The Relationship Between Job Satisfaction and Absenteeism in a Selected Field Services Section Within an Electricity Utility in the Western Cape

ONO is a large auto-supply company that does a large volume of business with only eleven employees. Absenteeism seems to have increased over the last two years and has had a significant effect on ONO. The information in the text shows that ONO had lost 539 employee labor-hours or 67.375 days to employee absenteeism last year. Because there are only eleven employees, this equals out to 6.125 missed days per employee. This is actually less than the United States average of seven missed days per year. Is absenteeism at ONO a serious problem? Whether or not a serious problem, the data from ONO, Inc. suggests there is enough to warrant an investigation and a new strategy to minimize absenteeism. As

reduced absenteeism. Absenteeism is a result of employee boredom with their job as they don’t feel personally connected to the company. Empowered employee feels valued and challenged which results in job satisfaction consequently absenteeism decreases.

I believe that it is important to understand that job satisfaction has an impact on job performance. In my personal experiences I have seen management completely oblivious to the concerns of their staff that had a negative impact on job satisfaction. The text cites 300 studies that found that organizations with

This study deals with the impact of furloughs on non-furloughed federal worker's job satisfaction levels. Furlough is a budgetary problem that impact government programs and services by increasing workloads and absenteeism to the identified non-furloughed federal workers. The threat of furlough and furlough itself is a problem to the organizations in the form of poor performances; increase work stressors and emotional strain. The problem to be addressed is the negative impact of furloughs on non-furloughed federal workers, predominately GS employees and excepted contractors. The purpose of this study is to examine the negative impact of furlough on the job satisfaction levels of the identified non-furloughed federal workers. To help non-furloughed

272). Absenteeism is a common problem in the workplace today, and it is a widespread concern in many organizations. Employees call out sick for a variety of reasons, but if it occurs frequently enough it becomes an obvious issue. Some staff members make absenteeism a habit, meaning they call out more than their peers. At this point, absenteeism results in disruptive work processes for other staff members and becomes financially draining to the employer (Sullivan & Decker,

Job dissatisfaction also correlates with extended out of work stays by workers injured while working. Some employers may take also advantage of continued absence to fire sub-par employees.

As a manager in a Contact Centre, unplanned absence causes issues. I have collected the absence data across the four departments within the Contact Centre for the same time period in 2011 and 2012. (January – September)

Well-constructed employee attitude surveys can provide insight into organizational characteristics which impact employee behavior and organizational performance (Williams, 1998). Companies may use survey results to modify their management style, organizational culture, workplace characteristics, or incentives in order to improve worker satisfaction and overall productivity (Williams, 1998). Although the link between employee attitudes and actual work performance has been found to be somewhat inconsistent (Schleicher, Watt, & Greguras, 2004), research has confirmed at least a moderate correlation between job satisfaction and rates of employee absenteeism and turnover (Gibson, Ivancevich, Donnelly, & Konopaske, 2012).

Currie, D (2010). Introduction to Human Resource Management. 2nd ed. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel Development. 293

The vast majorities of organisations have a written absence/attendance management policy, record their employee absence rate collect information on the causes of absence and provide one or more well-being benefits. Developing line managers’ capability to manage absence (2014: 56% of those that made changes; 2013: 33%)

Employers today come up against many obstacles regarding employee productivity. Some of those concerns include health related absenteeism and presenteeism.. Matke and others observed there is a shift in burden to employers due to Americas aging workforce that results in loss of productivity brought on by illness related absenteeism and presenteeism (Matke and others, 2013). A report by Berry, Mirabito, and Baun show that absenteeism and presenteeism account for lost productivity costs that are

As companies and managers around the world continue to tackle this ever growing issue many western companies have begun to implement strategies to combat the symptoms of lost productivity caused by absenteeism, however, even within western cultures, these tactics don’t work as planned. Many factors play a role; however, some companies are gaining success from various tactics used to combat absenteeism and tardiness. In a world full of different motivations and cultural differences, it can be difficult for companies to have a full success; however, with careful planning and cultural understanding companies can begin to battle against this costly crisis in the workplace.

Personal characteristics of workers also has an impact on job satisfaction. Job satisfaction increases age. Whites have greater job satisfaction than non-whites. The level of education is slightly negatively related to job satisfaction. If personal skills and abilities are not required by a job, job satisfaction decreases. When a person is more adjusted personally, they will be more satisfied with work. Most of all having a job with decent and fair wage may be the most important variable to job satisfaction. High job satisfaction is associated with low turnover and low absenteeism and with high commitment. Although the evidence is not conclusive, high job satisfaction is associated with high performance and prosocial behaviors.

In this essay, I will explore the relationship between the level of employee satisfaction and employee production. Firstly defining and explaining satisfaction and job performance as these variables are difficult to define, and a clear definition is critical for assessing the relationship between them. Secondly I will discuss some of the most significant studies in this area of research. I will then analyse various factors which determine the correlation between these two variables, focusing on the attitude-behaviour relationship as this gives an insight into how a higher level of satisfaction may link to greater production. Finally I will look into a set of different models which propose variations to the job satisfaction-performance

Job satisfaction is the very important factor in general quality of life because it is closely connected with working life (e.g. Argyle, 1989; Bang & Lee, 2006), with family life, everyday life, and mental health (Orpen, 1978; Schmitt and Bedeian, 1982; Faragher, Cass & Cooper, 2005). Level of job satisfaction is also highly related to turnover, absenteeism rate, work productivity or accomplishment (Muchinsky, 1977; Organ, 1977). Many researchers (e.g. Cherrington, 1994; Acorn, Ratner & Crawford, 1997; Ostroff, 1992; Spector, 1997) state that employees who experience high job satisfaction contribute to organisational commitment, job involvement, their physical, mental health and overall well-being are improved. Job dissatisfaction on the