Beyond the Steers and Rhodes model of employee attendance

Area of Science:

• Organizational Behavior
• Occupational Health Psychology
• Human Resource Management

Background:

• The Steers and Rhodes (1978) model is a foundational framework for understanding employee attendance.
• Existing models may not fully capture the complex, multifactorial nature of employee absenteeism.
• Integrating diverse research streams is crucial for a comprehensive understanding of attendance behaviors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel causal model of employee absenteeism.
• To modify and extend the established Steers and Rhodes (1978) process model of employee attendance.
• To synthesize relevant literature from organizational behavior and occupational health.

Main Methods:

• A critical review and summary of the Steers and Rhodes (1978) model.
• Development of an extended causal process model.
• Identification and discussion of operationalizable variables from integrated literature.

Main Results:

• A refined causal model offering a more nuanced understanding of absenteeism drivers.
• Integration of key concepts from organizational behavior and occupational health literature.
• Guidelines for the operationalization of variables within the proposed model.

Conclusions:

• The proposed causal model offers a more comprehensive framework for studying employee absenteeism.
• The integration of organizational behavior and occupational health perspectives enhances predictive validity.
• The model provides a foundation for future research and practical interventions in managing employee attendance.