Non-work-related causes of absenteeism in shift work among nursing personnel.

Abstract

Causes of absenteeism in business and industry have been traditionally researched from the stand point of job-related stress, job dissatisfaction, and shift work. Few studies have examined possible non-work-related causes of absenteeism such as changing family composition, dual-career families, and the degree of marital happiness and family integration. The purpose of the present study was to determine the similarities and differences between the day, evening, and night shift nursing personnel at a local hospital on these non-work-related variables. From the results of a pilot study at this same hospital measuring proportion of absences of nurses over a 9 month period, evidence showed the day shift as having significantly more absences when compared to the evening shift. Significance was approached when the day and night shifts were compared. Using these data, further research was conducted on 112 randomly sampled nurses from the same hospital (both RN and LPN). Each nurse was administered three different measurements consisting of the Spielberger Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) (1970), a self-developed demographic survey, and Mott's (1965) Marital Happiness and Family Integration questionnaire. Results yielded a moderate association attributing non-work-related variables as causes of absenteeism. Significant differences were found between the day and evening shifts on eight demographic variables (age, classification, length of service, number of children, ages of children, child location, shift spouse was employed on, and sharing of household chores). Two demographic variables were found to be significant between the day and night shifts (age and marital status). Conversely, night and evening shifts were found to have significantly positive correlations on three demographic variables (child location and shift spouse was employed on). The implication of this study demonstrates the importance of further empirical research on non-work-related causes of absenteeism. With additional research, more precise measurements could then be developed to determine possible associations of absenteeism and its relationship to the home and work environment.