Absent correctional staff: A discussion of the issue and recommendations for future research

Employee absenteeism is a costly and disruptive event. While researchers in the organizational sciences have studied worker absenteeism extensively, this topic has received little attention in the correctional field. This paper presents a framework for the study of correctional staff absenteeism which includes a discussion of issues pertaining to the definition, nature, extent, and measurement of absenteeism. Furthermore, future research should examine occupational stress, gender, age, health, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and the existence of an absenteeism climate or culture as potential causes of correctional staff absenteeism. Finally, there is a need to examine the effectiveness of absenteeism reduction programs.