Thesis (MCur)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Absenteeism is a problem all over the world and a solution cannot be easily found. This is also a challenge faced by employers in South Africa. Absenteeism exacerbates the difficulty of health service delivery in many countries where the number of nurses available is insufficient to meet all of the healthcare demands in the health care sector, in this regard South Africa is no exception to this problem. The annual loss to the South African economy caused by absenteeism is between R12 billion and R19.144 billion per year. A combination of factors, namely characteristics of the nurse, the workplace, management, as well as characteristics of the organisation can influence absenteeism. Absenteeism of nurses is on the increase at primary care centres in the Ethekwini municipal district and it has a negative impact on provision of health care services where the study is proposed. It is imperative that sufficient nursing staff be available for duty to provide services to clients. No research on absenteeism has been conducted at these institutions. Therefore, identifying the contributing factors in order to be able to manage it effectively is essential. The aim of this research was to identify factors that contribute to absenteeism of nurses at eight primary care centres in the Ethekwini municipal district of KwaZulu- Natal. A quantitative descriptive exploratory research design was applied for this purpose. The population was all categories of permanently employed nursing staff working at the eight primary care centres. The total population consisted of 689 nurses. Following a pilot study consisting of 10% of the total sample, a research sample was compiled by means of a simple random sampling method and included 30% of all categories of nurses – registered nurses, enrolled nurses and nursing assistants. Hundred and ninety one nurses out of 209 responded to the research study, which sets the response rate at 91%. Data was collected by means of an existing questionnaire. The questionnaire focused on the characteristics of the nurse, manager, work environment and organisation in order to identify factors that contribute to absenteeism of nurses. The data was analysed with the support of a statistician and was expressed as frequencies in tables and histograms. Descriptive statistical analyses, including tests for statistical associations, were performed. Results of this study indicate significant relationships between characteristics of the nurse, the manager, workplace and the organisation. Factors that were identified included stress, staff shortage, work overload, lack of promotion opportunities, lack of child care facilities, lack of appreciation and feedback, bureaucratic leadership styles, inflexible working schedules and lack of a satisfactory reward system. The results further indicate no significant relationship between demographical variables and absenteeism. Recommendations based on the results were offered and recommendations for future research were made. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Afwesigheid is ’n probleem dwarsoor die wêreld waarvoor daar nie ’n maklike oplossing gevind kan word nie. Dit is ook ’n uitdaging wat werkgewers in Suid-Afrika in die gesig staar. Afwesigheid vergroot die struikelblok om gesondheidsdienste in menige lande te verskaf waar die aantal beskikbare verpleegsters onvoldoende is vir die gesondheidssorgaanvraag. In hierdie opsig is Suid-Afrika geen uitsondering nie. Die jaarlikse verlies aan inkomste vir die Suid-Afrikaanse ekonomie veroorsaak deur afwesigheid is tussen R12 en R19.144 biljoen per jaar. ’n Kombinasie van faktore, naamlik kenmerke van die vepleegster, die bestuurder, die werkplek, asook kenmerke van die organisasie kan afwesigheid beïnvloed. Afwesigheid van verpleegsters is aan die toeneem by gesondheidssorg gemeenskapsentrums in die Ethekwini-distrik in Kwazulu-Natal en dit het ’n negatiewe impak op die voorsiening van gesondheidssorgdienste waar die studie onderneem is. Dit is noodsaaklik dat voldoende verpleegpersoneel beskikbaar moet wees vir diensverskaffing aan kliënte. Geen navorsing oor afwesigheid is al onderneem by hierdie inrigtings nie. Die identifisering van die faktore wat bydra tot afwesigheid van die werk is essensieel sodat die probleem effektief bestuur kan word. Die doel van hierdie navorsing is om die faktore te identifiseer wat