Influence of Organizational Incentives on Absenteeism: Sick-Leave Use Among Correctional Workers

• NCJ Number: 214305
• Journal: Criminal Justice Policy Review Volume: 17 Issue: 2 Dated: June 2006 Pages: 144-172
• Author(s): Scott D. Camp; Eric G. Lambert
• Date Published: May 2006
• Length: 29 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined how two differing Federal policies on the handling of unused sick leave influenced the number of sick-leave days used by employees of the Federal Bureau of Prisons for the years 1994 through 2003.

Abstract

This study's findings regarding the favorable impact on employee attendance of a reward for unused sick leave suggests the value of rewards for missing fewer workdays. Employees should have a say in determining the features and implementation of any such system. The study found that Federal correctional employees under the Civil Service Retirement System (available to Federal workers hired before 1987), which allows unused sick leave to be added to length of service upon retirement, used fewer sick-leave days than employees under the current Federal Employees Retirement System. Under the latter system, no credit is given for unused sick-leave days upon retirement. Thus, there is no incentive for accumulating unused sick-leave days over the course of employment. The sick-leave policy under which employees were hired, however, did not explain all of the data on absenteeism. Rates of sick days used varied by correctional institution, suggesting institutional influences on employee attendance, the identification of such factors remains for future research. The costs of alternative incentive systems must be estimated to ensure that they do not exceed the savings gained from reduced employee absences. The sick-leave data used were for calendar years 1994 through 2003 because data previous to 1994 were not available, and data for more current years were not complete at the time of the study. Data were analyzed separately for each year. Multilevel models were used in order to distinguish the effects on sick-leave use of employee individual characteristics and the practices of the prisons in which employees worked. 4 tables, 5 notes, and 52 references