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BUREAU OF MINES 
 INFORMATION CIRCULAR/1989 
 
 °\0 
 
 Reducing Miner Absenteeism 
 
 By Robert H. Peters, Mark R. Clingan, 
 and Robert F. Randolph 
 
 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 
 
Information Circular 9219 
 
 Reducing Miner Absenteeism 
 
 By Robert H. Peters, Mark R. Clingan, 
 and Robert F. Randolph 
 
 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 
 Manuel J. Lujan, Jr., Secretary 
 
 BUREAU OF MINES 
 T S Ary, Director 
 
no.<?oi<) 
 
 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data 
 
 Peters, Robert H. 
 
 Reducing miner absenteeism. 
 
 (Information circular/Bureau of Mines; 9219) 
 
 Bibliography: p. 22-23 
 
 Supt. of Docs, no.: 128.27:9219 
 
 1. Absenteeism (Labor) — United States. 2. Coal miners — United States. I. Clingan, Mark 
 R. II. Randolph, Robert F. III. Title. IV. Series: Information circular (United States. Bureau of 
 Mines) ; 9219 
 
 -"FN295.U4 [HD5119.M6152U6] 622 s 88-600339 [622'.334'0683] 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 Page 
 
 Abstract 1 
 
 Introduction 2 
 
 Strategies for reducing absenteeism 2 
 
 Improving employment procedures 2 
 
 Overcoming inability problems 3 
 
 Physical health problems 3 
 
 Mental health problems 3 
 
 Occupational hazards 3 
 
 Transportation problems 4 
 
 Overcoming motivational problems 4 
 
 Training 4 
 
 Training for supervisors 4 
 
 Training for employees 5 
 
 Posting attendance information 5 
 
 Job enrichment 5 
 
 Wage and benefit levels 5 
 
 Incentive programs 6 
 
 Positive incentive programs 6 
 
 Negative sanctions 6 
 
 Mixed consequence plans 7 
 
 Participation in incentive plan design 7 
 
 Current practices 8 
 
 Page 
 
 Program for improving miners attendance 8 
 
 Measure and display data 9 
 
 Individual level charts 9 
 
 Aggregating across individuals 9 
 
 State goals and absenteeism policy 12 
 
 Goal setting 12 
 
 Negative Sanctions 12 
 
 Develop and implement attendance promotion 
 
 program 14 
 
 Supervisory intervention 14 
 
 Publicly chart attendance 14 
 
 Treating employees reasonably 17 
 
 Monitor and refer employees for problems 17 
 
 Summary 17 
 
 Positive incentives 17 
 
 Size and timing of rewards 18 
 
 Choosing criterion 18 
 
 Choosing reward 18 
 
 Scheduling reward 20 
 
 Recycle 20 
 
 Summary and conclusions 21 
 
 References 22 
 
 Appendix. — Linear modeling: Statistical attendance 
 
 management tool 24 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 1 . Number of EAP clients experiencing various types of problems during years 1 980-83 4 
 
 2. Absences recorded over 6-month period for hypothetical mining crew 10 
 
 3. Absences recorded over same period as figure 2 for crew with different absence patterns 11 
 
 4. Attendance chart for hypothetical 6-month period with significant events indicated 13 
 
 5. Chart showing daily attendance recording for hypothetical mine crew during 1 -month period 15 
 
 6. Same chart as figure 5, only with absences rather than attendance indicated 16 
 
 7. Attendance tally chart for same period as figure 5 19 
 
 A- 1 . Daily mine attendance fluctuations for statistical attendance modeling example 24 
 
 A-2. Computer output from regression analysis of example data 27 
 
 TABLES 
 
 A-l. Suggested sources of data for statistical attendance control 25 
 
 A-2. Data used in attendance modeling example 26 
 
UNIT OF MEASURE ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THIS REPORT 
 
 pet percent 
 
 yr year 
 
 d/yr 
 
 day per year 
 
 mg 
 
 milligram 
 
 mg/d 
 
 milligram per day 
 
REDUCING MINER ABSENTEEISM 
 
 By Robert H. Peters, 1 Mark R. Clingan, 2 and Robert F. Randolph 
 
 ABSTRACT 
 
 The U.S. Bureau of Mines has prepared this report on strategies for maintaining high job 
 attendance among underground coal miners because high absenteeism is a threat to miners 
 safety and seriously hampers productivity. A substantial number of research studies on the 
 effectiveness of various strategies for reducing absenteeism among the employees of 
 nonmining industries have been reported in the literature. These strategies have aimed at 
 improving job attendance through one or more of the following: (1) improving employment 
 procedures, (2) overcoming problems that adversely affect one's ability to attend work, and 
 (3) increasing miners motivation to attend work. Many of these strategies appear applicable 
 to the mining industry, and are reviewed in the first half of this report. The second half of this 
 report describes how one could develop and implement a program for maintaining high 
 attendance at underground coal mines. The steps include: measuring and evaluating 
 attendance levels; formulating attendance goals and an absenteeism policy; developing and 
 implementing an attendance promotion program; and periodically going through the 
 preceding steps known as recycling. 
 
 1 Research psychologist, Pittsburgh Research Center, U.S. Bureau of Mines, Pittsburgh, PA. 
 
 2 Educational psychologist, Product Research, Inc., Feasterville, PA. 
 
 3 Research psychologist, Pittsburgh Research Center. 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 The Bureau of Mines has prepared this report describing 
 strategies for minimizing absenteeism among coal miners 
 because (1) absenteeism appears to be an important deterrent 
 to mine safety and efficiency (1, 10, 39, 57), A and (2) there 
 appear to be several effective strategies for achieving high 
 attendance, which mine operators may not have considered. 
 
