Absenteeism : an investigation into some socio demographic variables in a specific empirical setting : a Research Report presented as part of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Studies at Massey University

Abstract

Absenteeism has been the focus of many research studies since the Second World War when war time economies dictated the efficient use of resources, both human and material. In New Zealand, even more attention was directed towards the phenomenon, along with labour turnover, in the 1950's and 1960's, largely as a result of a severe labour shortage. Interest now appears to be on the wane, largely, the writer suspects, because of the advent of unemployment. This is seen as unfortunate, since absenteeism is a costly problem regardless of the state of the economy. Since most organisations are nominally interested in improving the efficiency of resource use, it was hoped that this study would offer some general insights into absenteeism in a specific empirical setting. Accordingly, various socio-demographic variables were examined to see if they were related to absenteeism at Santoft Forest.