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 / M.Tech. (Security Risk Management)

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)

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Technology in Nursing. Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2015. / INTRODUCTION A four-year diploma nursing programme undertaken by the KwaZulu-Natal College of Nursing provides training to students to become professional nurses. However, it has been noted that absenteeism of student nurses enrolled in this programme has increased. Absenteeism could result in demotion, extension of training or termination of students from the programme. This would result in fewer student nurses completing training and therefore a shortage of professional nurses. AIM OF THE STUDY The aim of the study was to determine the causes and effects of absenteeism amongst student nurses that are currently registered for a four-year diploma programme (R425) in the KwaZulu-Natal College of Nursing (KZNCN). METHODOLOGY A quantitative method was used, which comprised two phases, namely, data collection through the use of a self-administered questionnaire and a retrospective record review. Simple random sampling was used to select students from the peri-urban Midlands and rural uGu districts. Stratified random sampling of 301 student nurses at different levels of training from the three campuses was done. A total of 301 questionnaires were distributed to participants; all were returned, resulting in a 100% response rate. During a retrospective record review student records were examined to assess clinical and theoretical performance of students. Statistical analysis was done using the SPSS version 22.0. RESULTS The results of the study revealed that students experienced problems in the clinical/practical areas that resulted in them absenting themselves. There were 14 terminations of training due to absenteeism. Student nurses who did not absent themselves obtained entry to the examination, whilst students with excessive absenteeism did not obtain entry to the examination.

Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The main objective of the study is to examine the components required for the successful implementation of Sickness Absence Management. Although there are various approaches to the management of absence the focus of this study is the implementation of policies which is the most frequently used approach. Sickness Absence Management represents the strategy of the organisation to enhance the performance of human capital by ensuring that employees that are not truly sick, are present at work. The importance of Sickness Absence Management is highly recognised, but few employers record and measure absence. Reasons for this include the complexity of the factors that influence absence and the lack of resources to record absence data, and to calculate and interpret absence indicators and costs. Frustrations from the study include the non-standardisation of absence terminology, and the lack of data on absence statistics. Sickness Absence Management is complicated by the behaviour of people. Absence trends indicate that abuse of sickness absence amounts to an average of 33% of sickness absence and that absence rates are higher in the public than in the private sector. Success factors for Sickness Absence Management include clear, consistent and well-communicated policies and effective information systems with the required functionalities to record absence data and to enable the tracking of absence indicators. Top management commitment transpired as the factor with the biggest influence on the success of Sickness Absence Management. Research indicated that it was better to have a policy than to have no policy at all. The quality of the policy depends on the involvement of employees and the consistent application by supervisors/managers. Furthermore, an effective computer-based information system is crucial for the management of absence. The system should have the required functionalities to enable administration and decision-making on absence issues. A strategy is necessary to set objectives and targets, and communicate commitment from top management. A strategy is also required to ensure the allocation of resources to HR for the Sickness Absence Management. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die vernaamste doelwit van hierdie studie is om die komponente te ondersoek wat nodig is vir die suksesvolle implementering van Siekverlofbestuur. Hoewel daar verskeie benaderings tot die bestuur van siekverlof is, is hierdie studie gerig op beleid wat as die voorkeurbenadering vir die bestuur van siekverlof beskou word. Siekverlofbestuur is die strategie van ’n onderneming om die prestasie van mensekapitaal te versterk deur te verseker dat die personeel wat nie werklik siek is nie, teenwoordig is by die werk. Die belangrikheid van Siekverlofbestuur word hoog aangeskryf, maar min werkgewers teken siekverlof aan of meet dit. Redes hiervoor sluit in die kompleksiteit van die faktore wat siekverlof beïnvloed en die gebrek aan hulpbronne vir die aantekening van siekverlofdata, en die berekening en interpretasie van siekverlofaanduiders en -koste. Frustrasies uit die studie sluit in die nie-standaardisering van siekverlof terminologie en die gebrek aan siekverlof statistiek. Siekverlofbestuur word gekompliseer deur die gedrag van mense. Siekverlof tendense toon aan dat die misbruik van siekverlof gemiddeld 33% van siekte-afwesigheid uitmaak en dat siekverlofkoerse hoër in die openbare as in die private sektor is. Suksesfaktore vir Siekverlofbestuur sluit in duidelike en konsekwente beleid wat behoorlik gekommunikeer word, en doeltreffende inligtingstelsels met die nodige funksionaliteit om siekverlofdata vas te lê en siekverlof aanwysers na te volg. Die verbintenis van topbestuur het na vore gekom as die faktor met die grootste invloed op die sukses van Siekverlofbestuur. Navorsing dui daarop dat dit beter is om 'n beleid te hê as hoegenaamd geen beleid nie. Die gehalte van die beleid hang af van die betrokkenheid van werknemers en die konsekwente toepassing daarvan deur toesighouers/bestuurders. Daarby is 'n doeltreffende rekenaar-gebaseerde inligtingstelsel noodsaaklik vir die bestuur van siekverlof. Die stelsel moet ook die nodige funksionaliteite hê vir administrasie en besluitneming oor siekverlof kwessies. 'n Strategie is nodig om doelwitte en teikens te stel, en om toewyding vanaf topbestuur te kommunikeer. 'n Strategie is ook nodig om die toewysing van hulpbronne vir Siekverlofbestuur na Menslike Hulpbronne te verseker. / cmc2010-1

Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to explore the relationships between emotional intelligence, burnout and absenteeism of bus drivers in the scheduled public bus services industry. A controlled inquiry of non-experimental research was used. In addition, correlational and multivariate research, as a form of relational research, was employed to explore the relationships between the three constructs. The constructs were defined as follows: emotional intelligence as the basic capacity of a person to identify and utilise emotion (Goleman, 1998); burnout as a syndrome consisting of three negative response patterns which include: emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and diminished personal accomplishment. (Maslach & Jackson 1986, in Schaufeli & Buunk, 2003) and absenteeism as the average numbers of days a driver was absent from work. A sample of 245 bus driver employees was drawn from the depots of Golden Arrow Bus Services (Pty) Ltd. The Swinburne Emotional Intelligence Test (Palmer & Stough, 2001) and the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (Kristensen, Borritz, Villadsen & Christensen, 2005) were administered. The results showed that there was a moderate negative relationship between emotional intelligence and burnout. Emotional management (a dimension of emotional intelligence) was negatively related to all three the dimensions of burnout namely personal burnout, work burnout and client burnout (a dimension of burnout), indicating that where bus drivers are capable of managing emotions, levels of burnout would typically decrease. In exploring the relationship between the dimensions of emotional intelligence and absenteeism, no statistically significant relationships were found. In exploring the different dimensions of burnout in their relationship to absenteeism, it did however indicate a small, yet significant positive relationship between work-related burnout and absenteeism. This suggested that bus drivers with a low score in terms of work-related burnout would experience less absenteeism. The limitations of the study and recommendations for future research were discussed. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van die studie was om die verwantskap tussen emosionele intelligensie, uitbranding en afwesigheid van busdrywers in die geskeduleerde publieke busbedryf te ondersoek. Daar is gebruik gemaak van 'n nie-eksperimentele navorsingsontwerp (nl. 'n verkennende opnamestudie) ten einde die verband tussen die konstrukte en hul subdimensies te ondersoek. Daarbenewens is korrelatiewe en meerveranderlike navorsing gebruik as 'n vorm van relasionele navorsing om die verhouding tussen die drie konstrukte te ondersoek. Die konstrukte is soos volg gedefinieer: emosionele intelligensie as die basiese kapasiteit van 'n persoon om emosie te identifiseer en te gebruik (Goleman, 1998); uitbranding as 'n sindroom bestaande uit drie negatiewe responskomponente: emosionele uitputting, depersonalisasie en veminderde gevoel van persoonlike bekwaamheid (Maslach & Jackson 1986, in Schaufeli & Buunk, 2003) en afwesigheid as die gemiddelde hoeveelheid dae wat 'n drywer afwesig was by die werk. 'n Steekproef van 245 busdrywers verbonde aan Golden Arrow Bus Services (Edms) Bpk is geneem. Die respondente het die twee vraelyste, nl. die Swinbume Emotional Intelligence Test (Palmer & Stough, 2001) en die Copenhagen Bumout Inventory (Kristensen, Borritz, Villadsen & Christensen, 2005) voltooi. Die resultate wys dat daar 'n matige negatiewe verhouding bestaan tussen emosionele intelligensie en uitbranding. Die bestuur van emosies, 'n onderafdeling van uitbranding, is negatief verbind aan al drie die onderafdelings van uitbranding nl. persoonlike uitbranding, werksuitbranding en klientuitbranding. Dit dui daarop dat waar busdrywers bevoeg is om hul emosies te bestuur, vlakke van uitbranding tipies sal verminder. In die ondersoek na die verhouding tussen emosionele intelligensie en afwesigheid is geen betekenisvolle statistiese verhoudings geidentifiseer nie. In die ondersoek na die verhouding tussen die onderafdelings van uitbranding en afwesigheid, is 'n klein, dog betekenisvolle, positiewe verhouding geidentifiseer tussen werksuitbranding en afwesigheid. Dit suggereer dat busdrywers met 'n lae werksuitbrandingsvlak minder afwesig sal wees. Die beperkinge van die studie en voorstelle vir toekomstige navorsing is bespreek.