 Although estimates for the rate of absenteeism in the 
 mining industry vary, most sources suggest that it is high 
 relative to other industries. Based on attendance data collected 
 in May 1978 and 1980, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 
 reported that among all major U.S. (nonfarming) industries, 
 mining was the highest in terms of the proportion of hours lost 
 to absences (49, 52). Given current high rates of unemploy- 
 ment in the mining industry, absence rates in the late 1980's are 
 probably not as high as they were in the preceding decade. The 
 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics May 1985 survey found that 
 absenteeism in the mining industry was 3.6 pet, which is lower 
 than the corresponding percentage for 1980 by 1.8 percentage 
 points (57). Although the problem is not as widespread today 
 as it once was, it still exists, and will continue to come back to 
 haunt the mining industry from time to time until mine 
 managers learn better methods for controlling it. 
 
 It is inevitable that members of underground coal mining 
 crews will occasionally be absent. Sometimes the crew will 
 work without a replacement, but usually someone is assigned 
 to fill in for the missing miner. In either case, production and 
 safety problems become more likely. 
 
 Underground coal miners work in a relatively hazardous 
 environment, and the jobs they perform are relatively interde- 
 pendent. The entire production process can be stopped if any 
 of several critical activities are not performed properly. Tem- 
 porary replacements for regular crew members are relatively 
 unfamiliar with the habits of the people who work in the crew 
 and the physical conditions and equipment in the section. 
 
 Consequently, temporary replacements often either do things 
 (or fail to do things) that can reduce productivity and contrib- 
 ute to accidents. 
 
 There appears to be much speculation about how one 
 should attack the problem of miners absenteeism. Two exam- 
 ples are as follows: 
 
 What we need is motivation, and money doesn't have 
 the motivational power it used to have. If a man can take 
 care of his needs on $7 an hour in four days, raising his 
 pay to $10 won't motivate him to work five days. And the 
 threat of firing doesn't do much good. You discipline in 
 hopes of improving attendance, hoping the message will 
 get across to the other employees, but usually it doesn't 
 work. In 1976 you have to treat people differently than 
 you did in 1936. You can't always be cracking the whip. It 
 just doesn't work (57). 
 
 Absenteeism should be seen and treated as a symptom, 
 not the disease. Like medical symptoms, absenteeism may 
 be telling management something is wrong. To suppress 
 the symptom may mask a problem that needs manage- 
 ment attention. Therefore, the approach to an absentee 
 program should be to reward good work habits rather 
 than to punish poor work habits (1). 
 There is almost no empirical evidence concerning the 
 effectiveness of interventions that might reduce miners absen- 
 teeism. However, a substantial amount of research has been 
 conducted to determine the effectiveness of various strategies 
 which have been used to reduce absenteeism in nonmining 
 industries. The first half of this report discusses the research 
 evidence concerning these strategies. Then, based on this 
 evidence and what is known about absenteeism in the under- 
 ground coal mining industry, the second half of this report 
 proposes some guidelines concerning the development and 
 implementation of programs to improve miners attendance. 
 
 STRATEGIES FOR REDUCING ABSENTEEISM 
 
 According to Goodman (10), the major determinants of 
 absenteeism vary significantly from one group of miners to 
 another. Furthermore, the best strategies for reducing absen- 
 teeism vary with the causes of the absenteeism, making it 
 important to choose strategies that fit the major causes. Peters 
 (39) reviewed the various causes of employee absenteeism, and 
 proposed a model of the major determinants of miners 
 absenteeism. Their model, like several others that have been 
 proposed in the literature on employee absenteeism, assumes 
 that at the most basic level, all absenteeism stems from either 
 a lack of ability or a lack of motivation or some combination 
 of the two. 
 
 The strategies available for reducing miners absenteeism 
 can be divided into three major categories. One category of 
 strategies is concerned with overcoming problems that some- 
 times make miners unable to attend work. A second major 
 category of strategies deals with techniques for increasing 
 miners motivation to attend work. The remaining category of 
 strategies concerns the reduction of absenteeism through im- 
 proving employment procedures. This strategy seems to be 
 appropriate in the widest variety of situations, and is discussed 
 first. 
 
 4 Italic numbers in parentheses refer to items in the list of references preceding 
 the appendix at the end of this report. 
 
 IMPROVING EMPLOYMENT PROCEDURES 
 
 Several experts have suggested that the mining industry 
 should consider improving the process of hiring new employees 
 (10, 50, 57). Two ways to improve the hiring process are to (1) 
 examine prospective new employees' prior attendance records, 
 and (2) provide them with realistic job previews. 
 
 Research by Breaugh (5) and Keller (21) suggests that 
 prospective employees' prior attendance records should be 
 given some consideration in selection decisions. Both studies 
 found that employees' prior absenteeism was a statistically 
 significant predictor of their future absenteeism. Thus, it 
 appears that prior attendance records could be a very simple, 
 but effective device for evaluating the propensity for prospec- 
 tive employees to be absent. 
 
 Each company should be able to demonstrate that the 
 employee selection devices it uses are valid, i.e., the criteria 
 used to select applicants for employment do in fact reliably 
 discriminate between applicants who will perform at an ac- 
 ceptable level versus those who will not. Without suitable 
 evidence (as defined by Equal Employment Opportunity Com- 
 mission (EEOC) laws) the company may have difficulty de- 
 fending against claims of unfair hiring practices. 
 
 Realistic job previews can be a complementary mechanism 
 to good selection practices. Not a single technique, the realistic 
 
job preview is rather a philosophy or approach. The goals of 
 the preview are (1) to ensure a good match between the 
 capabilities and needs of the applicant, and the requirements 
 of the job and company (including attendance policies); and 
 (2) to be sure that the applicant has a good picture of both the 
 positive and negative aspects of the job (54). It is assumed that 
 giving candidates and newcomers accurate and complete infor- 
 mation will result in better matching of jobs to candidates, and 
 better matching will result in increased satisfaction and com- 
 mitment, and lower turnover and absenteeism. The realistic 
 information could be transmitted to miners through booklets, 
 films, mine tours, video tapes, realistic work samples, inter- 
 viewers, supervisors, other recent hires, or a combination of 
 these approaches. 
 