bydra tot die afwesigheid van verpleegsters by agt primêre gesondheidssorg gemeenskapsentrums in die Ethekwini munisipale distrik van KwaZulu-Natal. ’n Kwantitatiewe beskrywende, ondersoekende navorsingsontwerp is toegepas vir hierdie doel. Die populasie het bestaan uit alle kategorieë van permanent aangestelde verpleegpersoneel wat werk by agt primêre gesondheidssorg gemeenskapsentrums. Die totale populasie het bestaan uit 689 verpleegsters. Na ’n loodsprojek van 10% van die totale steekproef, is ’n navorsingssteekproef saamgestel deur middel van ’n eenvoudige ewekansige steekproefmetode wat 30% van alle kategorieë verpleegsters ingesluit het, naamlik geregistreerde verpleegsters, ingeskrewe verpleegsters en verpleegassistente. Honderd een-en-negentig verpleegsters uit 209 het reageer op die navorsingsondersoek wat ‘n responsvlak van 91% daargestel het. Data is ingesamel deur middel van ’n bestaande vraelys. Die vraelys het gefokus op die eienskappe van die verpleegster, die bestuurder, werksomgewing en organisasie ten einde die faktore te identifiseer wat bydrae tot die afwesigheid van verpleegsters. Die data is geanaliseer met die ondersteuning van ’n statistikus en is uitgedruk as frekwensies in tabelle en histogramme en diagramme. Beskrywende statistiese analises, insluitende toetse vir statistiese assosiasies is uitgevoer. Resultate van hierdie studie dui aan dat ‘n beduidende verhouding bestaan tussen die kenmerke van die verpleegster, die bestuurder, werkplek, organisasie en afwesigheid van die werk. Faktore wat geidentifiseer is sluit in stress, personeel tekort, werkoorlading, gebrekkige bevorderingsgeleenthede, afwesigheid van fasiliteite vir die versorging van klein kinders, gebrek aan waardering en terugvoer, burokratiese leierskapstyle, onbuigbare werkskedules en ‘n gebrek aan ‘n bevredigende vergoedingstelsel. Die resultate van hierdie studie dui verder aan dat daar geen verband bestaan tussen demografiese veranderlikes en afwesigheid nie. Aanbevelings ten opsigte van die resultate is gemaak, asook aanbevelings vir toekomstige navorsing.

Thesis (MPA.) --University of Limpopo, 2005 / Refer to the document

Quantitative, descriptive research was conducted to determine which factors contribute to absenteeism among nurses. A structured self-administered questionnaire was administered to the entire population of nurses who worked at a district hospital in the Limpopo Province. Statistical data analysis, involving factor analysis, frequencies and Chi-squares was performed. The findings revealed that various factors related to the characteristics of the nurse, characteristics of the manager, characteristics of the work and characteristics of the organisation contribute to absenteeism. Professional nurses and sub-professional nurses, as well as nurses younger than 40 and nurses who are 40 years and older, appeared to disagree on the extent to which various factors contribute to absenteeism in the workplace. This study was aimed at assisting organisations and managers in reducing absenteeism in the workplace, and by doing so, improving the quality of care. / Health Studies / MA (HEALTH STUDIES)

This research deals with personality and biographical factors in absenteeism. The literature review looks at personality traits and absenteeism. The following question must then be asked: Can the construct ”personality” be analysed and described within the context of the work environment, and can the relationship between personality, biographical factors and absenteeism be studied empirically. The empirical study focuses on measuring the relationship between personality and absenteeism. The construct ”personality” is presented within the dimensional or trait perspective. The empirical investigation is presented within the functionalistic paradigm (quantitative approach). The chosen measuring instrument, namely, the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16 PF SA 92) was administered by means of a random sample to 72 Aviation Security Officers. The reliability of the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire was determined using the Cronbach Alpha coefficient method. To determine if personality is a predictor of absenteeism, stepwise regression analysis was done. The results indicate that the degree (category) of absenteeism is associated only with marital status and number of dependants. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Comm. (Industrial Psychology)

