The Value of Rude Health: Employees Well Being, Absence and Workplace Performance

David Marsden and Simone Moriconi

CEP Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic Performance, LSE

Abstract: This paper brings new evidence on the relationship between employees' well being, sickness absence and fourdimensions of workplace performance i.e. productivity, efficiency, quality of service and profitability. It uses anew panel dataset with monthly observations over two years for 48 local units of a large multi-site organisationin the logistics sector. It finds that good consultation and communication at the local level are associated withlower absenteeism. It also finds that lower absence is associated with higher efficiency, productivity, quality ofthe service and profitability of the firm. Finally, the authors suggest that the link between workers' absence andthis firm's profitability runs through the increased use of replacement labour which raises short-run costs andreduces quality of service.

Keywords: Time Allocation; absenteeism; Safety; Accidents; Industrial Health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J22 J28 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hap, nep-hea and nep-lab
Date: 2009-04
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Persistent link: http://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp0919

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