 Given the profound differences between underground coal 
 mines and most other work settings, it is especially important 
 that prospective new miners have a good understanding of the 
 positive and negative aspects of working in a mine. The 
 underground environment and its associated hazards and 
 discomforts are likely to be completely foreign to those who 
 have never worked underground. The technology of modern 
 mining is also likely to be difficult for nonmining persons to 
 comprehend. 
 
 Realistic job previews might help to attract a more reliable 
 and capable pool of job applicants from which employers can 
 select new miners. Various experts have noted that, as an 
 occupation, coal mining has a rather poor image. 
 
 The National Academy of Sciences (34, p. 69) study of 
 coal miners states, "The image of the coal miner as a dirty, 
 ignorant, substandard human with a strong back, a weak 
 mind, and a poor ill-fed family living in a shack on the side of 
 a mountain dies slowly. " The report points out that this is no 
 longer an accurate picture: "Today's coal miner, with stable 
 employment, seeks to maintain a middle-class life style. He 
 views himself more and more as a skilled technician." 
 
 Although job previews have been empirically demon- 
 strated to reduce turnover and improve employee job satisfac- 
 tion (54), there appears to be no research concerning their 
 effects on attendance. Owing to the lack of data concerning 
 the impact realistic job previews actually have on employee 
 attendance rates, there is need for caution in making any 
 predictions about how they will influence miner attendance. 
 
 The remainder of this section about strategies for reduc- 
 ing absenteeism is organized according to the various specific 
 causes of absenteeism. 
 
 OVERCOMING INABILITY PROBLEMS 
 
 The major reasons employees are unable to attend are 
 physical and mental health problems, occupational hazards, 
 and transportation problems. The remainder of this section 
 presents strategies for reducing each of these types of barriers 
 to miners' job attendance. 
 
 Physical Health Problems 
 
 In studies by both Goodman (10) and Peters (39), almost 
 all miners cited illnesses as the most common cause of their 
 absences. Illness is widely recognized as the most important 
 cause of absenteeism (15-17, 29), accounting for from one-half 
 to two-thirds of all employee absences (32). 
 
 Hejda's (18) study of Czechoslovakian coal miners sug- 
 gests that the administration of vitamin C and influenza 
 vaccinations may be an effective technique for reducing the 
 number of days lost to illnesses. During the winter months 
 from 1971 to 1974, coal miners were given doses (100 mg/d) of 
 vitamin C by their employer. During this time period, records 
 
 were kept of the number and duration of illnesses suffered by 
 the miners in control groups (those given a placebo) and 
 experimental groups (those receiving vitamin C from their 
 employer). In later stages of the study, the experimental group 
 received influenza vaccinations in addition to daily doses of 
 vitamin C. 
 
 A significantly lower proportion of miners fell ill in the 
 experimental groups than in the control groups, and the 
 average duration of miners' illnesses in the experimental 
 groups was markedly shorter. It was also observed that the 
 incidence of illness among the group who received vaccinations 
 and vitamin C was lower than the incidence of illnesses among 
 a group who received vaccinations, but did not receive vitamin 
 C. The incidence of illnesses was highest in the control group 
 that was not vaccinated or administered vitamin C. 5 
 
 A worker who is more susceptible to illness, or one who 
 has certain chronic illnesses, is more likely to be absent. There 
 are a variety of possible strategies to deal with illness as a cause 
 of absenteeism. Better selection procedures could eliminate 
 chronic cases. Making in-house medical services, special test- 
 ing programs (e.g., hypertension), and health education pro- 
 grams available is another possible response to personal health 
 problems. Unfortunately, other than the study by Hejda (18), 
 there appears to be little or no empirical evidence concerning 
 the effects of any type of health improvement intervention on 
 reducing coal miners absenteeism rates. 
 
 Mental Health Problems 
 
 Mental health problems include chronic emotional prob- 
 lems (e.g., depression) and other forms or symptoms of 
 emotional illness (e.g., alcoholism and drug abuse). Selection 
 and employee assistance programs (EAP's) are the most 
 traditional methods for dealing with mental health problems. 
 The first method attempts to improve the procedures for 
 screening out workers with mental health problems that might 
 interfere with their job performance. 
 
 EAP's are designed to provide diagnosis, referral, treat- 
 ment, and followup for workers with mental health problems. 
 The assumption behind EAP's is that relieving these emotional 
 problems will enhance worker attendance, safety behavior, and 
 productivity. A recent study of an EAP, which services four 
 coal mines (approximately 1,500 employees), suggests that 
 much like other segments of the population, a significant 
 number of coal miners are experiencing various types of 
 mental health problems (77). Figure 1 shows the number of 
 clients experiencing various types of diagnosed problems dur- 
 ing the years 1980 through 1983. 
 
 There are many types of EAP's. While some are broad- 
 brush, others are specific (e.g., alcoholism); some only provide 
 diagnostic and referral services; and others also include treat- 
 ment (see Campbell (7) and Goodman (77) for further details). 
 
 Occupational Hazards 
 
 In the coal mining industry, injuries are a particularly 
 important cause of employee absence. According to Mine 
 Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), during the years 
 1980 through 1984, an average of 1.42 pet of the total days of 
 work scheduled for employees of underground coal mining 
 operations were missed because of work-related injuries (53). 
 The five annual percentages ranged from 1.29 pet to 1.59 pet. 
 
 5 Although Hejda's study showed that vitamin C significantly reduced the 
 incidence of illnesses, other research findings suggest that supplementing one's 
 diet with daily doses of vitamin C is not particularly effective in preventing 
 certain types of illnesses such as the common cold. 
 
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 DIAGNOSED PROBLEMS 
 
 Figure 1 .—Number of EAP clients experiencing various types 
 of problems during the years 1980-83. Note that multiple 
 problem definitions could be assigned to single client. 
 
 Of the various types of work-related injuries suffered by 
 miners, back injuries account for a greater amount of lost time 
 than any other single type. Back injuries account for approx- 
 imately 31 pet of the total workdays missed by underground 
 coal miners because of work-related injuries (38). 
 
