TESTING THE DURABILITY OF JOB CHARACTERISTICS AS PREDICTORS OF ABSENTEEISM OVER A SIX-YEAR PERIOD

The purpose of this study was to test the relationships between job characteristics and absence over a 6‐year period. Civilian employees from a large military organization participated. The results indicated that job characteristics continued to correlate significantly with a measure of absence frequency up to 6 years after the job characteristics had been assessed. The job characteristics measures also correlated significantly with a measure of time‐lost absenteeism. Regression analyses revealed that job characteristics predicted absence frequency significantly over a 6‐year period and time‐lost absence for up to 4 years after job characteristics were assessed. The magnitudes of these relationships remained fairly constant across time. Results from regression analyses controlling for demographic variables indicated that job characteristics predicted time‐lost and absence frequency for most years. Competence and need for achievement failed to moderate the job characteristics‐absence relationships.