Lo. E. A (2009) have
defined absenteeism as the failure to appear to work when planned,
and according to them absence is measured by frequency or amount of
work days missed. The Entrepreneur described absenteeism as an
employee's deliberate or habitual absence from work. Everybody
misses a day of work now and then. But it's a problem when an
employee misses too many days of work. Not showing up for work can
cause serious problems when other employees have to cover for the
missing worker.
2STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMDespite the efforts put by the
government to train and guide its police officers, follow up
against absenteeism, there is still a problem of absenteeism among
the employees, the police officers are given duty programmes which
must be followed but they end up not turning up at the required
time which leads to poor performance and backlog or pilling of work
which leads to delay. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDYGENERAL OBJECTIVEThe
general objective of this study will aim at establishing the
effects of employees absenteeism in organizations with particular
emphasis to Masaka police station.SPECIFIC OBJECTIVESTo identify
the factors that lead to absenteeism among employees in
organizations.To examine the effects of employees absenteeism on
organizations performance.To suggest measures that can reduce
absenteeism among employees in organizations.RESEARCH QUESTIONSWhat
are the causes of absenteeism among employees in the
organization?How is absenteeism likely to affect the performance of
the organization?In which ways can we suggest solutions to the
problems of absenteeism?
3
SCOPE OF THE STUDYGeographical scope: the study will be carried
out at Masaka police station in Masaka district in the central
region of Uganda.Subject matter: the study will be aimed at
establishing the effects of employees absenteeism on organizations
performance. The focus will be put on the social and economic
reasons for absenteeism at Masaka police station.Time scope: this
study will cover a period of 3 years (2000-2003) reason being that
the practice of absenteeism in Masaka police station has greatly
increased in these years.SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDYThe study will
help managers to know the effects of absenteeism on employees
performance.The study will also remind employees about their duties
and responsibilities.The study will be a source of information to
future researchers.DEFINITION OF KEY TERMSAbsenteeism: a habitual
pattern of absence from a duty or obligation, failure of a worker
to report for work when he is scheduled to the work.Performance:
The accomplishment of a given task measured against preset known
standards of accuracy, completeness, cost, and speed.Organization:
A social unit of people that is structured and managed to meet a
need or to pursue collective goals.
4 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Independent variablesdependent variables
Poor performanceLow productivity
Government policySkillsTrainingLow level of commitmentReward
systemWorkplace issuesPersonal reasonsLow moralePoor quality of
supervision
Extraneous variables
Extraneous variables
Source: Derived from related literature.
5
LITERATURE REVIEWAbsenteeism can happen through authorized and
unauthorized absence and these can be grouped into: situational,
personal and attendance factors. Causes: headaches, hang-over cold
flu, unchallenging jobs and poor management are common causes of
absenteeism and managers generally suspicious of employees' reasons
for absenteeism. Effects: Unplanned absence is disorganizing,
frustrating and expensive for organizations. Absenteeism is
positively correlated with employee motivation and satisfaction.
Combating absenteeism: absence can be minimized by providing
challenging jobs, rewarding attendance and maintaining a zero
tolerance to absence. Return-to-work interviews are empirically
proven method of reducing absenteeism in local government.Causes of
absenteeismAccording to Ericson (2001) issues like child and
eldercare, single-parent families are those characteristics that
might lead to an impact on absenteeism at any level in an
organization. Furthermore, Goff et al. (1990) found that when ones
work and family issues are conflicting there is a greater frequency
of absenteeism. It has also been noted that management in most
organizations are lenient, staffs make excuses of being sick so as
not to attend work, consequently, recording a sick leave. This is
also common in the aviation sector especially among staffs having
odd working hours; they find it easier to register for sick leave
so as to be able to manage their own issues. Cuelenaere (1997)
showed that most sick women did not resume work until they were
fully recovered, whereas most men often (partially) resumed work
even when they were not fully recovered. Geurts, Kompier and
Grundemann (2000) further state that women are alleged by the media
to hold lower work values because they make less serious attempts
to resume work after sickness. Two final explanations mentioned by
Johns (2003) are that, compared to men, women appeared to be more
restless and busier during a scheduled day off. And secondly that
women may experience or respond more negatively or proactively to
stressful or dissatisfying events at work and use time off as an
adjective mechanism.