 In two studies (2, 28), it has been found that workers who 
 feel they are being exposed to dangerous or unhealthy working 
 conditions have substantially higher absence rates than other 
 workers. Allen argues not only do hazardous working condi- 
 tions cause absences directly, i.e., through lost time injuries, 
 such conditions also cause high absenteeism indirectly — em- 
 ployees wish to avoid their workplace because it is perceived as 
 a threat to their safety and health. 
 
 Because work-related accidents are an important cause of 
 coal miners absenteeism, one should not overlook the impor- 
 tance of an effective company safety program as a deterrent to 
 absenteeism. For a discussion of the characteristics of effective 
 safety programs for the mining industry, see Peters (40). 
 
 Transportation Problems 
 
 Factors such as driving distance to work, bad roads, 
 weather, or other transportation problems, are related to 
 absenteeism. This is common in the mining industry, where the 
 mines are often in isolated rural areas and workers have to 
 drive long distances to get to work. Some companies in mining 
 and nonmining industries have provided transportation (e.g., 
 company buses) to reduce absenteeism. Unfortunately, there 
 are no cost-benefit analyses to indicate the effect of these 
 procedures. 
 
 OVERCOMING MOTIVATIONAL PROBLEMS 
 
 There is not much empirical evidence concerning the 
 determinants of miners motivation to be absent from work. In 
 Goodman's (10) study, coal miners were asked various ques- 
 
 tions about what motivates them to be absent. Attractive 
 features of the nonwork environment (e.g., going hunting, 
 engaging in social activities) were cited more often than 
 unattractive features of the work environment (e.g., disliking 
 the job, supervisor) as reasons for missing work. 
 
 There is hardly any good empirical evidence concerning 
 the effectiveness of various attempts to increase miners atten- 
 dance. However, there are several good empirical evaluations 
 of the effectiveness of various interventions on increasing 
 nonmining employees' attendance. Research suggests that 
 mine operators should consider the following strategies for 
 increasing miners attendance motivation: conducting training, 
 publicly posting attendance information, redesigning jobs, 
 changing wage and benefit policies, and implementing atten- 
 dance based incentive programs. 
 
 Training 
 
 Training can be an important strategy for reducing absen- 
 teeism. Training for this purpose has been conducted for 
 supervisors and for employees. 
 
 Training for Supervisors 
 
 There is very little empirical evidence concerning the 
 effects of supervisory training on absenteeism. However, train- 
 ing the supervisor to deal with absenteeism seems an important 
 strategy in reducing absenteeism since the supervisor is the 
 person who deals first (and on a continuing basis) with the 
 absentee problem. Latham (26) states that supervisors are a key 
 to keeping attendance rates high. 
 
 It is they who should be responsible for keeping atten- 
 dance records, so that a high attendance rate can be 
 rewarded and a low attendance rate can be corrected. This 
 is not likely to be done if the attendance data are buried in 
 time cards, if the supervisor is continually second-guessed 
 by others on judgments regarding the "whys" underlying 
 an absence, if the supervisor is not trained in how to focus 
 on problems rather than personalities, and if the rules 
 regarding attendance are vague and subject to many 
 interpretations. 
 Adkins (1) also stresses the importance of making sure 
 that supervisors understand how to respond to their subordi- 
 nates' absenteeism. 
 
 When a problem individual begins to show up in the 
 records, someone who knows him [most likely the imme- 
 diate supervisor] should talk with him about it face to face 
 before he gets letters on company stationery. The latter 
 only breeds hostility and resentment. Consistent and even 
 handed administration of the program, particularly the 
 disciplinary aspects, is likely to be more important to 
 worker acceptance than are the details of the program. 
 A Bureau of National Affairs' (BNA) survey found that, 
 although supervisors in 82 pet of the firms are charged with 
 maintaining daily attendance records, only 42 pet of the 
 companies train supervisors in absence control (6). The BNA 
 report indicates the firms that train their supervisors on 
 absence control provide instruction on: techniques for coun- 
 seling employees, recognizing attendance problems, handling 
 verbal reprimands, and other disciplinary procedures. Al- 
 though a few companies educate their supervisors in absence 
 control through one-to-one consultation with a personnel 
 department staff member, most provide the information 
 through supervisory meetings, seminars, or films. 
 
 The BNA report tells of one employer's attempt to 
 standardize supervisory training in absence control through 
 the development of a booklet describing the supervisor's role 
 
in sick leave administration. The booklet describes types of 
 health problems, circumstances for which sick leave may be 
 taken, and instructions for processing sick leave requests. A 
 major intent of this publication is to provide a set of uniform 
 guidelines so that all supervisors will be following the same 
 standards in making sick leave decisions. Goodman's (70) 
 study of coal miners absenteeism suggests that this approach 
 could be beneficial to the mining industry. One of Goodman's 
 conclusions is that absence control policies are often unclear 
 and inconsistently applied. In Goodman's (70) study 45 pet of 
 the miners reported that management makes exceptions in the 
 administration of the absence control plan. Goodman notes 
 that these inconsistencies may cause much confusion about 
 what constitutes a legitimate reason for absence, and that such 
 confusion is likely to cause perceptions of unfair treatment and 
 labor-management conflict. 
 
 In addition to providing supervisors with instructions 
 about the details of the company's absence control policy, it 
 may also be beneficial for them to practice carrying out these 
 instructions. Wexley (56) found that having supervisors partic- 
 ipate in role-playing exercises related to violations of organi- 
 zational attendance rules resulted in decreased absenteeism. 
 
 Training for Employees 
 
 Research by Rosen (41) suggests that orientation training 
 for new employees on the details of the company's attendance 
 rules is a useful way to ensure good attendance rates. These 
 researchers claim that, through orientation training, atten- 
 dance rates for hard-core hires were as good as the rates for 
 stable employees, i.e., those who had met normal hiring 
 criteria. 
 
