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677

French, J. R. P., Jr., & Raven, B. The bases of social power. In D. Cartwright (Ed.), Studies in social
power. Ann Arbor, Mich.: Institute for Social Research, 1959, 150-167.
Ivancevich, J., & Donnelly, J. Leader infiuence and performance. Personnel Psychotogy, 1970, 23,
539-549.
Johnson, P. Women and power: Toward a theory of effectiveness. Journal of Social Issues, 1976, 32,
99-110.
Massengill, D., & Di Marco, N. Sex-role stereotypes and requisite management characteristics: A current replication. Sex Rotes, 1979, 5, 561-570.
Nie, N. H., Hull, C. H., Jenkins, J. G., Steinbrenner, K., & Bent, D. SPSS: Statistical package for
the sociat sciences. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1975.
Rosen, B., & Jerdee, T. H. The influence of sex-role stereotypes on evaluations of male and female
supervisory behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology, 1973, 57, 44-48.
Rosen, B., & Jerdee, T. H. Influence of sex-role stereotypes on personnel decisions. Journal of Applied Psychotogy, 1974a, 59, 9-14.
Rosen, B., & Jerdee, T. H. Effects of applicant's sex and difficulty of job on evaluations of candidates for managerial positions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 1974b, 59, 511-512.
Schein, V. E. The relationship between sex role stereotypes and requisite management characteristics.
Journal of Applied Psychology, 1973, 57, 95-100.
Schein, V. E. Relationships between sex role stereotypes and requisite management characteristics
among female managers. Journal of Applied Psychology, \91S, 60, 340-344.
Spekman, R. E. Influence and information: An exploratory investigation of the boundary role person's basis of power. Academy of Management Journal, 1979, 22, 104-117.
Thamhain, H. J., & Gemmill, G. R. Influence styles of project managers: Some project performance
correlates. Academy of Management Journal, 1974, 17, 216-224.
Mary Glenn Wiley is Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Illinois, Chicago.
Arlene Eskilson is Associate Professor of Sociology and Anthropology, Lake Forest College.

Academy of Management Journal

1982, Vol. 25, No. 3, 677-683.

ABSENTEEISM IN A LOW STATUS WORK ENVIRONMENT

PAUL O. POPP
Xavier University, Cincinnati
JAMES A. BELOHLAV
DePaul University

Absence from work is one of the everyday managerial realities that has
far-reaching impacts on organizational operations. Steers and Rhodes
(1978) state that a conservative estimate of annual dollar cost of absenteeism in the United States is about $8.5 billion. The relationship among job
factors, attitudes, and absenteeism from work is a complex relationship
not closely related to other organizational phenomena (i.e., turnover) as

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September

previously assumed in the literature (Muchinsky, 1977; Porter & Steers,

1973; Steers & Rhodes, 1978).
To date, several problem areas appear to exist in the prevailing body of
absenteeism literature. Briefiy, these areas center on the methods of analysis used in previous studies and some assumptions on which much of the
research has been based.
With only a few recent exceptions (Ilgen & Hollenback, 1977; Johns,
1978) the research studies have largely employed bivariate coerrelational
analyses. As pointed out by Steers and Rhodes, "Little in the way of comprehensive theory building is found..." (1978, p. 392). A second analytical shortcoming has been the lack of uniformity in the definition of the
predictor variables (Johns, 1978). Current literature has now provided
some clarification, showing at least three ways in which absences can be
measured: total days lost, frequency of absences, and attitudinal or one
day absences (Nicholson, Brown, & Chadwick-Jones, 1976).
The second problem area relates to the assumptions that have been used
as the basis for most of the absence research: (1) the relationship between
job dissatisfaction and absenteeism, (2) freedom of worker choice and absenteeism, and (3) common causes of work absence. The first two assumptions have been given a rather thorough discussion (Steers & Rhodes,
1978), but the third has received little attention.
Probably the most extensive research in absenteesim has focused on the
relationship between dissatisfaction with work and absence behavior. This
research has attempted to show dissatisfaction as a primary cause of absenteeism. However, what most of the studies appear to show is that the
relationship is quite low, as is stated by both Locke (1976) and Nicholson
et al. (1976).
The second assumption is that the individual worker many times is
thought to be free to attend or not attend work as he or she wishes. Much
doubt has been cast on this somewhat dubious assumption by several relatively recent studies, which have shown situational constraints to be an important factor in influencing absence (Herman, 1973; Ilgen & Hollenback,
1977; Morgan & Herman, 1976; Smith, 1977).
The third assumption has been in relation to similarities of causes of absences among different work groups. That is, specific factors, such as racial composition, have not been investigated systematically.
Recent studies in job satisfaction have shown differences by racial composition (Milutinovich, 1977; Weaver, 1978). In contrast, absenteeism literature has provided few insights on absence behavior for work groups of
differing compositions. Little research has been conducted in primarily
black work groups; comparative studies have not been undertaken between black and white work populations.
Based on the preceding discussion, the purpose of this study is to examine absenteeism and its correlates in a low status work environment. The
first question addressed was "Are there any differences in the various
measures of absenteeism?" Although the literature has suggested that
there are several different methods to define absence, no statistical comparisons have been made between these various absence measures. This

