Submitted in fulfilllment of the requirements for the Masters in Nursing degree, Durban University of Technology, 2014. / Introduction Work-related musculoskeletal disorders are the most commonly reported work-related illnesses impacting on the quality of life of nurses. Absenteeism, work restriction, loss of income and disability are related outcomes. Nurses are at a higher risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD) compared to other healthcare professionals because of the nature of their duties. Problem statement The relationship between work-related musculoskeletal disorders, absenteeism and visits to the staff clinic by nurses has not been established in South Africa. Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of WMSD in nurses and its relationship to absenteeism and visits to the staff clinic by nurses in a selected eThekwini District hospital. Research method A cross-sectional quantitative descriptive survey was conducted in two stages namely the prospective cross-sectional survey of nurses and the retrospective review of records. A random sample of 231 nurses was selected, proportionally, from all nursing ranks and invited to fill in the self-administered musculoskeletal questionnaire. Results The lifetime prevalence of WMSD in nurses in this study was 77% with the twelve months prevalence of 67% and the seven days prevalence of 43%. The prevalence of low back pain was higher (21% for twelve months and 47% for seven days) than that of other body regions with a higher tendency (65%) of WMSD affecting more than two body regions. Although the prevalence and patterns of WMSD was almost the same across all nursing ranks, nurses working in the Out Patients Department reported the highest prevalence (22%). There was no significant relationship between age, gender and smoking; however, a strong correlation between WMSD and participation in physical exercise, work task and workload was noted. No relationship could be established between WMSD and staff visits to the staff clinic as well as amount of sick leave taken. Conclusion This study showed that WMSD is high in the selected hospital. Nurses working in the Outpatients department reported the most WMSD; body parts affected was not related to age, gender, nurse rank or unit in which the nurse worked. There is a problem of under- reporting of WMSD. Nurses working in this hospital have an option of attending their private health service providers even following a WMSD. In these cases the staff clinic is unable to keep accurate statistics of WMSD, conduct reviews and proper management of the WMSD.

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.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T16:33:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Giovanni Goncalves Ferreira Spineli.pdf: 439703 bytes, checksum: c2ef587d8a3a0787d406c051aa935baa (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-02-16 / Secretaria da Educação do Estado de São Paulo / This research has as object of analysis the daily practice of work absenteeism among professors of the state net of education of São Paulo and the relations with the payment of a bonus called bônus mérito. This bonus, established in 2000 has, among its various criteria for determining the financial figures to be paid, the number of absences of teachers. The categories of analysis were based on the principles brought by Max Weber, Dominique Julia, Antonio Nóvoa and Michael Apple. It was intended, when analyzing the number of lacks of the professors by means of tabulation of data from books-point of teachers between the years 1995 and 1999, and between the years 2001 and 2007, in a state school in the city of São José dos Campos, verify that this bonus interfere in the incidence of lacks, that is, as the professors had started to behave by means of this governmental resolution. The research included the analysis of the behavior of the professors considering their functional status, the employment category and gender. It was made analysis of the demonstration of misconduct by the teachers through responses to a questionnaire too. Checked the data analysis, it appeared that the bonus did not contribute to the reduction of misconduct by the teachers, who totaled 2.812 absences in the period preceding the bonds, and 3.316 in the after period, among other data that were analyzed / A presente pesquisa tem como objeto de análise a prática cotidiana do absenteísmo laboral dos professores da rede estadual de ensino de São Paulo e as relações com o pagamento de uma gratificação denominada bônus mérito. Essa gratificação, instituída no ano de 2000 tem, entre seus diversos critérios para a determinação dos valores financeiros a serem pagos, o número de faltas dos professores. As categorias de análise foram fundamentadas nos princípios trazidos por Max Weber, Dominique Julia, António Nóvoa e Michael Apple. Pretendeu-se, ao analisar o número de faltas dos professores mediante tabulação dos dados de livros-ponto dos docentes entre os anos de 1995 e 1999, e entre os anos de 2001 e 2007, em uma escola da cidade de São José dos Campos, verificar se essa gratificação interferiu na incidência de faltas, ou seja, como os professores passaram a comportar-se mediante esta resolução governamental. A investigação incluiu a análise do comportamento dos professores considerando a respectiva situação funcional, a categoria empregatícia e o gênero. Também foi realizada análise da manifestação sobre faltas pelos professores através das respostas a um questionário. Verificada a análise dos dados, constatou-se que o bônus não contribuiu para a redução das faltas apresentadas pelos docentes, que somaram 2.812 ausências no período anterior ao bônus, e 3.316 faltas no período posterior, entre outros dados que foram analisados

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)