 Goodman (70) claims it is important to supplement 
 orientation training with periodic training about the absentee 
 control plan. Goodman (70) claims that discussing the plan in 
 an orientation session may have a short-term effect, but will 
 not affect absenteeism over time. 
 
 Posting Attendance Information 
 
 Measuring absenteeism and posting attendance informa- 
 tion may reduce absenteeism. Latham (26) states, 
 
 From the standpoint of motivation, measurement in 
 itself may be the most highly effective, underused, and 
 deceptively straightforward approach available for in- 
 creasing attendance. The process is effective because 
 "what gets measured gets done." The simple act of 
 putting a measure on something focuses attention on that 
 area. 
 Latham (26) reports several studies used publicly reported 
 attendance information to significantly decrease absenteeism. 
 Latham (26) admits this intervention requires some increase in 
 clerical-computer costs, but claim that these costs are likely to 
 be trivial in comparison to the gains realized from significantly 
 higher attendance rates. 
 
 A study conducted at Parkdale Mills, Inc., located in 
 Lexington, NC, nicely illustrates the effectiveness of this 
 approach (57). Prior to the study, people who were absent were 
 reprimanded. Those who had good attendance records re- 
 ceived no comments. A 15-week baseline showed that atten- 
 dance averaged 86 pet. At the end of the baseline period, a 
 daily attendance chart was placed in the work area. A blue dot 
 was placed on the chart beside the name of each person who 
 was on the job. A red dot was placed beside the name of each 
 person who was off the job. A person who had been absent 
 was welcomed back to the job by the supervisor. No oral or 
 
 written reprimands were given. The supervisor maintained this 
 graph daily. In addition, a weekly attendance graph was posted 
 that showed the percentage of people who attended the job 
 each day. From a baseline average of 86 pet, attendance 
 averaged 94.3 pet for the following 9-week period. The costs of 
 this program were less than $10. 
 
 Job Enrichment 
 
 An important determinant of employees' motivation to 
 attend work is the level of job involvement. According to Katz 
 (20), in order to arouse and maximize job involvement, the job 
 must provide sufficient variety, complexity, challenge, and 
 exercise of skill to engage the abilities of the employee. Katz 
 argued further, that job involvement occurs to the extent that 
 employees (1) participate in important decisions about group 
 objectives, (2) contribute to group performance in a significant 
 way, and (3) share in the rewards of group accomplishment. 
 
 In Kanungo's (19) review of research on the consequences 
 of job involvement, it was concluded, "On the basis of the 
 existing evidence, it seems reasonable to assume a negative 
 relationship between job involvement and absenteeism, but the 
 evidence is limited to only a few studies." Redesigning jobs in 
 ways that increase the employee's involvement is often referred 
 to as job enrichment. In the review of attempts to enrich jobs 
 in various types of organizations, Goodman (75) notes there 
 has been a trend toward experimenting with new forms of job 
 and organizational design over the past 10 yr, and that these 
 interventions usually result in lower levels of absenteeism. 
 
 A well-known attempt at job enrichment in the under- 
 ground coal mining industry is the experiment conducted at 
 the Rushton mine near Osceola Mills, PA. Although the 
 experiment involved several types of changes (e.g., job 
 rotation 6 and a uniform pay rate), the most significant was the 
 creation of autonomous work groups. Supervisors were re- 
 moved from face crews, and the crews were given full respon- 
 sibility for planning and carrying out their own work. One 
 consequence of the Rushton experiment was it significantly 
 decreased absenteeism (See Goodman (9)). 
 
 Wage and Benefit Levels 
 
 The effect of pay levels on absenteeism is unclear. Some 
 have argued that changing an employee's pay creates an 
 imbalance between the employee's desire for more income 
 versus the desire for more leisure time (28, 47). They argue that 
 by raising income, the employee's desire for money will 
 decrease relative to the desire for additional leisure time. 
 Indeed, having more income may enable one to get more 
 enjoyment from one's leisure time. This line of argument 
 suggests that pay increases will cause employees to place a 
 higher priority on the acquisition of additional leisure time 
 (perhaps through absenteeism), and will make them more 
 willing to forego the income that might have to be sacrificed 
 for failing to report to work. 
 
 Others have argued that higher pay levels discourage 
 absenteeism by raising the opportunity costs of being absent, 
 i.e., the higher one's pay rate, the greater the sacrifice one 
 makes by foregoing a day's pay to be absent (8). There is 
 empirical support for both of these conflicting theoretical 
 arguments (8, 28). Unfortunately, there appears to be no 
 empirical tests of the effects that changes in pay levels have on 
 miners absenteeism. 
 
 6 Instead of performing only one job, the miners within a crew regularly 
 switched jobs such that, over time, each person spent roughly the same amount 
 of time performing each of the jobs involved in operating a section of the mine. 
 
In the fringe benefit area, there is clearer information 
 about the effect of policies such as sick leave and their impact 
 on absenteeism. Dalton (8) report that companies with more 
 generous sick leave benefits — and those that do not remunerate 
 unused sick leave — have higher absenteeism. This finding has 
 some important implications for controlling miners absentee- 
 ism. However, because the finding is based on a limited 
 amount of empirical evidence, one needs to be cautious about 
 making inferences until more research has been done on this 
 issue. 
 
 Incentive Programs 
 
 Three general types of incentive programs have been used 
 to reduce absenteeism: positive incentive programs, negative 
 sanctions programs, and mixed programs — ones that used 
 positive and negative incentives. 
 