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679

Study will compare alternative methods to the traditional total days lost
measure. The second question addressed was, "Are those factors that
have been related to absence from work similar for work groups of differing compositions?" Using a primarily black work group in a low status
work environment, the relationship of specific correlates to absence was
investigated.
Method
Subjects. The subjects in the study consisted of 246 full time workers
employed as solid waste collection drivers and helpers for the city of Cincinnati Waste Collection Division. The composition of the workforce for
this class of jobs is entirely male and 95 percent black. The respondents
had a mean age of 41.8 years old.
Variables. Attitudinal and nonattitudinal questions (19 in number) were
asked of the employees in the study. These questions fell into three primary categories: work attitudes, work related information, and personal
history characteristics.
Work attitudes were measured in several different ways. Overall satisfaction was measured by the commonly used facet-free indicator of job
satisfaction: "How do you feel about working in the Waste Collection
Division?" Responses to this item ranged from very dissatisfied to very
satisfied, based on a 5-point scale with the midpoint being neutral. In addition, specific attitudes were assessed relating to amount of work, pay,
supervision, working conditions, co-workers, equipment, treatment of absenteeism by supervisor, appreciation by community residents, and expection about staying with the organization to retirement. All of these work
attitude questions were measured with 5-point Likert-type scales with the
exception of expectations about retirement, which was dichotomous.
The work related information and personal history characteristics
gathered nonattitudinal information about on and off job activities. The
work related information gathered data on previous employment experience, present employment in addition to the Waste Collection Division,
tenure on the job, job class, and the distance traveled to work. The personal history characteristics category gathered data on marital status,
number of children at home, education, and military experience.
It should be noted that the Cincinnati Waste Collection Division employs a time-incentive for the job classes used in this study. That is, employees can leave when their work is finished, which leaves open the possibility of having a second job if they wish to have One. Thus, the jobs in
this particular study contain additional situational factors that could have
an impact on absence behavior.
Finally, several different measures of absence were used in this study.
Based on the studies of Nicholson et al. (1976) and Johns (1978), the measures used were total days lost, frequency of absence, and attitudinal absences (one day absences). In addition, two transformations were utilized:

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the attitudinal absence ratio (attitudinal absences/total absences) and a

