Minor illness as a legitimate reason for absence

✍ Scribed by Joan Harvey; Nigel Nicholson

• Book ID: 101289666
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 141 KB
• Volume: 20
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0894-3796
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-1379(199911)20:6<979::aid-job914>3.0.co;2-0

✦ Synopsis

This study proposes that the perceived legitimacy of minor illness as a reason for absence varies according to the nature of the illness, sex, job grade/socio-economic status and age. A measure of perceived legitimacy was constructed which incorporated illnesses commonly given as reasons for short-term absence. Thirteen hundred civil servants provided data on an employee survey. Absence frequency data were collected for 115 of these respondents over a 55-month period. General support was found for four of the ®ve study hypotheses. Contrary to one hypothesis, it was found that men legitimize minor illnesses as reasons for absence more than women. Clusters of minor illnesses were identi®ed using a factor analysis. The implications for management responses to absence and for further research into the perception of minor illness are considered.