Determinants of absenteeism in public organizations: a unit-level analysis of work absence in a large Danish municipality

Abstract

This study investigates the determinants of absenteeism in a large Danish municipality. Based on a review of the literature on absence, an integrative model is developed combining the individual, the social psychological and the economic approaches. The model is tested on data from approximately 5,000 employees in 400 departments of day-care centres.1 The results of the empirical study show that there is a significant positive relationship between employees' absence frequency and the department deputy head's observed absence frequency. There is also a positive relationship between the employees' absence frequency and the department manager's observed absence frequency, but the effect is lower and less significant. Furthermore the study shows a positive relationship between absence frequency and being a male deputy head. The contracted number of work hours also has a positive association to absence frequency, whereas demographic characteristics such as the department's standard deviation of age showed a negative association to absenteeism.

Keywords:

• absenteeism
• integrative model
• public organization
• unit-level study

Notes

1. In Denmark there are day-care centres for infants, for toddlers, and for preschoolers, after-school centres and combinations of these.

2. According to their agreement public employees in Denmark are allowed to take one paid day off to take care of their sick child.

3. Cf. the appendix for the results of the wages model.