Business Psychology - Essay Example

Introduction The article The absence bug: a treatable viral infection by Marie McHugh presents and likens absenteeism as a viral infection – the parallelism stems from the fact that like a virus, it influences and is affected by overall organisational health. In an attempt to address the root causes of this phenomenon, the author has undertaken a study to reveal these and their corresponding outcomes to the organisations. Briefly, the findings of the study suggest that holism and systematisation of ‘treatment’ must be applied in carrying out initiatives to curb absenteeism in the workplace. Absenteeism has been a much researched topic over the past decades, and has been a favorite issue of contention among researchers (e.g. Chadwick-Jones, et al., 1982; Terborg, et al., 1982; Banham, 1992; Hodson, et al., 1993; Martocchio, 1994; Muir, 1994; Health and Safety Executive, 1996; Gellady & Luchak, 1996; and CBI, 1999) 1. This is a problem faced by many organisations is employee absenteeism, as a significant proportion of the workforce is absent each year, which translates to substantial absenteeism costs. For instance, IDS (1993) has given a rough estimate of the direct costs attributable to absenteeism, and asserts that this is about £13 billion. Put in another way, this suggests an average of £581 per individual employee. More statistics are provided by CBI (1999) presenting that in 1998 alone, nearly 100 million working days were considered lost days because of absenteeism. This represents a mean of 8.5 working days per employee or 3.7% of working time. Ho (1997) further asserts that the economic repercussions of absenteeism stem directly from the costs of the following: absence from work, less experienced substitutes or proxies, and the additional cost that must be paid for substitute workers. Including such indirect costs, the total monetary loss attributable to absenteeism amounts to £1,092 per employee annually. The article authored by McHugh creatively likens absenteeism to a virus, expressing that while it is not possible to treat it completely, it may be effectively prevented or its effects curbed by striving to maintain and build a healthy system. When this is undertaken, Hugh purports that the effects of the virus are eliminated and it enters into a state of dormancy until such time when conditions again make it conducive for those effects to reappear. When applied to the organisational context, this implies that the root causes of absenteeism as an ‘infection’ ought to diagnosed to come up with more novel and effective solutions for curing the absence ‘bug’. This briefing article concisely presents the content of this article, especially focusing on its implications for the organisations directly involved in the study. Theoretical Background The theoretical background of the study is derived mainly from theories on organisational health. Like absenteeism, it has been a favorite topic in management empirical research (see for example De Vries & Miller, 1984; Cox & Howarth, 1990; Copper & Williams, 1994; Newell, 1995; McHugh & Brotherton, 2000; Dewe et al., 2000). To achieve and maintain organisational health, commendable management practices must be exercised, and the principal role of employees in carrying this out cannot be overemphasised. The importance of these management practices may be concretely seen in the outcomes that they bring forth including integrated job design, employee engagement, and a proactive approach to employee welfare. At the center of all these is the firm belief that people are the main assets of the corporation (Steers & Rhodes, 1978; Dalton & Mesh, 1990; Doherty & Tyson, 2000). Moreover, Cox and Thompson (2000) express that the organisation may influence employee behavior through several venues – that is, through the design and management of its work systems and procedures, work factors that cause stress, and the overall impact of the organisation on employee behavior. The main theoretical principle that underlies the struggle to maintain employee well being is the fact that organisational well being depends on the individual well being of its employees (Doherty & Tyson, 2000). Seen from another light, this view states that organisational health and individual health are interdependent entities (Pritchard et al., 1990; McHugh, 1993; Cooper, 1994; Ho, 1997). Thus, it is critical to concentrate on employee well being, which in ripple effect, will lead to overall organisational health. Link of Theories and Rationale for Application to Organisations The main theory above which asserts that overall organisational health is dependent on individual well being leads us to conclude that absenteeism is worth investigating –because it is a ‘symptom’ of employee ill health. Or, it may represent facets in the organisation that cause employees to be absent. For instance, Steers & Rhodes (1997) indicate that an employee’s attendance represents their degree of motivation and their ability to attend. Several factors may be focused on to facilitate and increase employee attendance, encompassing autonomy, responsibility, job satisfaction, and organisational commitment (Dalton & Mesch, 1990; Rentsch & Steel, 1998). Saratoga (1998 in McHugh, 2001)) puts it most succinctly in saying the following: “From a management perspective, high employee absence is a very clear indicator of some form of organisational misbehavior, often indicating a dissatisfaction with the organisation that requires analysis and action. Absence may indicate a level of job satisfaction kin to boredom, with employees feeling their work is of little added value to the organisation, but not having the incentive to leave because of the non-availability of attractive work elsewhere. Although absence may be due to illness, it is important to acknowledge that the root cause of such illness may be partly attributable to the way in which organisations are managed. This itself may be another indicator of the existent state of health within the enterprise” (p. 724). As a metaphor, employee absence may be perceived as one concrete indicator of an