Sickness Absence and Works Councils: Evidence from German Individual and Linked Employer–Employee Data

Abstract

Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Using both household and linked employer-employee data for Germany, we assess the effects of non-union representation in the form of works councils on (1) individual sickness absence rates and (2) a subjective measure of personnel problems due to sickness absence as perceived by a firm's management. We find that the existence of a works council is positively correlated with the incidence and the annual duration of absence. We observe a more pronounced correlation in western Germany which can also be interpreted causally. Further, personnel problems due to absence are more likely to occur in plants with a works council. Terms of use: Documents inJEL Classification: J53, I18, M54

Questioning the Stereotype of the “Malingering Bureaucrat”: Absence from Work in the Public and Private Sector in Germany

“…For instance, since high absence rates may reduce the chances of obtaining a permanent contract, employees with temporary jobs like fixed-term contracts can be expected to signal effort and thus show lower absenteeism. This has been found 6 When information on workers' satisfaction with income or wages is missing, some studies include workers' (relative or absolute) wages (see, e.g., Pfeifer 2010, Arnold et al 2018). We will not make use of the wage variable since our data set provides the better-suited income satisfaction variable and since the wage variable has many missing values, so that including it would reduce our estimation sample by 17 percent.…”

“…It is common for empirical studies of absence from work to include socio-demographic characteristics of employees such as age, sex, qualification, household context and nationality as potential explanatory variables even if the theoretical basis of their inclusion is often weak (see the literature reviews by Allebeck andMastekaasa 2004 andBeemsterboer et al 2009, as well as Beblo and Ortlieb 2012, Störmer and Fahr 2013, and Arnold et al 2018 for Germany). Empirical findings vary considerably and partly seem to depend on whether the crucial determinants discussed above such as health status, working conditions, and job (dis)satisfaction have also been included in the analysis.…”

“…Starting with health status, it is possible that those people working in the public sector are simply not as healthy as their counterparts in the private sector and thus are absent from work more often. To tackle this question, we can make use 10 The overall figures for the incidence and length of sickness absence in our data set are in the same ballpark as those reported in the GSOEP (see Arnold et al 2018, Table A1, although they do not distinguish between the public and private sector). We are aware that our sick-leave data (like those of the GSOEP) might suffer from recall and reporting bias.…”

“…4 The empirical evidence is also mixed for Germany: In some studies, the public sector dummy points to higher sickness absence in this sector (see, e.g., Pfeifer 2013). A recent analysis with GSOEP data by Arnold et al (2018) reports sickness incidence to be 11.6 percent higher and sickness days to be about 1.5 days higher in the public sector, ceteris paribus. In contrast, other studies find increased absenteeism in the public sector only for certain groups of workers such as men or white-collar employees (Thalmaier 2002, Störmer andFahr 2013).…”

The Impact of Sickness Absenteeism on Firm Productivity: New Evidence from Belgian Matched Employer–Employee Panel Data

“…On the one hand, matched employer-employee data, which allow constructing detailed workforce characteristics, including absences, have been available for a relatively short time (Card, Devicienti, and Maida 2014). Instead, a vast literature assessing the determinants and dynamics of sickness absenteeism-which resorts to individual-level data-testifies the attention that the academic community has placed on this theme (e.g., Arnold, Br€ andle, and Goerke 2018;Battisti and Vallanti 2013;Dionne and Dostie 2007). Instead, a vast literature assessing the determinants and dynamics of sickness absenteeism-which resorts to individual-level data-testifies the attention that the academic community has placed on this theme (e.g., Arnold, Br€ andle, and Goerke 2018;Battisti and Vallanti 2013;Dionne and Dostie 2007).…”