The relationship of men's and women's personal, work, and family life to job absenteeism

The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between (a) personal life, work life, and family life and (b) men's and women's job absenteeism. Specifically, a self-report questionnaire designed to measure levels of job absenteeism, self-esteem, daily hassles, life satisfaction, primary partner relationship satisfaction, familial involvement, familial stress, familial health, and family-to-work conflict was administered to employees (N = 344) of a supermarket chain in the Southeastern United States.

Sociodemographic data indicated that the mean age of the employees in the sample was 35 years. Men accounted for approximately 57% of the sample, and over 61% of the sample had earned at.least a high school diploma. In order to participate, respondents were required to be 16 years of age or older and to work within one of the 10 retail sites or at the corporate level for the company. Through Pearson's chi-square analyses, it was found that, for both men and women who participated in this study, there were indicated no significant associations between job absenteeism and the personal, work, and family life variables selected. Two possible explanations for the findings are discussed, and implications for both research and practice are presented.