Absenteeism, Withdrawal [e.g., alcohol, drug use BUS159 - Group 2 Brianda Acosta, Lupe Banuelos, Jessica Martinez & Valerie Pacheco

Absenteeism: The Relationship Between Individual Job Satisfaction and Work-Unit Absenteeism By: Jessica Martinez

Key Terms Externally focused satisfaction: an employee’s relationship or attitude towards his or her job Internally focused satisfaction: an employee’s relationship with his or her coworkers or work-unit Mean level of work-unit absenteeism: a contextual cue that determines the level of absence that is allowed in a work-unit

Background Individual absenteeism can come from an employee’s job environment Influenced by social-contextual features of work-units that may also determine a degree to which job satisfaction levels relate to patterns of absence behavior Work-unit absenteeism is most important and influential social-contextual cue that influences the satisfaction-absenteeism relationship The Social Conformity Theory an employee can develop the behavior patterns of those around them

Studies Participants asked to complete questionnaires with questions related to individual externally and internally focused job satisfaction and individual and work-unit absenteeism Externally focused job satisfaction assessed by questions that relate to working conditions, organization and management, and career opportunities ● Internally focused job satisfaction ○ assessed by questions that refer to work-unit colleagues and supervisors ● Individual and work-unit absenteeism ○ assessed by the number of absences the individual and work-unit has had while working

Study Results ● High mean levels of work- unit absenteeism=  High internally focused job satisfaction ● Low mean levels of work- unit absenteeism= High internally focused job satisfaction

Take Home Message Focus on ensuring appropriate team composition Encourage social relationships between teammates and supervisors Formalized attendance procedures, feedback systems, or unit-level incentives Implement cultural development and team building programs

Aversive Conditions in the Workplace By Brianda Acosta

Cost of Absenteeism In the United States absenteeism results in an estimated $225.8 billion per year due to losses in productivity.

Key Terms Aversive Conditions: work characteristics perceived by the employee as noxious or threatening Group Norms: set of shared beliefs and perceptions regarding what is an acceptable rate of, or justification for, employee absences Supervisor Support: the degree to which a supervisor is viewed as both caring and able to provide emotional support

Background ● Studies have found a positive correlation between aversive conditions and high rates of absenteeism. ● A study composed of a random sample of workers ● Workers were asked to fill out questionnaire about peer norms, job hazards, & supervisor support ● Two key moderators: group norms and supervisor support.

RESULTS

Take Home Message ● Encourage a supportive supervisor-employee relationship. ● Implement a realistic and formal attendance policy. ● Pay attention to the role of normative and supervisory factors in the organization.

Predictors of Abusive Supervision Supervisor Perceptions of Deep-Level Dissimilarity, Relationship Conflict, and Subordinate Performance By: Valerie Pacheco

Definitions Perceived Deep Level Dissimilarity: refers to the perception that the subordinate’s values and attitudes differ from the supervisor’s Moral Exclusion Theory: prediction is that abusive supervision is positively related to perceived deep-level dissimilarity and supervisor perceptions of relationship conflict with subordinates, and negatively related to supervisor evaluations of subordinate performance Empathy Trait: the dispositional tendency to take the perspective of others thoughts and to recognize and experience concern for others’ thoughts and feelings

Background How does absenteeism affect a company? Moral exclusion literature identifies three predictors of abusive supervision: ○ Supervisor perceptions of deep-level dissimilarity ○ Relationship conflict ○ Subordinate Performance

Hypothesized Model This model was used during the study to test whether these factors correlated with abusive supervision

Hypotheses 1. Supervisor’s perceptions of relationship conflict partially mediate the relationship between the supervisor’s perceived deep-level dissimilarity with a subordinate and abusive supervision directed toward that subordinate 2. A supervisor’s perceptions of a subordinate’s performance partially mediate the relationship between the supervisor’s perceived deep-level dissimilarity with a subordinate and abusive supervision directed toward that subordinate 3. Relationship conflict is a distal partial mediator and supervisor evaluation of subordinate performance is a proximal partial mediator of the relationship between perceived deep-level dissimilarity and abusive supervision 4. Supervisor perceptions of subordinate performance moderate the indirect effect of perceived deep-level dissimilarity on abusive supervision (through relationship conflict); the mediated effect is stronger when a supervisor perceives a subordinate as having lower performance