6Drago and wooden (1992) explain in their research, the higher
absence rate among younger workers can be expected because of the
greater opportunity cost of foregone leisure. They further state
that younger workers are typically very mobile between jobs and
thus will be less committed to the firm and work group than older
workers.Barham and Begum (2005), Clegg (1983), Hackett (1990) and
Leaker (2008) find support for the negative relation Grundemann
(2000) find support for a positive relation between age and
absenteeism. Although ambiguous results are found in previous
research, a negative relation between age and absenteeism is
expected. Koopmans chap et al (1993) showed in their research that
absence from work is strongly related to education and also that
lower educated people have a higher risk of becoming disabled. An
explanation for this result could be that increased educational
attainment is related to greater knowledge about health this is in
line with the statement that education could influence a persons
judgement regarding their capacity to work.
Lusinyan and Bonato, 2007, states that the most important
indicators of absenteeism are related to the health of employees.
While other factors have their impact on influencing the absence
rate, health itself, for example general illness, is the most
occurring reason for an employee to be absent. Better health
associated with lower sickness absence. The factors discussed in
this category will discuss how self-assessed health, certain health
lifestyles, such as Body Mass Index and smoking, and whether a
person is hampered in his normal activities by his illness relate
to absence.
Self-assessed health status is an increasingly common measure of
health in empirical research and has shown to provide a trustworthy
view of a persons health. Linn and Linn, 1980; Crossley and
Kennedy, 2002, It could be understood that people who assess their
health better, thus rate their own health at a higher degree, are
likely to be absent less often. People hampered by their health in
their daily activities, for example disabled and chronically ill
people, can be expected to have higher absence rates. Disabled and
chronically ill people can also be expected to rate their own
health lower. Which, as explained, also relate to a higher absence
rate. 7
Price and Mueller (1981) describe job satisfaction as the
overall degree to which employees like their jobs. As mentioned
earlier, when somebody is satisfied with what he is doing he will
exert more effort in keeping his promises, which here means showing
up at work. Satisfied people are also less inclined to focus on the
negative aspects which could result in a more negative
attitude.
Gennard, Judge, (2005) are of the view that death, paternity
leave, inability to return from planned holidays and alleged
sickness' are the main causes of absenteeism. It is abundantly
clear that bereavement does cause absenteeism but on limited scale
however, this report is less concern with that form of absenteeism
because it is natural rather than intentional. Paternity leave
being a cause of absence might sound baffling however, paternity
leave even though a planned absenteeism, might potential cause some
form of authorized absence for reasons like a sudden developments-
such as mother falling sick, baby's health, family and family
visits and gatherings.
According to Armstrong, (2006). Managers are usually provided
with a specification tasks with limited time-frame within which to
report back to their superiors for assessment. Consequently, an
unplanned absence may significantly affect managers flexibility,
time and the speed at which the work and for that reason, may cause
irritation for management as a whole.Effects of absenteeismHarvey
and Nicholson (1993), recognizes that absenteeism is the major
cause of low productivity in business and industry. In a similar
vein, Buschak. M, Craven. C and Ledman. R (1996) stated that
absenteeism is a difficulty that every organization or business
faces creating costs and productivity problems. Thus, leading to a
heavier work load on the majority of employees who have shown up
for work. This type of situation tends to create dissatisfaction,
frustration, stress and fatigue among employees8Pillay (2009:5)
(Chauke, 2007:24). Decreased productivity, when an employee is
absent from work, but is integral to daily work functions, others
take on the added responsibility. When employees who are at work
have to carry the extra workload, this has the potential to impact
on their overall productivity and outputs.
Demotivated employees: Morale, engagement and retention are
affected, especially when there is no recognition or
acknowledgement for taking on extra responsibility as a result of
absent team members. Staff morale tends to suffer as a result of
extra demands on staff time owing to work overload and
overtime.
Decreased customer loyalty and satisfaction: Employees are the
backbone of any organisation and low morale could lead to
dissatisfaction amongst customers. Chauke (2007:24) agrees that
employee service delivery may suffer on account of absenteeism.