organisational illness that contributes to and is a result of weaknesses deeply rooted in the organisational system. The enterprise’s ‘defense mechanism is thus weakened, making it prone to such ‘infections’. Implication of the Approaches to the Organisations These theories on organisational health clearly imply that organisations will be more productive and will have enhanced performance if they are in a “healthy state” (Cox et al., 1992). The outcomes that are expected from such a state include reduced absenteeism rates, and increased levels of employee engagement and overall satisfaction. The article focused on presents that results of an empirical investigation of the causes and effects of employee absence within local government organisations in Northern Ireland. Similar to their colleagues in other UK regions, local authorities in Northern Ireland have been under pressure to take initiatives towards increased performance, effectiveness, and efficiency. Given this, the organisation would be better equipped with the task if they are keenly aware of the reasons for increased absence within their respective organisations. Because absenteeism translates to expensive costs for employers and may represent more deeply rooted organisational illnesses, it clearly is an obstacle to achieving organisational efficiency, effectiveness and productivity. To carry this out, researchers from the University of Ulster investigated absenteeism within local government, as commissioned by The Local Government Staff Commission for Northern Ireland. Based on the theoretical background of the study all pointing out to the strong reliance of organisational health on individual well being, it sought to address the following study objectives: 1) ascertain the scale of employee absenteeism which prevails within all 26 district councils in Northern Ireland; 2) highlight similarities and differences in levels of absence across councils; 3) ascertain the causes and effects of absenteeism; and 4) identify current methods of managing attendance within each of the councils and their perceived effectiveness (McHugh, 2001, p. 725). Research Methods’ Advantages and Disadvantages The study employed a multi-method approach in carrying out the investigation. First, this involved collating statistical data from the participant organisations. Next, the researchers also undertook focus group discussions for high and low absence groups. They deemed it necessary to separate high and low absence groups to increase data validity. This entailed determining the high and low absence employee groups and randomly choosing those who were eligible and willing to participate in the focus group discussions. Ten individuals were chosen for each of the three absence categories, through a list provided by the councils. Participants were briefed about the exercise, explaining to them the reasons for the conduct of the focus group discussions. This study employs a qualitative research design through the conduct of focus group discussions. The qualitative research approach is based on a "world view" which is holistic and has the following beliefs: (1) there is not a single reality; (2) reality based upon perceptions that are different for each person and change over time; and (3) what we know has meaning only within a given situation or context. The reasoning process used in qualitative research involves perceptually putting pieces together to make wholes. From this process meaning is produced. However, because perception varies with the individual, many different meanings are possible. The present study uses a phenomenological approach, describing participants’ experiences as they are lived in phenomenological terms (i.e. to capture the "lived experience" of study participants). The focus of phenomenological research is peoples experience in regard to a phenomenon and how they interpret their experiences. The focus group was used, offering the facilitator the opportunity to follow up and clarify. It also permitted the participant to express his/her feelings, opinions and concerns. Moreover, qualitative data were complemented with running records on absenteeism, to make more valid deductions about absenteeism in the councils. A disadvantage of this method is the use of only selected respondents in gathering all the data related to absenteeism, and these were taken to be representative of opinions of all the other participants (including those who did not participate in the focus groups). Findings and Their Effects to the Organisations The results of the study emphasise several issues that have important implications to the building and creation of healthy organisations. Some of these issues include awareness of the absence management policy, consistency in absence management policy implementation, emphasis placed on absenteeism, absence among different employee groups, employee morale, communication, and relationships between management and staff. McHugh (2001) asserts that in cases where absenteeism rates are low, the individual and the organisation may be considered healthy. In contrast, when employee absence is high, this may be taken as a symptom of individual and organisational ill health. Moreover, the results of the study imply that absenteeism stems from profound psychological roots. Having pointed this out, it is important for organisations to realise that addressing problems related to absenteeism must be more firmly anchored on mechanisms that address root causes rather than a shallow palliative for its symptoms. In addition, it has also been cited that frequently, these initiatives may be seen in the form of punitive and controlling absence policies, which only address the problem in the short-term. In contrast, the organisation must strive to identify those aspects of the organisational system that foster and promote high absenteeism rates. For instance, the study has yielded line managers’ responses indicating the lack of a caring attitude of the local government management towards employees. Boredom has also been a predominant response. While these symptoms seem superficial, they represent deeply rooted organisational