severity index to take into account long term sickness (total days lost less
total days lost due to attitudinal absences) (Smulders, 1980).
Attendance data were collected by the investigators from personnel records. Specifically, the absence data were obtained directly from the Waste
Collection Division payroll clerk's visual attendance record.
Procedure. Administration of the questionnaire was completed in the
following manner. The questionnaire was given directly to the driver and
helper during working hours prior to normal job assignments. To ensure
cooperation and to certify to the security of the complete questionnaires,
the employee questionnaire was administered by the district foreman with
district union steward(s) acting in the capacity of survey observer.
Immediately preceding the test administration, the survey questionnaires were coded with appropriate absence data. The questionnaire,
along with a writing instrument, was placed in a plain, unsealed envelope.
Affixed to the envelope was a label bearing only the employee's full name.
The label was constructed in such a fashion .that the subject, once having
completed the questionnaire, could easily remove the label. Then, having
sealed the envelope as instructed, the employee returned it to the test administrator in a secure and anonymous fashion.
Results
On the day of the questionnaire administration, 212 full time employees
were present and received questionnaires to fill out. Of the 34 individuals
who were absent, 20 had unexcused absences and 14 had excused absences
(vacations or long term illnesses/accidents). There were no statistically significant differences among the individuals present and those that were absent on any of the absence measures. Of the 212 questionnaires returned, 6
were unusuable.
Stepwise regression was used to derive the multiple regression models in
this study. Table 1 shows the overall correlations for each of the regression
models. In addition, the individual variables that are shown in each regression equation are statistically significant at p < .05 and are listed according
to order of importance. The best predicting model was frequency of absence, which was slightly better than the attitudinal absence model,
though not statistically significant. Both the previously stated models were
statistically better than the absence ratio and severity index. However,
only frequency of absence proved to be statistically different from the
total days lost-measure at the criterion levels of significance. Also, it
should be noted that the multiple correlation was somewhat higher than
those obtained in previous studies.
Discussion
In the past, absenteeism literature has used differing and sometimes illdefined measures of absence. Recently, however, frequency of absence

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681

Table 1
Relationship Between Absence and Personal
Characteristics, Work Experience, and Attitudes
Absence Measure

Correlate'

Total days lost

Tenure
Armed services
Tenure
Supervisory attitude toward absenteeism
Armed services
Marital status
Satisfaction
Tenure
Supervisory attitude towards absenteeism
Armed services
Marital status
Supervisory attitude toward absenteeism
Tenure
Armed service
Tenure
Amount of work required on job

Absence frequency

Attitudinal absence

Attitudinal absence ratio

Severity index

Simple r
-.23
-.20
-.36
-.20
-.19
-.11
.23
-.33
-.21
-.17
-.11
-.21
-.15
-.16
-.15
.12

Multiple R*>
.11

.40'i
.24

.20

^Variables are listed according to order of importance; all variables are significant at p .05.
''Multiple /?'s are shrunken based on McNemar (1969); all overall correlations are significant at
p.O5.
^Significantly different from total days lost, attitudinal absence ratio, and severity index a t p s .05
(Dunn & Clark, 1969, 1971).
''Significantly different from attitudinal absence ratio, and severity index a t p s .05 (Dunn & Clark,
1969, 1971).

has been suggested (Johns, 1978; Nfuchinsky, 1977) to be superior to the

traditional total days lost measure. Although intuitively appealing, these
statements have had little statistical basis. The results of this study appear
to show significantly different amounts of explanatory power between
these two models. The absence frequency model increased total explained
variance by 11 percent over what was obtained with the total days lost
model.
In relation to specific correlates of absenteeism, tenure plays an important role in all of the absence models. In both the absence frequency and
total days lost models, as well as attitudinal absence, tenure is the single
most important variable and shows the negative relationship that has been
suggested by Nicholson, Brown, and Chadwick-Jones (1977). After tenure
on the job, only two other nonattitudinal variables make a significant contribution, those being military service and marital status.
It appears that as a class the present work attitude indicators did not
contribute in an important fashion to the prediction of absenteeism. Only
the specific supervisory attitude towards absenteeism appears to be important. Although satisfaction with work does appear in the best predicting
absence modelfrequency of absenceit accounts for less variance than
any of the other criterion variables and does not appear as a significant
variable when the other measures of absence are used. Also, it is of note
that none of the situation-related variables (having a second job, distance