p. 1-136 / Submitted by Santiago Fabio (fabio.ssantiago@hotmail.com) on 2013-04-25T18:55:35Z No. of bitstreams: 1 77777777777777.pdf: 986333 bytes, checksum: 91fbaac7375c1ea35f4b2c4892321d83 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Maria Creuza Silva(mariakreuza@yahoo.com.br) on 2013-05-04T17:19:59Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 77777777777777.pdf: 986333 bytes, checksum: 91fbaac7375c1ea35f4b2c4892321d83 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-05-04T17:19:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 77777777777777.pdf: 986333 bytes, checksum: 91fbaac7375c1ea35f4b2c4892321d83 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / O aumento da frequência de licenças para tratamento da saúde no setor público tem se constituído em um importante problema de saúde pública, tanto pelo aumento dos custos diretos e indiretos que representam para o governo e o contribuinte como pela pouca atenção à área da saúde do trabalhador e pelos danos causados a saúde do servidor e à sua família em razão do adoecimento. O estudo teve por objetivo descrever o perfil do absenteísmo por doença considerando a duração do afastamento, estimar a sua prevalência e identificar os fatores sócio-demográficos e funcionais associados ao maior percentual do absenteísmo-doença em uma Instituição Federal de Ensino Superior na Bahia. Trata-se de um estudo de corte transversal, descritivo com base de dados secundários, envolvendo 5.312 servidores públicos ativos e 1.283 ocorrências de licenças médicas para tratamento da saúde,ambos os sexos, durante o ano de 2006. A duração do afastamento foi categorizada em dois grupos de afastamento ausências de curta duração (15 a 47 dias) e ausências de longa duração (48 dias e mais). Os dados institucionais foram obtidos da base de dados do Sistema Integrado de Administração de Recursos Humanos–SIAPE e as informações das ocorrências de afastamentos foram obtidas pelo sistema de ocorrências funcionais da Instituição. O diagnóstico da causa mórbida foi obtido a partir de registros nos prontuários no Serviço Médico da Instituição e classificado segundo a CID-10, foram comparados com a lista de doenças relacionadas ao trabalho elaborada pelo Ministério da Saúde. As variáveis foram analisadas por meio de distribuições de freqüências e medidas descritivas (media, desvio padrão e mediana). Para verificar as associações foram utilizados os testes estatísticos Chi-quadrado de Pearson ou o Teste Exato de Fischer. As associações entre os fatores sócio-demográficos e funcionais e a ocorrência de licenças foram expressas por meio de razões de chances (OR) e seus respectivos intervalos de confiança, ajustados por idade. O nível de significância adotado em todas as análises estatísticas foi de 5% (p ≤ 0,05). Foram calculados e expressos os indicadores sugeridos pelo Subcomitê de Absenteísmo da Sociedade Internacional de Saúde Ocupacional: o total de dias perdidos por doença, a freqüência à gravidade e a duração média dos episódios. Foi calculado o índice de absenteísmo (IA). A prevalência de absenteísmo-doença na IFE foi de 8%, representou 43.031 dias perdidos por doença, sendo maior entre as mulheres 10,3% e 5% entre os homens. O Índice de absenteísmo global foi 2,2%, entre os homens 1,9%, entre as mulheres 2,5%. A duração média dos episódios foi de 33,5 dias, entre os homens 40,4 dias e entre as mulheres 30,5 dias. Os principais grupos de causas das licenças foram atribuídos às doenças do sistema osteomuscular e do tecido conjuntivo (34,5%), transtornos mentais e comportamentais (24,9%), neoplasias (9,3%), envenenamentos e outras conseqüências de causas externas (9,3%), doenças do aparelho circulatório (7,4%) e somados os grupos de menor frequência (14,5%). A associação entre fatores sociodemográficos e funcionais foram significantes para o sexo, grupo etario, escolaridade, tempo na instituição, grupo de atividade e local de trabalho. Os afastamentos de longa duração representaram 50% do total de indivíduos que solicitaram afastamento, cujo diagnóstico tivemos acesso, representou 4% do total de servidores ativos. Essas ocorrências representaram 33.290 dias perdidos por doença, 77,4% do total global de dias perdidos por doença. Os resultados apresentados neste estudo confirmam a importante contribuição dos fatores sociodemográficos e funcionais associados à ocorrência de licenças na instituição, bem como a magnitude