health issues. It has been noted that no attempt has been undertaken to address work design, possibly to address the issue of boredom. The findings of the study suggest a dire need for organisations to develop a well-integrated approach towards absence management which is firmly anchored on a well-defined and implemented absence policy. It is further argued that such a policy should be clearly cascaded to all employees, and reinforced through effective training programs. This reflects the interdependence of individual and organisational well-being. Lastly, the findings of the study purport the high expenses related to absenteeism. The estimate for district councils in Northern Ireland is the 1988/99 year was £4.5 million. This represents a conservative estimate which does not incorporate the critical factors of “employee stress, low motivation, low morale, and a lack of employee commitment” (p. 735). All of these factors are expected to incur substantial cost attributable to absenteeism. Conclusion and Relevance of the Article to Absenteeism Absenteeism as a ‘virus’ evades full treatment; however, if its organisational system causes are identified, its negative impact may be alleviated. Organisations in general, specifically those in the local government arena are thus enjoined to explore and address the more deeply rooted causes of this phenomenon if they are to survive in contemporary times marked by dynamism and cutthroat competition. To carry this out, they ought to design and apply a “systematic and coordinated approach towards the issue of employee absence” to promote organisational health. Moreover, organisations must go the extra mile to beyond superficial problem identification towards issue resolution. Such an approach which is applicable to other organisational phenomena and behavior, will enable the enterprise to thrive through increased employee motivation, morale and commitment. Ultimately, this translates to greater bottomline contributions to the enterprise’s coffers. Applicable Theories Taylor’s Scientific Management Theory One theory which maybe applied to the article is that of Taylor, who purports that there are three key principles that govern human behavior in the work setting, as follows: 1) Man is a rational economic animal concerned with maximizing his economic gain; 2) People respond as individuals and not as groups; 3) People can be treated in a standardized fashion, like machines. His “scientific management” approach has several implications on behavior in the workplace, namely: 1) The principal form of motivation for workers is money, which is meaningfully and equitably linked to output; 2) A manager’s job is to tell employees what to do; and 3) A worker’s job is to do what they are told and get paid in return (Taylor, 1911). Because this theory emphasizes the importance of money as a motivating factor, the absenteeism bug may thus be resolved using money or rewards to lessen absenteeism rates. Having considered these, the councils may attempt to implement the following: Financial incentives. Financial incentive programs use money to reward employees for achieving cetain levels of attendance. One of these programs is well pay, which involves paying employees for their unused sick leaves. For instance, an employee who uses only 4 of her allowed 6 days would receive money for the other 2. The amount of payment varies among organisations: some reward the employee by paying the equivalent of her daily salary, while others might split the savings by paying the employee an amount equal to half their salary for each unused sick leave. A second method may be to provide a financial bonus to employees who achieve a set level of attendance. With such method, an employee with perfect attendance over a year might receive a big monetary bonus, while an employee who misses 10 days receives nothing. A meta-analysis accomplished by T.L. Johnson (1990) asserts that well pay and financial incentives showed excellent results. However, the effectiveness of incentive plans is based on such factors as the size of the incentive, and the time that elapses between attending and being rewarded. A third financial incentive method is to use games to reward employees who attend work. There are many examples. One company, for instance, used poker as its game, giving a playing card each day to employees who attended. At the end of the week, employees with five cards compared the value of their hands, and the winning employee would be given a prize such as a dinner for two at the best restaurant in town or a gas barbecue grill. While some research present success in using such games, the meta-analysis of T.L. Johnson (1990) found that the mean effect size for games was close to zero. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs In Motivation and Personality, Maslow purports that the needs of man follow some hierarchy, as follows: physiological needs, security needs, social needs, ego needs, and self-actualization needs. The last level of needs, which is the self-actualization or fulfillment needs, include purpose, growth and development, and reaching one’s full potential (Maslow, 1968). In the context of absenteeism, the councils ought to determine if their organizational climate promotes these self-actualization attributes. While Taylor’s theory focuses on monetary rewards, Maslow’s theory purports that there may be other incentives provided to the individual to reduce absenteeism other than those which are monetary. The councils may then consider applying the following: Time off. Another method used by to reduce absenteeism is the paid-time-off program (PTO) or paid-leave-blank (PLB). With this style of program, vacation, personal, holiday, and sick days are combined into one category – paid time off. For instance, in a traditional system, an employee might be given 10 vacabation days, 3 personal days, 5 holidays, and 10 sick days, for a total of 28 days. With a PTO, the employee might be given 23 days of paid time off with another 5 days placed into an account for a catastrophic illness. An employee who is seldom sick has more days to use for vacation