Decreased costs: These are as a result of lost productivity,
overtime, temporary staff and increased overall company overheads
initially not budgeted for. These additional financial costs are
most likely to be felt in the wage costs associated with any staff
replacements
Chauke, 2007:25. Job dissatisfaction: Employees monitor each
others behavior, and if absenteeism on the part of some colleagues
is not addressed by management, they lose credibility among the
staff leading to staff turnover as a result of dissatisfaction. In
short, anything that impacts on worker Satisfaction (happiness)
with the job can influence an employees motivation and indirectly
affect whether they would practice absenteeism merely to stay away
from an unhappy work situation An employee's sudden absence may
stir up negative feelings among his fellow work- colleagues. It is
a convincing fact that more often, managers are unable to fill in
or organize a quick replacement for an absent employee but rather,
overburden their subordinates with the same magnitude of workload.
Nevertheless, they (managers) still expect their workforce to
deliver the same level of performance without considering the
manpower shortage.9Combating absenteeism.Lusinyan and Bonato (2007)
clearly state that shorter working hours reduce absence and that
this effect is even larger when flexible working arrangements are
apparent. Barham and Begum (2005) state that employees with fewer
working days have a reduced chance of taking a day off because of
sickness, when they were actually scheduled to work. While little
direct theoretical support exists for the relationship between
contract type and absenteeism, numerous previous researches showed
clear results. Drago and Wooden (1992), Leaker (2008), Benavides et
al. (2000) and Barham and Begum (2005) showed a positive relation
between full-time employment and absenteeism. A similar
relationship is expected in this study. Gimeno et al. 2004;
Benavides et al. 2000) explain that even though these non-permanent
employees tend to do more hazardous work or work under poorer
conditions than permanent employees, they still tend to be less
absent. Sickness absence research suggests that the lower
non-permanent employee absence rates are attributable to the
insecurity of not being reemployed or lack of benefits, which leads
non-permanent employees to remain at work.
10METHODOLOGYThe section highlights the research design that
will be used, population of the study, sample selection and size,
data collection, procedure, data analysis and the limitations of
the study.RESEARCH DESIGNThe study will use a descriptive survey
research design. This will be used because it is a method of
investigation in which self report data collection from interested
samples can be done, on top of allowing for a thorough and easy
analysis of respondents opinions. Given the nature of this studys
focus, it will be descriptive survey research design that can
adequately lead to collection of reliable information by giving a
focused description of every phenomenon resulting into employees
absenteeism in organizations.STUDY AREA The study will be carried
out at Masaka police station which is located in Masaka district.
Both female and male respondents will be used in the study. Focus
will be put on gathering information about the effects of employees
absenteeism on the performance of organizations from the selected
employees.STUDY POPULATIONThe population of the study will be the
staff at Masaka police station. Thirty employees will be the target
of the study.
11SAMPLE SIZE AND SELECTIONA few employees at Masaka police
station will be selected for the study using simple random
sampling. This will be done by writing all the names of different
sections on small pieces of paper, the papers will be put in a
container and mixed up, five papers will be picked at random
without replacement .the names on the picked papers are the ones
that will be used in the study. From the five selected sections,
their corresponding heads will be purposively selected for the
study. Five heads and four subordinates from each section based on
their roles in the departments. SAMPLING TECHNIQUES The sample will
be selected using both simple random sampling and purposive
sampling techniques. Simple random sample is a subset of
individuals (a sample) chosen from a larger set (population) chosen
randomly and entirely by chance such that each individual has the
same probability of being chosen at any stage during the sampling
process (Yates, 2008) for purposive sampling, this will be used
because it will help in selecting typical and useful people that
will give relevant data for in-depth study. (Oso and Onen
2009).RESEARCH TOOLSQuestionnaires will be administered to the
employees. Questionnaires will be self-administered and will
consist of both structured and non-structured questions. The study
will use questionnaires because they help to cover a big number of
respondents in relatively short time.Interviews, the researcher
will conduct face to face interview with the respondents. An
interview guide containing questions will be used to guide the
researcher while conducting face to face conversations with the
participants or respondents.Written documents, the study will make
a review of written documents such as books, reports, magazines,
news papers, journals and stations records. The information
gathered will be important in consolidating the respondents
elicited from the interviews and questionnaires.12DATA COLLECTION
PROCEDUREThe researcher will first get a letter of introduction
from the department of internship and research of Kampala
University, which will be presented to the district commander and
officer in charge of station seeking for permission to carry out
the study at their station. The researcher will then request the
officer in charge to introduce her to the sections for sample
selection exercise.SECONDARY DATASecondary data from different
websites about absenteeism will be used as a source of information.
