Absenteeism Voluntary / Involuntary
HR & WorkReliability: behavioural; archival or self-report counts3 sample items
About this scale
Self-report or archival measures distinguishing voluntary absence (motivational) from involuntary absence (illness, family duties). Items typically request day-counts over a defined window.
Sample item(s)
“Number of days absent in the past 6 months for personal reasons not related to illness.”
“Number of days absent in the past 6 months due to illness.”
“Number of times late to work in the past 3 months.”
Reliability
Reported internal consistency: behavioural; archival or self-report counts. As a rule of thumb, Cronbach’s α ≥ .70 is considered acceptable, ≥ .80 good, and ≥ .90 excellent for established measures.
Notes
Prefer archival absence records when available; self-report is biased.
Source & citation
Steel, R. P. (2003): Methodological and operational issues in the construction of absence variables. Human Resource Management Review, Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 243–251.
Steel (2003): Methodological issues in absence variables. HRMR, 13(2), 243–251.
Source. Scale details are summarised from the publication cited above. Always consult the original source for the full item set, scoring, and permission to use.
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