This study explored the relationship of Type A/B personality and leadership style to absenteeism. Absenteeism data were gathered for 243 male fire fighters and fire engineers. Each subject was administered the Jenkins Activity Scale to measure his Type A characteristics and the Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire to measure his perception of his supervisor's leadership style. The results, though non-significant, revealed that: a) Type A's had less absenteeism than type B's; b) Subjects who perceived their supervisors as being low on consideration had less absenteeism than those who perceived their supervisors as being high on this dimension; c) Type A's absenteeism was low and Type B's was high when working under a leader perceived as low on structure. Finally, a weak but significant three-way interaction effect revealed that the highest amount of absenteeism occurred when Type B' s worked under supervisors who were high in consideration and low in structure. The least amount of absenteeism occurred when Type A's worked under supervisors who were high in structure and low in consideration.

Absenteeism, lateness, and work performance on the job were investigated. Pre-entry attitudes and self-reported behaviors in the three areas were assessed via RELY, a self-report instrument developed by Kurt Helm (1980). Subjects (N=282) were entry-level stock, bag and clerical personnel for a large grocery store chain. They were 91% Caucasian and 62% male. Results showed significant correlation between three empirically derived scales and criteria: total days absent, total occurrences of lateness, and supervisory performance ratings. However, these findings were considerably weaker under cross-validation. The findings indicate absence-proneness as a tenable concept. Further investigation may find a considerable amount of the variance in attendance to be the result of pre-entry attitudes.

Magister Commercii - MCom / Absenteeism can be a major problem for organisations. As pressures increase on the budgets and competitiveness of companies, more attention is being given to reduce workplace absenteeism and its cost. Job satisfaction has been noted as one of the factors influencing an employee's motivation to attend. Studies on the relationship between absenteeism and job satisfaction seem to be inconsistent. Some research has found no correlation between these two variables whereas other studies indicate a weak to moderate relationship between these two variables. The aim of this study was to determine whether there is a relationship between job satisfaction and absenteeism in a selected department within and Electricity Unit in the Western Cape. / South Africa

Occupational injury and illness rates are used by employers and regulatory agencies to monitor the health and safety of workers. Changes in the rates are interpreted to reflect actions taken or not taken by the employer. The purpose of this study was to delineate external factors, those factors outside the control of employers, which influence occupational injury and illness rates. The results of this study are useful in interpreting changes in the occupational injury and illness rates as a function of changes in the external factors. A review of the literature provided information on the type of external forces which would be expected to influence occupational injury/illness rates. The factors selected for the data analysis included economic indicators, regulatory budget and performance measures, firm size, and leniency in workers' compensation claim determination as measured by the proportion of denied claims. Data were collected on the injury/illness incidence, lost workday case incidence, and lost workday rates for the state of Oregon for 1978 through 1987. Multiple linear regression models were constructed for each of the injury/illness rates using a step-down variable selection process to determine the predictor variables for each model. Separate models were constructed for each dependent variable using the values of the predictor variables for the same year and for the preceding year. The results supported the hypotheses that the unemployment rate, gross state product, number of serious violations cited by OSHA, and percentage of claims denied by the Workers' Compensation Board influence occupational injury and illness rates. Total OSHA expenditures and the number of inspections conducted by OSHA in a given year demonstrated positive relationships with lost workday cases incidence and injury/illness incidence rates, respectively; the positive associations were contrary to the hypothesized relationships. Models can be constructed using data on external factors to predict injury/illness incidence, lost workday case incidence, and lost workday rates. The unemployment rate was the most useful variable in predicting occupational injury and illness rates. / Graduation date: 1991

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Mississippi State University. Department of Instructional Systems, Leadership, and Workforce Development. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.