e variabilidade destas associações. Apontam para a importante contribuição da causa do afastamento na gravidade do absenteísmo por doença na Instituição, para ambos os sexos. O aumento da frequência de licenças para tratamento da saúde no setor público tem se constituído em um importante problema de saúde pública, tanto pelo aumento dos custos diretos e indiretos que representam para o governo e o contribuinte como pela pouca atenção à área da saúde do trabalhador e pelos danos causados a saúde do servidor e à sua família em razão do adoecimento. O estudo teve por objetivo descrever o perfil do absenteísmo por doença considerando a duração do afastamento, estimar a sua prevalência e identificar os fatores sócio-demográficos e funcionais associados ao maior percentual do absenteísmo-doença em uma Instituição Federal de Ensino Superior na Bahia. Trata-se de um estudo de corte transversal, descritivo com base de dados secundários, envolvendo 5.312 servidores públicos ativos e 1.283 ocorrências de licenças médicas para tratamento da saúde,ambos os sexos, durante o ano de 2006. A duração do afastamento foi categorizada em dois grupos de afastamento ausências de curta duração (15 a 47 dias) e ausências de longa duração (48 dias e mais). Os dados institucionais foram obtidos da base de dados do Sistema Integrado de Administração de Recursos Humanos–SIAPE e as informações das ocorrências de afastamentos foram obtidas pelo sistema de ocorrências funcionais da Instituição. O diagnóstico da causa mórbida foi obtido a partir de registros nos prontuários no Serviço Médico da Instituição e classificado segundo a CID-10, foram comparados com a lista de doenças relacionadas ao trabalho elaborada pelo Ministério da Saúde. As variáveis foram analisadas por meio de distribuições de freqüências e medidas descritivas (media, desvio padrão e mediana). Para verificar as associações foram utilizados os testes estatísticos Chi-quadrado de Pearson ou o Teste Exato de Fischer. As associações entre os fatores sócio-demográficos e funcionais e a ocorrência de licenças foram expressas por meio de razões de chances (OR) e seus respectivos intervalos de confiança, ajustados por idade. O nível de significância adotado em todas as análises estatísticas foi de 5% (p ≤ 0,05). Foram calculados e expressos os indicadores sugeridos pelo Subcomitê de Absenteísmo da Sociedade Internacional de Saúde Ocupacional: o total de dias perdidos por doença, a freqüência à gravidade e a duração média dos episódios. Foi calculado o índice de absenteísmo (IA). A prevalência de absenteísmo-doença na IFE foi de 8%, representou 43.031 dias perdidos por doença, sendo maior entre as mulheres 10,3% e 5% entre os homens. O Índice de absenteísmo global foi 2,2%, entre os homens 1,9%, entre as mulheres 2,5%. A duração média dos episódios foi de 33,5 dias, entre os homens 40,4 dias e entre as mulheres 30,5 dias. Os principais grupos de causas das licenças foram atribuídos às doenças do sistema osteomuscular e do tecido conjuntivo (34,5%), transtornos mentais e comportamentais (24,9%), neoplasias (9,3%), envenenamentos e outras conseqüências de causas externas (9,3%), doenças do aparelho circulatório (7,4%) e somados os grupos de menor frequência (14,5%). A associação entre fatores sociodemográficos e funcionais foram significantes para o sexo, grupo etario, escolaridade, tempo na instituição, grupo de atividade e local de trabalho. Os afastamentos de longa duração representaram 50% do total de indivíduos que solicitaram afastamento, cujo diagnóstico tivemos acesso, representou 4% do total de servidores ativos. Essas ocorrências representaram 33.290 dias perdidos por doença, 77,4% do total global de dias perdidos por doença. Os resultados apresentados neste estudo confirmam a importante contribuição dos fatores sociodemográficos e funcionais associados à ocorrência de licenças na instituição, bem como a magnitude e variabilidade destas associações. Apontam para a importante contribuição da causa do afastamento na gravidade do absenteísmo por doença na Instituição, para ambos os sexos. / Salvador

