For questions 1-7, mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the
information given in the passage; N (for NO) if the statement contradicts the
information given in the passage; NG (for NOT GIVEN) if the information is
not given in the passage. For questions 8-10, complete the sentences with the
information given in the passage. ABSENTEEISM IN NURSING: A LONGITUDINAL
STUDY Absence from work is a costly and disruptive
problem for any organization. The cost of absenteeism in Australia has been put
at 1.8 million hours per day or $1400 million annually. The study reported here
was conducted in the Prince William Hospital in Brisbane, Australia, where,
prior to this time, few active steps had been taken to measure, understand or
manage the occurrence of absenteeism. Nursing Absenteeism
A prevalent(普遍的) attitude amongst many nurses in the group selected for
study was that there was no reward or recognition for not utilizing the paid
sick leave entitlement allowed them in their employment conditions. Therefore,
they believed they may as well take the days off-sick or otherwise. Similar
attitudes have been noted by James(1989), who noted that sick leave is seen by
many workers as a right, like annual holiday leave. Miller and
Norton(1986), in their survey of 865 nursing personnel, found that 73 percent
felt they should be rewarded for not taking sick leave, because some employees
always used their sick leave. Further, 67 per cent of nurses felt that
administration was not sympathetic to the problems shift work causes to
employees’ personal and social lives. Only 53 per cent of the respondents felt
that every effort was made to schedule staff fairly. In another
longitudinal study of nurses working in two Canadian hospitals, Hackett, Bycio
and Guion(1989) examined the reasons why nurses took absence from work. The most
frequent reason stated for absence was minor illness to self. Other causes, in
decreasing order of frequency, were illness in family, family social function,
work to do at home and bereavement. Method In an
attempt to reduce tile level of absenteeism amongst the 250 registered and
enrolled nur ses in the present study, the Prince William management introduced
three different, yet potential ly complementary, strategies over 18
months. Strategy 1: Non-financial (material)
incentives Within the established wage and salary system it was
not possible to use hospital funds to support this strategy. However, it was
possible to secure incentives(刺激) from local businesses, including free passes
to entertainment parks, theatres, restaurants, etc. At the end of each roster
period, the ward with the lowest absence rate would win the prize.
Strategy 2: Flexible fair rostering Where possible, staff
were given the opportunity to determine their working schedule within the limits
of clinical needs. Strategy 3: Individual absenteeism and
counseling Each month, managers would analyze the pattern of
absence of staff with excessive sick leave (greater than ten days per year for
full-time employees). Characteristic patterns of potential ’voluntary
absenteeism’ such as absence before and after days off, excessive weekend and
night duty absence and multiple single days off were communicated to all
ward(病房) nurses and then, as necessary, followed up by
action. Results Absence rates for the six months prior
to the incentive scheme ranged from 3.69 per cent to 4.32 per cent. In the
following six months they ranged between 2.87 per cent and 3.96 per cent. This
represents a 20 per cent improvement. However, analyzing the absence rates on a
year-to- year basis, the overall absence rate was 3.60 per cent in the first
year and 3.43 per cent in the following year. This represents a 5 per cent
decrease from the first to the second year of the study. A significant decrease
in absence over the two-year period could not be
demonstrated. Discussion The non-financial incentive
scheme did appear to assist in controlling absenteeism in the short term. As the
scheme progressed it became harder to secure prizes and this contributed to the
pro gram’s losing momentum and finally ceasing. There were mixed results across
wards as well. For example, in wards with staff members who had long-term
genuine illness, there was little chance of winning, and to some extent the
staff on those wards were disempowered. Our experience would suggest that the
tong-term effects of incentive awards on absenteeism are questionable.
Over the time of the study, staff were given a larger degree of control in
their rosters. This led to significant improvements in communication between
managers and staff. A similar effect was found from the implementation of the
third strategy. Many of the nurses had not realized the impact their behaviour
was having on the organization and their colleagues but there were also staff
members who felt that talking to them about their absenteeism was ’picking’ on
them and this usually had a negative effect on management-employee
relationships. Conclusion Although there has been some
decrease in absence rates, no single strategy or combination of strategies has
had a significant impact on absenteeism per se (本身). Notwithstanding the
disappointing results, it is our contention(论点) that the strategies were not in
vain. A shared owner ship of absenteeism and a collaborative approach to problem
solving has facilitated improved cooperation and communication between
management and staff. It is our belief that this improvement alone, while not
tangibly measurable, has increased the ability of management to manage the
effects of absenteeism more effectively since this study. In the second strategy, staff were given more control over their ______.