In 2010, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Swaziland noticed a significant increase in employee absenteeism which they discovered was related mainly to: poor health (sick leave), personal and financial stress (garnishee orders were increasing), and low staff morale, the consequence of which was low productivity and missed deadlines (FSRA, 2010:7). High levels of absenteeism meant that a sizeable number of employees were unable to complete their daily tasks (FSRA, 2010:7). Consequently, in 2011, the FSRA Human Resource Department started a wellness programme for all employees in the organization in an attempt to respond to the human resource challenges reported in 2009/10 financial year. By the end of 2012, FSRA management reported that the introduction of the EWP had not yielded the expected results. This therefore prompted management to request an evaluation of the FSRA employee wellness programme. The aim of this research was to identify and prioritize the needs of employees in terms of requirements of a wellness programme and how it should be delivered. The specific objectives of the study are as follows: to identify the wellness needs of employees, to identify employee preferences in terms of the type of interventions to be included in a wellness programme, to identify the preferred mode of delivery of the wellness programme and to make recommendations to management on the design of a wellness programme. Questionnaires with closed ended questions were used to collect data for this survey. The questionnaire used is attached as Appendix A. By means of a needs analysis survey, this research was designed to assess the FSRA employees’ needs in terms of an employee wellness programme, as well as the preferred EWP delivery methods. About 70 percent of FSRA employees participated in the survey. The respondents completed the questionnaire and submitted it online over a period of 10 working days (2 weeks). This report is structured into three sections, namely; section one, which is the evaluation report that gives details of the importance of the study, highlights research methods and then present the results, discussions and recommendations. Section two deals with the literature review while section three reports on the research methodology, research design and procedures and the limitation of the study. In light of the findings on the wellness needs of employees, 72 percent of the respondents felt the current wellness programme was very inadequate and a further 10 percent added that it was inadequate in addressing their wellness needs largely because the needs were not known. The most important wellness needs identified included: exercise, nutrition, personal hygiene, disease awareness and treatment of illness, coping with stress, coping with workload, ventilation, safety, bereavement, personal debt, and retirement planning. The most preferred wellness interventions that respondents proposed include Flexible Work Schedule, Safe Workplace, Improved Ventilation, Retirement Planning Advice and Gymnasium. Further analysis done using correlation analysis indicated that there was a significant positive relationship between the wellness needs and the wellness interventions. Concerning the delivery of the wellness programme, most of the employees indicated that outsourcing certain services was better than having them in house. The highest ranking of the services for out sourcing were nutrition education and medical checkups that ranked between 82 percent and 75 percent respectively. The respondents indicated that they want almost all the chosen interventions to be outsourced. Time slots should also be taken into consideration to ensure employee participation in the wellness programme services. The respondent FSRA employees seem to prefer interventions of an educational nature to be during the lunch hour. These include Nutrition Education, Health Education, Hygiene Education and Medical Check ups and Treatment, whereas Gymnasium was preferred to be after working hours.

This research hypothesises a statistical positive significant correlation between job satisfaction and absenteeism among the shop floor workers of a motor manufacturing plant in the impoverished province of the Eastern Cape in South Africa. According to the literature review, two schools of thought exist that argue on the nature of the relationship. One believes that absence from work is in some way a natural consequence of job dissatisfaction, i.e. arguing for a job satisfaction-absenteeism relationship. The second one argues for a no relationship, arguing that absence is a result of habitual behaviour and or behaviours influenced by socioeconomic factors such as poverty that affect the employees' ability and pressure to attend work. A sample of 150 workers was randomly selected from the 2500 shop floor workers. The Job Descriptive Index (lDI) questionnaires were used to measure the satisfaction index of the workers. The absence statistics for the sample workers were gathered from the organisation's Human Resources department and statistical tests for correlation and regression were conducted on the two variables - lDI and absence data. Contrary to the expectations of the study, the results showed that overall job satisfaction and absenteeism were not correlated. It concluded that the job dissatisfaction theory of absenteeism is empirically unsupportable and alternative conceptualisations of absence contributors and potentially fruitful research strategies are discussed.

No description available.

The application of the systems concept to the individual, the family, and the organization predicts that these systems will interact in such a manner that events in one system will correlate with events in the other systems. The purpose of this study is to investigate one area of system interaction, stress creation and stress outcomes. A search of the literature revealed little empirical research pertaining to the interaction between the family environment and the work environment. However, from the available literature a model of work-family interaction was developed. The model hypothesized specific relation ships between variables within and between the family environment, the work environment, type A behavior, job outcomes of perceived productivity and satisfaction, and the stress outcome of illness. To test the hypothesized relationships of the model a questionnaire was developed and distributed via intercompany mail to mid-level managers of the customer service division of an international airline. Returned usable questionnaires (N = 89) were scored and analyzed using appropriate statistical techniques.

A municipal government’s worksite exercise program was evaluated to determine its effect upon health care costs and employee absenteeism. Thirty-two employees who had participated for four and one-half years were compared to 32 nonparticipating employees. Results of this evaluation indicated that participants were significantly more often female, younger, higher paid, and in higher job classifications. No significant differences in smoking status and marital status were observed between groups. Results also revealed that participants did not use significantly fewer sick hours or health care dollars as compared to nonparticipants. However, after an initial increase in both variables the year after the program began, reductions were seen for participants in the following years. An evaluation of data prior to installation of the program showed that those joining the exercise program were not already using significantly fewer health care dollars or sick days than nonparticipants. Focus groups conducted with nonparticipants disclosed that most employees know exercise is beneficial; however, nonparticipation was largely due to a lack of time to exercise. Findings of this research suggest that health care costs and absenteeism can be reduced over time by implementing worksite exercise programs. Worksite exercise programs need to be marketed toward older, male, lower paid workers in lower job classifications since these groups tend to not join as readily as workers who are younger, female, and higher paid. / Master of Science