 Positive Incentive Programs 
 
 Positive incentive programs provide some reward for high 
 attendance. Steers (46) review of research on these programs 
 indicates that reinforcers such as bonuses, participation in a 
 lottery, participation in a poker hand, food credit reimburse- 
 ment for unused sick leave, and desirable work schedules can 
 lead to increased attendance. While there are other programs 
 using positive incentives that did not lead to a reduction in 
 absenteeism, the majority of the empirical evidence supports 
 the effectiveness of positive incentive programs. One criticism 
 of these programs is that they are not always cost effective. 
 Kempen (22) notes that they are often not cost effective 
 because all the perfect or near-perfect attenders receive the 
 money (or reward), even though they cannot improve their 
 attendance. To avoid this cost, Kempen suggests that two 
 questions be asked: (1) What privileges would people like to 
 have that they do not have now? (2) What do they find 
 irritating or aversive in the work setting? The answers to these 
 questions provide a list of possible rewards for increasing 
 attendance that may not be costly to the organization. Exam- 
 ples of nonmonetary privileges for good attendance that have 
 been tried include: freedom from punching time clocks, one or 
 two excused days off with pay, and immunity from disciplinary 
 action for a year related to absence taking. 
 
 Negative Sanctions 
 
 Programs based on negative sanctions are built around 
 absentee control plans. Control plans usually specify stages, 
 levels of absenteeism permitted, penalties, and continuous 
 attendance necessary to remove oneself from a particular 
 disciplinary stage of the absentee control plan. Basically these 
 plans identify a series of stages of varying forms of punish- 
 ment. For example, absenteeism at a particular level would 
 lead to a warning letter. Subsequent levels of absenteeism 
 would lead to a suspension. Continued absenteeism would lead 
 to dismissal. 
 
 Wilkinson (57) quotes an arbitrator who decided for 
 Lykes Resources, Inc., a subsidiary of Youngstown Mines 
 Corp., Youngstown, OH in a UMWA appeal of suspensions as 
 saying, "there is nothing unreasonable about expecting an 
 employee to work regularly. Without a dependable work force, 
 whether in a mine, a mill, or an office, an employer cannot 
 produce the product that produces the money for the payroll." 
 However, it is important that absence control programs meet 
 just-cause standards. In this regard, Rosenthal (42) has noted 
 the following: 
 
 1 . The rules regarding an attendance policy not only must 
 be published, but they must be communicated directly to the 
 employees. 
 
 2. Clarity is essential. An arbitrator found a discharge to 
 be without just cause because the rules required only notice to 
 management regarding an absence without stating that the 
 employee must do the notifying. The employee had a friend 
 notify the supervisor that he wouldn't be coming to work. 
 
 3. The organization must make it clear that it intends to 
 enforce the attendance rules. 
 
 4. Management discretion must be minimized. In one 
 case, a company excused absences due to "acts of God." An 
 arbitrator ruled that the company was remiss in not ruling an 
 absence that occurred as a result of a snowstorm an "act of 
 God." 
 
 5. Consistency must exist in the application of the pro- 
 gram rules to all employees. 
 
 6. Length of employment is given little weight by 
 arbitrators. 
 
 7. Progressive discipline steps should be followed, such as 
 an oral warning, a written warning, and a suspension before 
 termination occurs. Arbitrators do not see excessive absentee- 
 ism in and of itself as just cause for discharging a person. An 
 employee may be discharged for just-cause (excessive) absen- 
 teeism only if industrial due process (as that term has been 
 interpreted by the individual arbitrator) has been afforded. 
 
 Despite the widespread use of management sanctions in 
 business organizations (6), the evidence supporting the effec- 
 tiveness in attendance control is limited largely to anecdotal 
 case studies — very little empirical research of acceptable qual- 
 ity has been performed. For example, Seatter (45) discussed an 
 attendance control program based on relatively strict disciplin- 
 ary measures implemented over a 5-yr period. While Seatter 
 reported a major (and sustained) reduction in absence rates 
 during the time period, it was impossible to separate the 
 program's effects from the multitude of uncontrolled variables 
 that could have accounted for the improvement in attendance. 
 
 According to Baum (4) and Steers (46), the literature is 
 characterized by divided opinions and conflicting findings 
 concerning the efficacy of sanctions in reducing absenteeism. 
 Much of the opposition to the use of sanctions is based on two 
 grounds: (1) behavior modification techniques based on pos- 
 itive reinforcement of desired behaviors (coming to work 
 regularly) are more suitable and effective in dealing with 
 absenteeism; (2) sanctions based on the use of disciplinary 
 procedures (punishments) tend to produce undesirable side 
 effects that are as objectionable as the behavior of primary 
 interest (3). For example, Nicholson (36) found that rigorously 
 enforced sanctions caused workers to resort to longer, medi- 
 cally related absences to escape the consequences of the 
 disciplinary system; the overall level of days lost was not 
 changed by the clamp-down. 
 
 In contrast, a well designed study by Baum (4) found that 
 the strict enforcement of the control policy "had no discernible 
 effect on either long term illnesses or contractual absences!' 
 and that the overall level of days lost was significantly reduced 
 by the clamp-down. The sample consisted of 336 workers 
 selected randomly from three departments of a large, midwest- 
 ern components manufacturing division of one of the big three 
 automobile companies. The jobs in question were union 
 blue-collar production and maintenance jobs at the same 
 hierarchical level within the company, but paying considerable 
 above the median wage for the geographic region. The study 
 employed a nonequivalent control group design since it was 
 not possible to randomly assign subjects to the treatment and 
 control groups. Absenteeism was defined as the number of 
 days the worker failed to report to the job when work was 
 scheduled, excluding long-term illnesses and contractual 
 absenteeism. 
 
In the experimental group, management used the follow- 
 ing six-step procedure in all cases of unauthorized absentee- 
 ism: (1) detailed attendance records would be kept by the 
 worker's supervisor; (2) written excuses from legitimate outside 
 sources would be required for unauthorized absences; (3) 
 questionable excuses would be independently investigated; (4) 
 management would personally counsel all workers with unau- 
 thorized absences; (5) the existing progressive discipline system 
 would be used to penalize excessive absenteeism; and (6) 
 updated discipline and attendance records would be main- 
 tained on all workers. The managers in the two comparison 
 departments continued with the existing attendance policy, 
 which simply delegated the responsibility for attendance con- 
 trol to the immediate supervisor. 
 
