title: How job demands affect absenteeism? The mediating role of work-family conflict and exhaustion.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate how psychosocial factors (such as job demands and work-family conflict) produce absenteeism in the workplace, using the health impairment process of the job demands-resources model. According to this model, job demands lead to burnout (often measured with the emotional exhaustion component), which in turn could lead to outcomes (such as absenteeism). Work-family conflict (WFC) was also studied, because of contradictory results collected in the existing literature on absenteeism in the workplace, regarding the role of WFC in causing absenteeism.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were collected on 245 workers using both subjective (questionnaire on psychological risk factors and work-related health) and objective data (sickness leave frequency records). To test the hypothesis that job demands and WFC contribute to absenteeism in the workplace, a subsequent mediation analysis was used, which analysed both (a) the subsequent mediation of WFC and emotional exhaustion and (b) the separate roles played by the mediators proposed (WFC and emotional exhaustion).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Job demands affect absenteeism through the subsequent mediation of WFC and emotional exhaustion. In addition, emotional exhaustion mediates the relationship between job demands and absenteeism, while WFC does not.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In conclusion, subsequent mediation highlights the role of emotional exhaustion in causing absenteeism; in fact, when emotional exhaustion is included in the analysis, job demands are associated with higher levels of absenteeism. The results of this study suggest that without the concurrent contribution of emotional exhaustion, WFC does not influence absenteeism in the workplace. Our findings are useful for organizations that aim to reduce absenteeism.
authors: Department of Psychology, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 5, 40127, Bologna, Italy. michela.vignoli@unibo.it.
authors: Michela
authors: M
authors: Vignoli
authors: Department of Education, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Via Filippo Re 6, 40126, Bologna, Italy.
authors: Dina
authors: D
authors: Guglielmi
authors: Occupational Health Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Via Pelagio Palagi 9, 40138, Bologna, Italy.
authors: Roberta
authors: R
authors: Bonfiglioli
authors: Occupational Health Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Via Pelagio Palagi 9, 40138, Bologna, Italy.
authors: Francesco Saverio
authors: FS
authors: Violante
mesh_terms: D000041:Absenteeism; D000328:Adult; D002055:Burnout, Professional / Q000523:psychology*; D054541:Family Conflict / Q000523:psychology*; D005221:Fatigue / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016526:Workload / Q000523:psychology*; D017132:Workplace / Q000523:psychology
keywords: Absenteeism; Emotional exhaustion; Job demands; Strain; Work–family conflict