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Effective Strategies to Reduce Employee Absenteeism Amongst Canadian Female Employees

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Effective Strategies to Reduce Employee Absenteeism Amongst Canadian Female Employees Walden University ScholarWorks Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection 2020 Effective Strategies to Reduce Employee Absenteeism Amongst Canadian Female Employees Sue Haywood Walden University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations Part of the Health and Medical Administration Commons, Organizational Behavior and Theory Commons, and the Women's Studies Commons This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection at ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Walden University College of Management and Technology This is to certify that the doctoral study by Susan Haywood has been found to be complete and satisfactory in all respects, and that any and all revisions required by the review committee have been made. Review Committee Dr. Rollis Erickson, Committee Chairperson, Doctor of Business Administration Faculty Dr. Michael Campo, Committee Member, Doctor of Business Administration Faculty Dr. Mohamad Hammoud, University Reviewer, Doctor of Business Administration Faculty Chief Academic Officer and Provost Sue Subocz, Ph.D. Walden University 2020 Abstract Effective Strategies to Reduce Employee Absenteeism Amongst Canadian Female Employees by Susan Haywood MA, Royal Military College of Canada, 2005 BA (Hons), Dalhousie University, 1997 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Business Administration Walden University December 2020 Abstract High absenteeism in female employees costs Canadian hospitals millions of dollars annually. Leaders of Canadian hospitals who lack strategies to reduce absenteeism in female employees witness significant financial losses in their organizations. Grounded in Herzberg’s two-factor theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies Canadian hospital leaders used to reduce absenteeism in female employees. Data were collected from semistructured interviews, annual reports, and publicly available datasets relating to hospital retention strategies and were analyzed using a thematic analysis. Four themes on strategies to reduce absenteeism emerged: creating a supportive stance towards absenteeism, investing in mental health and wellness resources, adopting a whole-person approach, and providing aid for childcare. A key recommendation is for leaders to adopt a supportive stance toward absenteeism, focusing on well-being over absence. The implication for positive social change from decreased costs relating to high female employee absenteeism could result in Canadian hospitals having increased resources to improve their services to local communities. Effective Strategies to Reduce Employee Absenteeism Amongst Canadian Female Employees by Susan Haywood MA, Royal Military College of Canada, 2005 BA (Hons), Dalhousie University, 1997 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Business Administration Walden University December 2020 Dedication For Atticus. You are my constant source of inspiration. Acknowledgments I want to acknowledge all who supported and encouraged me through this journey. Thank you Dr. Rollis Erickson for your mentoring and advice. Thank you Dr. Michael Campo, Dr. Mohamad S. Hammoud, Dr. Tim Truitt, and all Walden faculty for your support. Attie and Robert, thank you for your unwavering patience, willingness to adapt, and for your encouragement of my academic pursuits. I am also grateful for the loyal support of my Great Dane, Diesel, who kept me company on late nights of writing and who patiently listened to me read passages aloud. Table of Contents List of Tables .......................................................................................................................v List of Figures .................................................................................................................... vi Section 1: Foundation of the Study ......................................................................................1 Background of the Problem ...........................................................................................1 Problem Statement .........................................................................................................2 Purpose Statement ..........................................................................................................2 Nature of the Study ........................................................................................................3 Research Question .........................................................................................................4 Interview Questions .......................................................................................................4 Conceptual Framework ..................................................................................................5 Operational Definitions ..................................................................................................6 Assumptions, Limitations, and Delimitations ................................................................7 Assumptions ............................................................................................................ 7 Limitations .............................................................................................................. 8 Delimitations ........................................................................................................... 9 Significance of the Study ...............................................................................................9 Contribution to Business Practice ........................................................................... 9 Implications for Social Change ............................................................................. 10 A Review of the Professional and Academic Literature ..............................................11 Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory ............................................................................ 12 Motivation Factors ................................................................................................ 13 i Hygiene Factors .................................................................................................... 20 Connection to Absenteeism .................................................................................. 26 Opponents of the Two-Factor Theory................................................................... 29 Rival Theories ....................................................................................................... 30 Absenteeism .......................................................................................................... 34 Additional Considerations of Female Employees................................................. 39 Additional Considerations Regarding Absenteeism in Canada ............................ 40 Effect of Absenteeism on Health Care Organizations .......................................... 43 Flexible Work Arrangements ................................................................................ 44 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 46 Transition .....................................................................................................................47 Section 2: The Project ........................................................................................................49 Purpose Statement ........................................................................................................50 Role of the Researcher .................................................................................................50 Participants ...................................................................................................................54 Research Method and Design ......................................................................................57 Research Method .................................................................................................. 57 Research Design.................................................................................................... 59 Population and Sampling .............................................................................................62 Ethical Research...........................................................................................................63 Data Collection Instruments ........................................................................................64 Data Collection Technique ..........................................................................................67 ii Data Organization Technique ......................................................................................68 Data Analysis ...............................................................................................................69 Reliability and Validity ................................................................................................72 Reliability .............................................................................................................. 72 Validity ................................................................................................................
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