 A prepost measure of absenteeism served as the criteria 
 for evaluating the intervention. The independent variable was 
 whether the attendance control policy would be enforced 
 casually or strictly. Within the experimental and control 
 groups, employees were further categorized (for analysis pur- 
 poses) according to their past absence rates as being a high-, 
 medium-, or low-absence worker. It was found that, in com- 
 parison to high-absence workers in the control group, the 
 intervention reduced absenteeism among high-absence workers 
 in the experimental group by a significantly larger extent 
 (probability (p) < 0.05). The chronically absent workers, who 
 were subject to the attendance control policy, improved their 
 attendance an average of 7 d/yr over the comparison group. 
 The intervention produced no change in the absence rates of 
 the two groups of more regular attenders. However, significant 
 improvements in these two groups were not considered to be as 
 important as improvements in the group of chronically poor 
 attenders. Although the group of chronic absentees were only 
 25 pet of the sample, they accounted for 56.5 pet of the total 
 days lost during the year prior to the intervention. 
 
 Goodman's (70) study of absenteeism at 15 coal mines 
 during the early 1980's suggests that the situation is similar in 
 the coal mining industry, i.e., a relatively small percentage of 
 the total workforce accounts for a disproportionately large 
 percentage of the total number of days lost to unexcused 
 absenteeism. Goodman (70) reports the percent of total days of 
 unexcused absenteeism that could be attributed to the 10 pet of 
 the workforce with the highest levels of unexcused absenteeism 
 at each mine for each year. The average of these percentages 
 was 32. 1 , which suggests that 10 pet of the workforce accounts 
 for about a third of total unexcused absenteeism. 
 
 Although Baum's (4) study focused on the use of negative 
 sanctions, it is important to include both negative and positive 
 rewards in programs to improve attendance. 
 
 It seems unrealistic for managers to assume that a given 
 control policy will be perceived in the same way by the best 
 and worst attenders in the work force. Workers who are 
 absent infrequently have demonstrated a basic commit- 
 ment to the managerial ethic that good attendance is a 
 prerequisite to successful performance. The organiza- 
 tional reward system (pay, promotion opportunities, su- 
 pervisory praise, etc.) has been internalized to the point 
 that these workers perceive that it is in their best interest to 
 attend regularly. The use of sanctions to encourage mar- 
 ginal improvements in attendance would appear to be 
 dysfunctional in the case of regular attenders. If improve- 
 ments in attendance are desired among these workers, 
 then positive reinforcements to attend more regularly have 
 considerable potential. Chronic absentees, however, have 
 already exhibited a pattern of behavior suggesting that 
 their organization's reward system is not particularly 
 salient to their basic needs. They have been willing to 
 forego higher pay and other rewards associated with 
 
 regular attendance for more time away from the job. It 
 seems highly unlikely that a control policy based on 
 positive reinforcements similar to the lottery incentive 
 system of Pedalino (37) will be sufficiently attractive to 
 cause chronic absentees to alter their previous patterns of 
 behavior. 
 
 Mixed Consequence Plans 
 
 Plans that include both positive incentives for attendance 
 and negative sanctions for absences have been devised and 
 empirically tested (14, 23-25). These mixed consequence plans 
 were generally found to be quite effective at reducing absen- 
 teeism. The design of these mixed plans varied considerably. 
 Those who wish to find out the details of each of these plans 
 are referred to the four articles cited above. Several leading 
 researchers and practitioners have spoken highly of this type of 
 plan (1, 4, 26, 46). 
 
 Participation in Incentive Plan Design 
 
 Two nonmanagement groups are sometimes included in 
 the design of incentive plans to improve attendance: employees 
 and unions. Research suggests that their participation can help 
 to ensure the success of the plan. 
 
 Employee Involvement 
 
 Latham (26) suggests that greater employee involvement 
 in designing an absentee system may increase employee's 
 motivation to adopt the system as their own. If the absentee 
 system is seen as the employee's own construction, they will 
 more likely follow the rules. Three suggestions for initiating a 
 program of employee involvement in absenteeism reduction are 
 as follows: 
 
 (1) Provide employees with information that will help 
 convince them that absenteeism is a problem which they 
 should be concerned about. Give them information about 
 absenteeism rates, the costs of absenteeism, and the conse- 
 quences of high absenteeism to the worker in terms of safety or 
 job security. 
 
 (2) Provide an opportunity for employees to participate in 
 the design of an absenteeism program, which will create 
 positive incentives for attendance and sanctions for high 
 absenteeism. 
 
 (3) Provide an opportunity for employees to monitor 
 absenteeism over time, and monitor the effectiveness of the 
 program to reduce absenteeism. 
 
 Scheflen (44) performed a well designed field experiment 
 on the effects of employee participation in the development of 
 pay incentive plans to increase attendance. Three groups of 
 building maintenance employees developed their own incentive 
 plans to reward high attendance, and identical plans were then 
 imposed by company management in two other work groups. 
 A significant increase in attendance was found during the first 
 16 weeks following implementation of the plans only in the 
 groups where the plans were participatively developed. Atten- 
 dance rates were not significantly altered in the groups sub- 
 jected to the management-imposed plans. A followup evalua- 
 tion conducted 1 yr after the original plans had been installed 
 revealed that attendance was still higher in the groups that had 
 been allowed to participate in designing their own plan. 
 
 Union Involvement 
 
 Programs developed by union and management may be 
 another way to deal with absenteeism. As previously men- 
 tioned, absenteeism can cause grievances. Therefore, both 
 union and management have a stake in dealing with this issue. 
 
Some unions and companies (e.g., United Auto Workers and 
 General Motors) have established joint committees at the 
 national and local levels to seek ways to deal with absenteeism. 
 There are no data available to assess the effectiveness of joint 
 labor-management efforts on absenteeism. 
 
