Reading Test Passage 1

READING PASSAGE 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13 which are bused on Reading Passage 1below.

ABSENTEEISM IN NURSING:A LONGITUDINAL STUDY

Strategy 2 Flexible fair rosteringWhere possible, staff were given theopportunity to determine their workingschedule within the limits of clinicalneeds.Strategy 3: Individual absenteeism and

Each month, managers would analyse thepattern of absence of staff with excessivesick leave (greater than ten days per year forfull-time employees). Characteristic patternsof potential 'voluntary absenteeism' such asabsence before and after days off, excessiveweekend and night duty absence andmultiple single days off werecommunicated to all ward nurses and then,as necessary, followed up by action.

ResultsAbsence rates for the six months prior to theIncentive scheme ranged from 3.69 per centto 4.32 per cent. In the following six monthsthey ranged between 2.87 per cent and 3.96per cent. This represents a 20 per centimprovement. However, analysing theabsence rates on a year-to-year basis, theoverall absence rate was 3.60 per cent in thefirst year and 3.43 per cent in the followingyear. This represents a 5 per cent decreasefrom the first to the second year of thestudy. A significant decrease in absenceover the two-year period could not bedemonstrated.

DiscussionThe non-financial incentive scheme didappear to assist in controlling absenteeismin the short term. As the scheme progressedit became harder to secure prizes and thiscontributed to the program's losingmomentum and finally ceasing. There were

This article has been adapted and condensed from the article by G. William and K. Slater (1996), 'Absenteeism innursing: A longitudinal study', Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 34(1): 111-21. Names and other detailshave been changed and report findings may have been given a different emphasis from the original. We aregrateful to the authors and Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources for allowing us to use the material in this •"'way.

mixed results across wards as well. Forexample, in wards with staff members whohad long-term genuine illness, there waslittle chance of winning, and to some extentthe staff on those wards weredisempowered. Our experience wouldsuggest that the long-term effects ofincentive awards on absenteeism arequestionable.

Over the time of the study, staff were givena larger degree of control in their rosters.This led to significant improvements incommunication between managers andstaff. A similar effect was found from theimplementation of the third strategy. Manyof the nurses had not realised the impacttheir behaviour was having on theorganisation and their colleagues but therewere also staff members who felt thattalking to them about their absenteeism was'picking' on them and this usually had anegative effect on management—employeerelationships.

ConclusionAlthough there has been some decrease inabsence rates, no single strategy orcombination of strategies has had asignificant impact on absenteeism per se.Notwithstanding the disappointing results,it is our contention that the strategies werenot in vain. A shared ownership ofabsenteeism and a collaborative approach toproblem solving has facilitated improvedcooperation and communication betweenmanagement and staff. It is our belief thatthis improvement alone, while not tangiblymeasurable, has increased the ability ofmanagement to manage the effects ofabsenteeism more effectively since thisstudy.

Absence from work is a costly anddisruptive problem for any organisation.The cost of absenteeism in Australia hasbeen put at 1.8 million hours per day or$1400 million annually. The study reportedhere was conducted in the Prince WilliamHospital in Brisbane, Australia, where, priorto this time, few active steps had been takento measure, understand or manage theoccurrence of absenteeism.

Nursing AbsenteeismA prevalent attitude amongst many nursesin the group selected for study was thatthere was no reward or recognition for notutilising the paid sick leave entitlementallowed them in their employmentconditions. Therefore, they believed theymay as well take the days off — sick orotherwise. Similar attitudes have beennoted by James (1989), who noted that sickleave is seen by many workers as a right,like annual holiday leave.

Miller and Norton (1986), in their survey of865 nursing personnel, found that 73 percent felt they should be rewarded for nottaking sick leave, because some employeesalways used their sick leave. Further, 67 percent of nurses felt that administration wasnot sympathetic to the problems shift workcauses to employees' personal and sociallives. Only 53 per cent of the respondents

felt that every effort was made to schedulestaff fairly.

In another longitudinal study of nursesworking in two Canadian hospitals, HacketBycio and Guion (1989) examined thereasons why nurses took absence fromwork. The most frequent reason stated forabsence was minor illness to self. Othercauses, in decreasing order of frequency,were illness in family, family socialfunction, work to do at home andbereavement.

MethodIn an attempt to reduce the level ofabsenteeism amongst the 250 Registered anEnrolled Nurses in the present study, thePrince William management introducedthree different, yet potentiallycomplementary, strategies over 18 months.

Strategy 1: Non-financial (material)incentivesWithin the established wage and salarysystem it was not possible to use hospitalfunds to support this strategy. However, itwas possible to secure incentives from locabusinesses, including free passes toentertainment parks, theatres, restaurants,etc. At the end of each roster period, theward with the lowest absence rate wouldwin the prize.

Questions 1-7

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?In boxes 1-7 on your answer sheet write

YES if the statement agrees with the informationNO if the statement contradicts the informationNOT GIVEN if there is no information on this in the passage

1 The Prince William Hospital has been trying to reduceabsenteeism amongst nurses for many years.

2 Nurses in the Prince William Hospital study believedthat there were benefits in taking as little sick leave aspossible.

3 Just over half the nurses in the 1986 study believed thatmanagement understood the effects that shift work hadon them.

4 The Canadian study found that 'illness in the family'was a greater cause of absenteeism than 'work to do athome'.

5 In relation to management attitude to absenteeism thestudy at the Prince William Hospital found similarresults to the two 1989 studies.

6 The study at the Prince William Hospital aimed to findout the causes of absenteeism amongst 250 nurses.

7 The study at the Prince William Hospital involvedchanges in management practices.

Questions 8-13

Complete the notes below.Choose ONE OR TWO WORDS from the passage, for each answer.Write your answers in boxes 8-13 on your answer sheet.

In the first strategy, wards with the lowest absenteeism in different

periods would win prizes donated by ... (8) . . . .

In the second strategy, staff were given more control over their

. . . ( 9 ) . . . .

In the third strategy, nurses who appeared to be taking ... (10)... sick

leave or ... (11) ... were identified and counselled.

Initially, there was a ... (12)... per cent decrease in absenteeism.

The first strategy was considered ineffective and stopped. The second

and third strategies generally resulted in better ... (13) ... among staff.