Absenteeism is a grave problem in the workplace in South Africa. One can expect that the impact and patterns would differ from one sector to another. For instance the seriousness of absenteeism in a hospital or the security sector would not be the same as for a coffee shop or being absent from a school. However, absenteeism needs to be addressed in all sectors of the economy since it leads to losses in production and output, as well as a reduction in profits in many South African companies. This study explores absenteeism only in the security industry in Gauteng Province. The personal experiences of practitioners and managers regarding absenteeism, its extent and the impact in this province were examined during the research undertaken for this project. The aims of this study were largely the following: • To determine the main causes and reasons given for the current level of absenteeism among contract security personnel in the private security industry in Gauteng; • To see whether gender and employment grade contribute towards the absence of security officers during working hours; • To find out whether security officers routinely submit a sick note after being absent; • To ascertain management practices and responses to combating absenteeism, and • To identify what can be done to reduce absenteeism. The main research instrument used was a questionnaire. Some experienced academics were interviewed prior to administering the questionnaires to respondents in order to provide expert opinion and advice regarding this problem. Two different questionnaires were prepared, one for managers and one for security officers. The questionnaire had both closed-ended and open-ended questions. Three hundred questionnaires were distributed to security officers in the Gauteng region, and one hundred to security managers. The questionnaires for the managers had 48 questions while those for the security officers contained 38 questions. Those academics and security managers interviewed all agreed that absenteeism is a workplace problem in the country, a problem that currently has not been investigated in sufficient detail. They accepted that a formal study of this nature would be worthwhile doing in the private security industry. Furthermore, a literature review was undertaken while a close analytical examination of the various concepts being used in the research was also done. The literature provided the theoretical base to which the study was able to link the collected information from the empirical part obtained by means of the questionnaires. The sources for the literature review consisted of books, journals, the internet and newspaper articles. The research established various causes of absenteeism in the industry, with the main ones being: i) Poor salaries ii) Long working hours iii) Poor communication with immediate supervisor iv) Transport problems v) Poor working conditions vi) Family problems, and vii) Boredom The exploration done in this research was intended primarily to determine ways to address absenteeism. The ideal solution would be to reduce and ultimately prevent absenteeism. As a result and emanating from the research findings a number of recommendations were formulated and directed to the industry as a whole, while others were directed towards the security managers, and lastly some to the security officers themselves. / Criminology and Security Science / M.Tech. (Security Risk Management)

The aim for the study is to identify high school students’ perceptions of absenteeism. More specific the aim is to investigate their perceptions of the situations before, during and after the time they were absent. The chosen method for the study is phenomenography which includes qualitative semi-structured interviews. Six students currently in secondary school with a background of absenteeism have been interviewed. The interviews have been analyzed with an eight-step approach. The result of the study presents young students perceptions of circumstances that lead to and sustain their school absence and their return to school attendance. The findings in the analysis show that the informants perceive mental illness as a circumstance with major impact on leading to and sustaining school absence among the students. The mental illness is related to the students’ perceptions of social circumstances in and/or outside school and unmet needs in relation to school success. The perceptions of the circumstances that lead to and sustain attendance were related to a better mental health. Mental health was affected positively mainly by the circumstances related to social relationships and by the adaptations in the learning environment. However, the informants did not perceive better mental health as a key circumstance as explicitly as mental illness.

