Abstract

Absenteeism is a topic with a long and rich history of research in the field of organizational behavior. At the same time, to a greater degree than most other topics in the field, it is a concept that is familiar to the general public at large. The goal of this thesis is to add to the large body of absence research while capitalizing on the topic's presence in the public domain. Through two separate studies, the thesis focuses on social expectations and norms surrounding absence from work. Relying on elements of attribution and accountability theories, Study 1 uses an experimental approach to uncover norms surrounding attendance. Results indicate that reasons for absence and context in which absence is occurring influence judgments and reactions to absence from work. Study 2 presents a content analysis of how absence from work has been portrayed in the New York Times over the last 150 years. The goal of this second study is to uncover regular social representations of absence in the press and explore the source and manifestations of underlying assumptions regarding the behavior. Results indicate that the reporting is varied, but that themes relating to gender, social context, outcomes, reasons for absence, and outcomes of absence are consistently found in the press. The dual-methodological approach of the thesis demonstrates the multi-level, collective nature of absenteeism, illuminates links between absence and gender and context, and treats absence from work as a behavior involving all workers, with important causes and effects.