Unplanned Absenteeism: The Role of Workplace and Non-Workplace Stressors

Nur Adibah Mat Saruan, Hanizah Mohd Yusoff, Mohd Fadhli Mohd Fauzi, Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh and Rosnawati Muhamad Robat
Additional contact information
Nur Adibah Mat Saruan: Department of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Jalan Yaacob Latiff, Bandar Tun Razak, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia
Hanizah Mohd Yusoff: Department of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Jalan Yaacob Latiff, Bandar Tun Razak, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia
Mohd Fadhli Mohd Fauzi: Department of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Jalan Yaacob Latiff, Bandar Tun Razak, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia
Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh: Department of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Jalan Yaacob Latiff, Bandar Tun Razak, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia
Rosnawati Muhamad Robat: Occupational and Environmental Health Unit, Selangor State Health Department, No. 1 Wisma Sunway, Jalan Tengku Ampuan Zabedah C 9/C, Seksyen 9, Shah Alam 40100, Malaysia

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 17, 1-16

Abstract: Unplanned absenteeism (UA), which includes medically certified leave (MC) or emergency leave (EL), among nurses may disturb the work performance of their team and disrupt the quality of patient care. Currently, there is limited study in Malaysia that examines the role of stressors in determining absenteeism among nurses. Therefore, apart from estimating the prevalence and the reasons of UA among nurses in Malaysia, this study aims to determine its stressor-related determinants. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 697 randomly sampled nurses working in Selangor, Malaysia. Most of them were female (97.3%), married (83.4%), and working in shifts (64.4%) in hospital settings (64.3%). In the past year, the prevalence of ever taking MC and EL were 49.1% and 48.4%, respectively. The mean frequency of MC and EL were 1.80 (SD = 1.593) and 1.92 (SD = 1.272) times, respectively. Meanwhile, the mean duration of MC and EL were 4.24 (SD = 10.355) and 2.39 (SD = 1.966) days, respectively. The most common reason for MC and EL was unspecified fever (39.2%) and child sickness (51.9%), respectively. The stressor-related determinants of durations of MC were inadequate preparation at the workplace (Adj. b = −1.065) and conflict with doctors (adjusted regression coefficient (Adj. b ) = 0.491). On the other hand, the stressor-related determinants of durations of EL were conflict with spouse (Adj. b = 0.536), sexual conflict (Adj. b = −0.435), no babysitter (Adj. b = 0.440), inadequate preparation at workplace (Adj. b = 0.257), lack of staff support (Adj. b = −0.190) and conflict with doctors (Adj. b = −0.112). The stressor-related determinants of the frequency of MC were conflicts over household tasks (Adj. b = −0.261), no time with family (Adj. b = 0.257), dangerous surroundings (Adj. b = 0.734), conflict with close friends (Adj. b = −0.467), and death and dying (Adj. b = 0.051). In contrast, the stressor-related determinants of frequency of EL were not enough money (Adj. b = −0.334), conflicts with spouse (Adj. b = 0.383), pressure from relatives (Adj. b = 0.207), and inadequate preparation (Adj. b = 0.090). In conclusion, apart from the considerably high prevalence of unplanned absenteeism and its varying frequency, duration and reasons, there is no clear distinction in the role between workplace and non-workplace stressors in determining MC or EL among nurses in Malaysia; thus, preventive measures that target both type of stressors are warranted. Future studies should consider longitudinal design and mixed-method approaches using a comprehensive model of absenteeism.

Keywords: absenteeism; stress; stressor; nurse; hospital; conflict (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/17/6132/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/17/6132/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:17:p:6132-:d:402989

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().