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September

to work, number of children at home) was significant in any of the absence models.
In conclusion, the results tend to show that, within a primarily black
work population in a uniformly low status work environment, absence frequency is better predicted than total days lost. In addition, the magnitude
of correlation obtained is somewhat higher than that reported in previous
studies. However, the specific correlates of absence were not unlike the results reported in the existing literature on absence from work.
The findings of this study appear to exhibit both differences and similarities in relation to existing absenteeism literature. As a result of this research, several intriguing questions developed: (1) Even though similar
correlates of absenteeism appeared, are the relationships the same for different population segments or work groups? (2) Is the magnitude of the
relationship the same for different population segments and job classes?
(3) Are the specific correlates really only parts of more general characteristics? For example, do tenure on the job and military service really represent organizational loyalty? These are just a few questions that need to be
answered if a true understanding of absence in the work environment is to
be developed. The focus of future research should undertake comparative
studies to define the generalizability of absence from work (black-white,
male-female, and managerial-nonmanagerial).
References
Dunn, O. J., & Clark, V. Correlation coefficients measured on the same individuals. Journal of the
American Statistical Association, 1969, 64, 366-377.
Dunn, O. J., & Clark, V. Tests of the equality of dependent correlation coefficients. Journal of the
American Statistical Association, 1971, 66, 904-908.
Herman, J. B. Are situational contingencies limiting job attitude-job performance relationships? Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 1973, 10,208-224.
Ilgen, D. R., & Hollenback, J. H. The role of job satisfaction in absence behavior. Organizationat Behavior and Human Performance, 1977, 19, 148-161.
Johns, G. Attitudinal and nonattitudinal predictors of two forms of absence from work. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 1978, 22, 431-444.
Locke, E. A. The nature and causes of job dissatisfaction. In M. D. Dunnette (Ed.), Handbook of industrial and organizationat psychotogy. Chicago: Rand McNally, 1976, pp. 1297-1349.
McNemar, Q. Psychological statistics. New York: Wiley, 1969.
Milutinovich, J. S. Black-white differences in job satisfaction, group cohesiveness, and leadership
style. Human Relations, 1977, 30, 1079-1087.
Morgan, L. G., & Herman, J. B. Perceived consequences of absenteeism. Journal of Applied Psychology, 1976, 61, 738-742.
Muchinsky, P.M. Employee absenteeism: A review of the literature. Journal of Vocational Behavior,
1977, 10, 316-340.
Nicholson, N., Brown, C. A., & Chadwick-Jones, J. K. Absence from work and job satisfaction.
Journal of Applied Psychology, 1976, 61, 728-737.
Nicholson, N., Brown, C. A., & Chadwick-Jones, J. K. Absence from work and personal characteristics. Vourna/ of Applied Psychotogy, 1977, 62, 319-327.

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Porter, L. W., & Steers, R. M. Organizational, work, and personal factors in employee turnover and
absenteeism. Psychological Bulletin, 1973, 80, 151-176.
Smith, F. J. Work attitudes as predictors of specific day attendance. Journal of Applied
1977, 62, 16-19.

Psychology,
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fi.'.

Smulders, P. G. W. Comments on employee absence/attendance as a dependent variable in organizational research. Journal of Applied Psychotogy, 1980, 65, 368-371.
Steers, R. M., & Rhodes, S. R. Major influences on employee attendance: A process model. Journal
of Applied Psychology, 1978, 63, 391-407.
Weaver, C. N. Black-white correlates of job satisfaction. Journat of Applied Psychology, 1978 63
255-258.
Paul O. Popp is Associate Professor of Management,
University, Cincinnati.
James A. Belohlav is Assistant Professor of
De Paul University.

Xavier

Management,

Cc Academy of Management Journal

1982, Vol. 25, No. 3, 683-689.

INSTITUTIONAL AND ANTI-INSTITUTIONAL CONFLICT

AMONG BUSINESS, GOVERNMENT, AND THE PUBLIC
JOHN B. DOWLING
Queen's University at Kingston, Canada
NORBERT V. SCHAEFER
University of New Brunswick, Canada

If conflict management within society is to be a social objective, a systematic study of the forms of conflict is an important diagnostic procedure. In this paper are developed two forms of conflict, institutional and
anti-institutional, derived primarily from Pondy (1969) and Vickers
(1972). These two forms of conflict then are applied to an examination of
changes in the relationship among business, government and the public at
large.
A distinction is made theoretically between institutional and anti-institutional forms of conflict within society. Under the institutional form of
conflict the major institutions within society have the support of their respective publics but struggle among themselves to hold or increase their
domain (their functions, powers, responsibilities, and privileges). When
the public supports the various competing social institutions and expects
the outcome of the domain struggle to be desirable or at least acceptable,
then conflict is contained within the social structure. Dissatisfaction with a
given state of affairs can be addressed through relative minor change in
the domain of the institutions.