Each online administrative documents, news paper articles, service
records, lists of names, survey data and other records will be
carefully reviewed and selected.DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATIONThe
responses of the subjects will be categorized in frequency counts
and score tables with varying percentages calculated. Inferences
will be made according to the number of occurrences on each item.
Data will be continually analyzed during and after data
collection.VALIDITY AND RELIABILITYTo ensure the quality and
guarantee validity and reliability, the data to be collected for
the study, the tools and instruments will be pretested with the
assistance from the research supervisor and few respondents will be
involved in the pilot study. This will make it possible to
determine whether the items in the questionnaire are tested
clearly, understandable and relevant to the study. This will be
intended to ensure that all respondents get the same
meaning.Mugenda (1999) define validity as the extent to which a
researcher tool or instrument will be guaranteed by regular
consultations the researcher will do in collaboration with the
research supervisor. Reviewing previous and earlier work will
ensure reliability by not repeating the mistakes in the previous
studies. This will help the researcher to identify gaps in the
existing literature.
13Reliability of the instrument refers to the extent to which
the instrument is consistent or dependable when measuring
phenomenon (Enon 2000) reliability will be ensured by the
comprehensiveness of the tool, language to be used, number of
respondents and privacy of respondents. The comments of different
respondents will be used to effect necessary changes. The items
that will be found to be irrelevant and vague will be
removed.ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONBefore any data collection, a thorough
explanation will be given and the need for their cooperation. The
possible benefits of the study will be explained. The respondents
will be taken care of during the study so as not to victimize any
one.LIMITATIONS AND DELIMITATIONSLack of experience will affect the
process of gathering the necessary data within the short time since
the researcher will be doing research for the first time.There
might be a problem of limited funds this will hinder and delay the
research exercise.
14APPENDIX 1: BUDGET RESEARCH ESTIMATED BUDGET ITEMSQUANTITYUNIT
PRICETOTAL
Transport to the field2 weeks 10,000@ 100,000/=
Traveling to University Supervisor300020,000/=
Internet charges and library 50,000/=
Ream of papers118,000@18,000/=
Questionnaire typesetting and printing30 copies500@10,000/=
Report typesetting and printing315,000@45,000/=
Binding32000@6,000/=
TOTAL249,000/=
APPENDIX 11: QUESTIONNAIREDear sir/madam,You are requested to
fill this form, all the information and data obtained from you
shall be kept confidential and only for the purposes of this study
and please ask for help if need arises.Thank you.Researcher:
NABANOBA FORTUNATEInstruction: Tick the correct
alternative.A.DEMOGRAPHIC DATA1. Gender.a) Male b) Female2.
Religiona) Protestantb) Catholicc) Muslimd) Orthodoxe) Others
(specify)3. Age (20-50)..4. Position/rank ..
5. In which section/department do you work?6. Do you come on
duty regularly without dodging? Yes No7. How long have you been at
this station?YearsMonths.B.INFORMATION ABOUT THE SUBJECT OF THE
STUDY1. In your view, what are some of the problems of the
employees in particular and the organization in general?a) b) 2.
Have you ever heard about absenteeism? YesNo 3. If yes, what is
absenteeism?4. What do you think are the factors that lead to
employees absenteeism?a) b) c) 5. In your own view, what do you
think may result from absenteeism?a) b) c) 6. What measures has the
station put in place to stop absenteeism?a) b) c) 7. Have those
measures been effective? Yes NoIf No,Why
Thank you so much for your cooperation .May God bless you.
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(2005) Employee Relations: 4th edition CIPD, London. UK.Johansson,
P Palme, M (2002) Assessing the Effect of Public Policy on Worker
Absenteeism, the Journal of Human Resource.McHugh, M (2002)
Employee absence: an impediment to organization health in local
government, School of Management. McHugh, M (2001): Employee
absence: an impediment to organization health in local government,
School of Management, University of Ulster, Newtownabbey, Northern
Ireland, International journal of Public Sector
Management.Torrington, D, Hall, L and Taylor, S (2008), Human
Resource Management, 7th Edition, Prentice Hall, Pearson Education,
FT, England and Spain.Hanebuth, Dirk (2008) Background of
absenteeism in K. Heinitz (ed.) Psychology in Organizations -
Issues from an applied area. Peter Lang: Frankfurt. Johns, Gary
(2007) absenteeism in George Ritzer (ed.) The Blackwell
Encyclopedia of Sociology, Blackwell Publishing.