HEALTH COMPLAINTS, SOCIAL COMPARISONS, AND ABSENTEEISM

In this study the relationship between health problems and objectively recorded absence frequency is investigated from a social psychological perspective in a prospective design. By employing LISREL, a model is developed (tested and revised) among blue-collar workers in Plant North (N = 254) of a metal factory and successfully cross-validated in Plant South (N = 199). The results of this study support the assumption that health complaints affect absence frequency through two social comparison processes. First, employees are more inclined to attribute their health complaints to the work environment, the more often they communicate with their colleagues about problems in their work situation. Second, the more employees experience health problems, and the more employees attribute these problems to the work environment, the less well off they feel compared with others outside the company. This unfavourable external comparison results in absences, indicating that absence from work can be interpreted as an attempt by the employee to reduce an inequitable relationship with the company. These results are discussed in the context of theoretical and practical implications.