Working Conditions and Employee Absenteeism: A Study on A Sample of Tunisian Agro-Food Workers

Abstract

Absenteeism is a major challenge for many organizations today. Reducing absenteeism helps organizations achieve their goals and increases their productivity. To shed light on this issue, this study investigates the main causes of absenteeism using a regression analysis on a sample of agribusiness employees in Tunisia. Specifically, the main causes of absenteeism that were tested include socio-professional factors such as age, seniority, level of education and marital status, and ergonomic factors such as physical load, luminance, noise, stress, and accidents. However, the findings from this study indicate that only age and marital status were significant predictors of absenteeism from a socio-professional perspective, whereas only physical load and work accidents were significant predictors of absenteeism from an ergonomics standpoint. Implications of the findings conclude the paper.