Study Information and Results Study measures: ● Perceived Dissimilarity ● Relationship Conflict ● Subordinate Performance ● Abusive supervision ● Control Variables Through regression analysis the authors of the article were able to prove: Hypothesis 1 was not supported Hypothesis 2 and 3 were supported Hypothesis 4 depended on the level of subordinate performance

Table 2: Results ● The lower subordinate performance is, the higher abusive supervision would be

Take Home Message Provide employee training on open communication and diversity Provide proper job training to decrease low performance appraisals to prevent other supervisors from seeing subordinates as being of low utility decreasing the chances of abusive supervision Hiring or promoting supervisors or management that carry an empathy trait Having the company value a culture of teams where employees look forward to coming to work

Supervisor's Aggressive Humor And it’s Impact to Absenteeism via Addictive Behaviors by: Lupe Banuelos

Aggressive Humor “humor that teases, denigrates, criticizes, maligns, disparages, is disrespectful, is mean-spirited, intends to embarrass, or ridicules individuals or groups of individuals.” Strain Employees’ physical and psychological stress in their work environment Key Terms

Aggressive Humor by Supervisor- Background To determine whether Aggressive Humor by a supervisor can cause strain on the focal employee so great that it may lead or contribute to behaviors such as internet, alcohol or smoking addictions all of which can result in excessive absenteeism, alienation, poor work performance and workplace safety The detrimental effects of aggressive humor by supervisors when the negative behavior is targeted to a specific (focal) employee rather than a group or workforce

Three Key Objectives of the Aggressive Humor Study (a) To examine the effects of supervisors’ aggressive humor on the strain of focal employees - Hypothesis 1: Supervisors’ aggressive humor relates positively to focal employee's’ strain (b) To explore how supervisors’ aggressive humor with the peers of focal employees influences the strength of the association between the supervisors’ aggressive humor with the focal employees and the focal employee's’ strain - Hypothesis 2: Supervisors’ aggressive humor with the peers of focal employees negatively moderates the relationship between supervisors’ use of aggressive humor with the focal employees and the focal employee's’ strain, such that the positive association becomes stronger when the level of supervisors’ aggressive humor with peers is low. (c) To test how focal employees translate supervisors’ aggressive humor into their own addictive behaviors through strain. - Hypothesis 3: Strain among focal employees mediates the interaction

Aggressive Humor Study - Results Stress increases when peers are not targeted Stress decreases when peers are also targeted

Aggressive Humor Study - Results Humor on focal employees related positively and caused much more strain on the employees than when their peers received lower levels of aggressive humor from the supervisor Treatment received by the peers of the focal employees influenced their reactions to aggressive humor; Similar treatment lessened or buffered the effect When focal employees experienced the strain, they were more likely to engage in addictive behaviors, like internet addiction, problem drinking and problem smoking Additional findings; Aggressive humor is unethical behavior;can be destructive and create lifelong problems

Aggressive Humor - Take Home Message HR must take all employee complaints seriously and intervene Training should be conducted to help managers understand appropriate, positive ways to use humor Implementation of support groups, team building activities, and counseling services should be recommended when organizations are made aware of individuals suffering from workplace stress These offerings will enable employees to minimize and control addictive behaviors and improve their absenteeism, work performance and workplace safety

Absenteeism Take Home Message Training should be conducted to help managers understand appropriate, positive ways to use humor and communication Implementation of support groups, team building activities, and counseling services should be recommended when organizations are made aware of individuals suffering from workplace stress Having the company value a culture of teams where employees look forward to coming to work Encourage a supportive supervisor-employee and co-worker relationship. Formalized attendance procedures, feedback systems, or unit-level incentives