The purpose of this bachelor’s thesis is to examine how problematic school absenteeism is produced, depicted and negotiated as a social problem. It aims to do so by studying texts produced by three different parties with a shared responsibility for children and youths experiencing problematic school absenteeism in Sweden: the families, the school system and affiliated authorities, as well as therapy providers commissioned by the social services. The research questions asked are how these different parties describe problematic school absenteeism as a social problem in texts, and what the consequences for the discourse are based on these problem descriptions. The analyzed texts are an article for debate published in the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, written by a parent of a child with problematic school absenteeism, a report written by the Swedish Schools Inspectorate, Skolinspektionen, and a handbook about working with problematic school absenteeism, written by a research team employed by a company specialized in therapies for children and youths with varying social issues.  Theoretically this study mainly departs from Bronfenbrenners (1979) ecological systems theory, the theoretical framework of Foucault (1982), mainly concerning discourse, and the methodological approach of Bacchi (2009) What’s the problem represented to be. The analysis uses Bacchis methodology, by posing specific questions aimed at the three different texts.  The results of this study show that problematic school absenteeism as a social problem is depicted differently throughout the different texts – often using different strategies and perspectives in describing and defining the issue. The study also finds a commonality among the texts regarding their perspective on parental strategies and influence in relation to problematic school absenteeism, where this factor is generally not scrutinized.  One of the major conclusions drawn from this study is that the discourse generally tends to subjectify the child or youth into being somewhat interchangeable with the social problem at hand, especially in the cases where the term hemmasittare (Swedish for home sitter) is used.  The conclusions made from this study are mainly applicable on the instance of these three texts but are thought to also be of use in further investigations concerning critical discourse analysis applied to problematic school absenteeism as a social problem. / Syftet med denna kandidatuppsats är att undersöka hur problematisk skolfrånvaro framställs och omförhandlas som ett socialt problem. Studien ämnar göra så genom att studera och analysera texter producerade av tre olika aktörer som besitter ett delat ansvar för barn och unga med problematisk skolfrånvaro. Dessa tre aktörer är familjen, skolan med angränsande myndigheter och behandlare/utförare på uppdrag av socialtjänsten. Studiens frågeställningar ämnar närmre undersöka hur dessa olika aktörer beskriver problematisk skolfrånvaro som ett socialt problem samt vilka diskursiva effekter detta genererar. De texter som valts ut för analys är en debattartikel publicerad i Aftonbladet skriven av en förälder till ett barn med problematisk skolfrånvaro, en rapport skriven av Skolinspektionen, samt en handbok som beskriver insatser vid långvarig skolfrånvaro skriven av en grupp forskare på uppdrag av ett företag som även erbjuder behandlingstjänster inom området. Studien grundar sig teoretiskt huvudsakligen på Bronfenbrenners (1979) utvecklingsekologiska systemteori, Foucaults (1982) teoretiska ramverk gällande diskurs samt Bacchis (2009) metodologiska analysverktyg What’s the problem represented to be. Bacchis verktyg används explicit i analysen genom att ställa specifika frågor gentemot det utvalda empiriska materialet. Analysens resultat visar att problematisk skolfrånvaro som ett socialt problem framställs på olika sätt beroende av vem avsändaren är – och att de olika aktörerna ofta använder olika strategier och perspektiv i beskrivningen och definitionen av problemet. Studien finner även en gemensam nämnare mellan samtliga texter gällande det faktum att föräldraförmågan inte lyfts eller problematiseras i förhållande till problematisk skolfrånvaro. En av studiens huvudsakliga slutsatser är att diskursen gällande problematisk skolfrånvaro generellt tenderar att förena barnet eller ungdomen som subjekt med det sociala problemet, särskilt vad gäller användningen av termen hemmasittare. Slutsatser gjorda i denna studie är framför allt applicerbara i kontexten för de tre texter som har analyserats, men kan också hävdas vara användbara i framtida undersökningar gällande kritisk diskursanalys av problematisk skolfrånvaro som socialt problem.

No description available.

Master of Arts / Department of Economics / Dong Li / Comprehensive worksite wellness programs were first introduced in the United States in the late 1970s and early 1980s, with the goals of improving health, reducing health care expenditures, and demonstrating senior management’s commitment to the health and well-being of workers (Ozminkowski et al, 2002). As the annual cost of employer-sponsored family health coverage increased four percent between 2012 and 2013 (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2013), many companies are turning to worksite wellness programs. Wellness programs have shown not only to reduce health care costs, but also decrease absenteeism and increase employee satisfaction. The studies on the benefits of wellness programs are not conclusive; there seems to be a general lack of good data collection and analysis. This report discusses what determines an employer’s likelihood of offering a wellness program, what determines an employee’s participation in a wellness program, and a benefits analysis of wellness programs.