The Cultural Context of Employee Absenteeism Behaviour

Abstract Book of the 11th International Conference on Research in Management and Economics

Year: 2026

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The Cultural Context of Employee Absenteeism Behaviour

Katarzyna Miszczyńska, Agnieszka Kłysik-Uryszek, Cristina Vilaplana-Orieto

ABSTRACT:

The study aims to determine the relationship between cultural context and employees’ propensity to utilize sick leave (sickness absenteeism). The scope of the study encompasses 25 European countries, which exhibit significant differences in cultural parameters.
The National Culture model by Hofstede was utilized for analysis. It delineates six dimensions: power distance, individualism, indulgence, uncertainty avoidance, motivation toward achievements and success, and long-term orientation. These dimensions characterize social behavior, values, and attitudes in several essential areas that, it is posited, may influence the decision to remain at work despite the rationale for transitioning to layoff.
The analysis shows that the relationship of cultural dimensions with sickness absenteeism has changed in the pre/post pandemic period. The dimensions of uncertainty avoidance and indulgence are predominant in explaining absenteeism in the 2020-2021 period, and in both cases, a higher value on these dimensions is found to be associated with a lower rate of absenteeism

Keywords: Absenteeism; National Cultural Models; Hofstede Model; Classification Trees; European Countries