and is protected in case of a long-term illnessm, and the organisation saves money by reducing the total number of normal sick days. One variation of paid time-off programs gives unused sick time back to the employee for later use as a vacation time. For example, an employee may not miss a day of work in 5 years; as a consequence, he may have 3 months extra vacation time. Recognition programs. One other way to curb absenteeism rates is through recognition and praise. Formal recognition programs provide employees with such recognition as perfect attendance certificates, coffee mugs, plaques, lapel pins, and watches. In an award winning study, Scott, Markham, & Robers (1985) directly compared recognition with other techniques such as incentives and discipline. The results of their investigation supported the effectiveness of recongition, as did Johnson’s meta-analysis. Discipline for not attending. Absenteeism can be reduced by punishing or disciplining employees who miss work. Discipline can range from giving a warning or a less popular work assingment to firing an employee. Discipline works fairly well, especially when combined with some positive reinforcement for attending. Adjustment to work stress. Absenteeism can be reduced by removing the negative factors employees associate with going to work. One of the most important factors is stress. The greater the job stress, the greater the probability that most people will want to skip work. One form of stress is boredom, and it is easy to understand why a person who avoid attending a boring job or class. Personal problems with other employees or with management constitute another reason for wanting to avoid work. If the employee feels she is not liked or will be verbally abused, it should not come as no surprise that she will want to avoid dealing with her fellow employees or supervisors. Finally, employees want to miss work to avoid physical dangers involved with work, such as dealing with hazardous chemicals. To increase attendance, then, these negative factors must be eliminated. The first step in this elimination, of course, is to become aware of the negative factors that bother employees. These can be determined by asking supervisors or by distributing emplyee questionnaires. After the problems are known, it is important that management diligently work to eliminate the identified problems from the workplace. Illness and personal problems. Another obvious reason why employees miss work is illness. No data are available to indicate the percentrage of absenteeism in the industry that results from illness, but a study conducted with college students presents some insight. Kovach et al. (1988) asked more than 500 general psychology students to anonymously provide the reasn for each day of class they missed. Less than 30% of the missed days were the result of illness! However strong its effect, illness is a leading cause of missed work. The question, of course, is whether illness-induced absenteeism can be reduced. Organisational wellness programs involving exercise, stress reduction, smoking cessation, and improved nutrition seem to help. In a meta-analysis of the small number of available studies, Bonner (1990) found that the mean effect size for wellness programs in reducing absenteeism was 0.18, a fairly small effect. Results found by Erfurt, Foote, and Heinrich (1992) did not support the effectiveness of wellness programs in reducing health problems. McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y McGregors Theory X and Theory Y Douglas McGregor (1960) synthesized two possible approaches to managing worker motivation. The first theory, Theory Y, upholds the conventional approach of control and direction. It advocates that the worker does not like to work and will do everything to avoid it. The function of management then, is to force the employee to work, through the use of force and punishment. The employee intends to be directed and avoids accountability. Similar to Taylor’s scientific management theory, a main motivator for workers is money. Thus, applying this to the absenteeism bug, employees will increase their attendance rates if monetary rewards are given to them in return for this ‘desirable’ organizational behavior. Moreover, violations to the absenteeism policy may be sanctioned or punished formally. On the other hand, Theory Y is the humanistic/self-actualization view to worker motivation. At times, it is tagged the human resources model, and upholds that work is natural and from which can be derived satisfaction, commitment and motivation. Employees frequently look for greater involvement with management to motivate themselves. Theory Y is exercised when there is substantial worker participation in organizational decisions (McGregor, 1960). To increase attendance rates, the councils may consider reviewing their absenteeism policy with input from the line. This will solicit their commitment in the process and may even encourage increased compliance. References Bonner, D. (1990). Effectiveness of wellness programs in industry. Applied HRM Research, 1(2), 32-37. Erfurt, J., Foote, A., & Heirich, M. (1992). The cost effectiveness of worksite wellness programs for hypertension control, weight loss, smoking, cessation, and exercise. Personnel Psychology, 45(1), 5-28. Kovach, R., Surette, M. & Whitcomb, A. (1988, January). Contextual, student, and instructor factors involved in college student absenteeism. Paper presented at the 10th Annual Meeting of the National Institute on the Teaching of Psychology, St. Petersburg, FL. Maslow, A. (1968). Toward a psychology of being. D. Van Nostrand Company. McGregor, D. (1960). The human side of the enterprise. New York: McGraw-Hill. McHugh, M. (2001). The absence bug: a treatable infection? Journal of Managerial Psychology, 17(8), 722-738. Scott, K., Markham, S. & Robers, R. (1985). Rewarding good attendance: A comparative study of positive ways to reduce absenteeism. Personnel Administration, 30, 72-75. Taylor, F. (1911). Principles of scientific management. Retrieved on January 6, 2005 from http://melbecon.unimelb.edu.au/het/taylor/sciman.htm Read More