Transformational leadership predicts next year absenteeism

(HealthDay)—The relationship between transformational leadership and sickness absenteeism is complex, according to a study published online April 21 in Work & Stress.

Karina Nielsen, Ph.D., and Kevin Daniels, Ph.D., from the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom, examined the correlation between presenteeism, group-level transformation leadership, and sickness absence rates in a three-year longitudinal study. Data were included for 155 postal workers and their leaders in Denmark.

The researchers found that year-one group-level transformational leadership predicted sickness absenteeism in year two but not year three. The link between transformational leadership in year one and sickness absenteeism in year three was moderated by presenteeism in year one; higher levels of sickness absenteeism were reported by followers working in groups with a transformational leader and who were high in presenteeism.

"Our results suggest a complex picture of the relationship between transformational leadership and sickness absenteeism; transformational leaders may promote self-sacrifice of vulnerable followers by leading them to go to work while ill, leading to increased risks of sickness absence in the long term," the authors write.