Brazilian Teachers’ Absenteeism: Work Design Predictive Model

ABSTRACT

Sickness-related absenteeism in teachers represents financial, social, and human costs. This study aimed to analyze the relationship between work characteristics and lengths of absence. The main hypothesis is that different work characteristics are predictors of different lengths of absenteeism. In total, 1,530 teachers participated in the study. The results supported the main hypothesis and suggested that physical demands, task identity, and job complexity are useful to explain absenteeism. It is concluded that analyzing different absenteeism lengths makes it possible to broaden the phenomenon discussion and qualify the relationship between work characteristics and absenteeism. This study has implications for interventions to reduce absenteeism.

KEYWORDS:

Work Context, Sickness Absence, Task Characteristics, Work Characteristics, Work Design.