Group Size and Absenteeism Rates: A Longitudinal Analysis

Abstract

The article presents a study which examined whether absenteeism rates are related to the relative size of work groups as they change over time. The study has utilized data from the organizational records of a high technology manufacturing plant for the 1977-1978 period. The findings revealed a lack of evidence to support a between-group relationship between size of different groups and their absenteeism rates. The results have suggested that there can be a relationship between size and absenteeism when a within-group, overtime perspective is applied.