 CURRENT PRACTICES 
 
 The BNA report (6) contains specific and detailed exam- 
 ples of (1) what some employers consider to be an excessive 
 level of absenteeism; (2) absence control measures; (3) special 
 incentives for good attendance; and (4) progressive disciplinary 
 systems. The BNA report also provides statistics concerning 
 how many firms are engaging in various strategies to increase 
 their employees' attendance. The following are some of the 
 highlights of the BNA survey: 
 
 1 . Although a system of progressive discipline has been set 
 up by more than 9 out of 10 employers to handle attendance 
 problems, fewer companies — 43 pet — have a written rule or 
 policy defining excessive absence. 
 
 2. One quarter of the firms have developed new programs 
 such as job enrichment, worker participation programs, and 
 flexible hours to improve motivation, productivity, and, in all 
 likelihood, absence and turnover rates as well. 
 
 3. Supervisors are trained in absence control by 4 out of 
 10 companies, and 16 pet of the firms evaluate their supervi- 
 sors, in part, on the absence rates of employees in their charge. 
 
 4. Motivational programs have been developed by 4 out of 
 10 responding companies to promote good attendance. Almost 
 half of those employers (45 pet) pay employees for unused sick 
 leave; nearly 4 out of 10 offer awards or publicity for 
 employees with the best attendance records; 27 pet promote 
 better attendance through pay inserts or newsletter articles; 
 and one out of five financially reward employees who achieve 
 attendance standards. 
 
 5. Disciplinary action and employee counseling are con- 
 sidered the most effective methods for curbing employee 
 absence by the largest group of respondents. Of the 100 
 respondents who offer comments on what they have found to 
 be the most effective method of curbing unnecessary employee 
 absences, the largest group — more than a third — cite disciplin- 
 ary measures or discharge as the key. Nearly as many — about 
 30 pet — attest to the effectiveness of counseling employees as 
 
 problems develop. Ten percent found that establishing a formal 
 policy and a consistently administered program made the most 
 difference in their absence rates, and another 10 pet stress the 
 supervisor's role as the most important element, attributing 
 improved absence records to supervisory training, awareness, 
 and rapport with employees. 
 
 The BNA survey included many types of business and 
 nonbusiness organizations. The category that appears closest 
 to the mining industry in terms of the work force and working 
 conditions is manufacturing firms. About half of the compa- 
 nies in the survey fall into this category. The following statistics 
 indicate the proportion of manufacturing firms that use 
 various methods for controlling absenteeism: 99 pet have a 
 progressive disciplinary system for employees with attendance 
 problems; 54 pet have a written rule or policy describing 
 excessive absence; 52 pet give supervisors training in absence 
 control; 25 pet evaluate supervisors' performance on the basis 
 of subordinates' absence rates; and 53 pet have taken special 
 measures to encourage good attendance. 
 
 Of the manufacturing firms that have taken special mea- 
 sures, the proportion using various types of incentives and/or 
 interventions are 39 pet pay for unused sick leave; 47 pet give 
 employees with the best attendance records some form of 
 recognition; 31 pet use motivational pay inserts, posters, or 
 newsletter articles; 28 pet provide financial rewards for meeting 
 attendance standards; and 6 pet give additional paid vacation 
 leave for meeting attendance goals. 
 
 These percentages suggest that a substantial proportion of 
 the absenteeism control plans currently in use do not contain 
 features that research suggests would make them more effec- 
 tive. Most notably, 46 pet do not have a written policy 
 describing excessive absence; 48 pet do not involve giving 
 supervisors training in absence control; and 47 pet do not 
 involve using some form of positive incentive to encourage 
 good attendance. It appears that the approach being used by 
 many employers to control absenteeism is limited solely to the 
 use of various forms of punishment for noncompliance with 
 the attendance rules. The research evidence reviewed previ- 
 ously suggests that better plans can be devised. Based on this 
 research and what is known about the coal mining industry, 
 the following program for improving miners attendance is 
 proposed. 
 
 PROGRAM FOR IMPROVING MINERS ATTENDANCE 
 
 The usual reasons for an attendance program are to 
 reduce interruptions to production, decrease labor costs, and 
 to improve safety. An attendance program, which produces 
 high, consistent, and predictable attendance, helps the com- 
 pany achieve these goals. If attendance is not perfect, but 
 safety and productivity are high then the goals may be 
 considered met. Furthermore, worker satisfaction is an impor- 
 tant goal in its own right. A system that gets excellent 
 attendance at the cost of lowered worker satisfaction may 
 alienate workers, causing a variety of undesirable outcomes. 
 The system should help foster effective work habits and 
 positive work attitudes because such habits and attitudes are 
 crucial determinants of a mine operation's productivity and 
 safety. 
 
 In order to develop the most effective absenteeism pro- 
 gram for a particular mine site, one should consider using 
 basic attendance control procedures which have been shown to 
 be effective in other situations, and tailor them for the needs 
 and constraints of a particular mine. 
 
 According to Goodman (70), the major determinants of 
 absenteeism vary significantly from one group of miners to 
 another. Furthermore, the best strategies for reducing absen- 
 teeism vary with the causes of the absenteeism, making it 
 important to choose strategies that fit the major causes at a 
 particular mine. 
 
 On the basis of the research evidence concerning charac- 
 teristics of effective absence control measures, the following 
 four stage program for improving miners attendance is 
 recommended: 7 
 
 1. Measure and display data. 
 
 2. State goals and absenteeism policy. 
 
 7 For a similar analysis of absenteeism control plans see Kempen (22). Stages 
 like this may be used to deal with a range of human behaviors in an 
 organizational setting. It is beyond the scope of the present report to describe 
 such practices. Those interested in using behavior analysis to solve other 
 problems should see Malott (30) and Sulzer-Azaroff (48). 
 
3. Develop and implement attendance promotion 
 program. 
 
 4. Recycle. 
 
 Each of these stages are discussed in detail. 
 
 MEASURE AND DISPLAY DATA 
 
 The first stage describes various strategies used to collect 
 and analyze data on absenteeism. It is a very important 
 prerequisite to the stages that follow. In order to get an 
 accurate idea of the nature of the absenteeism or to see if there 
 even is an absenteeism problem, one must examine the absen- 
 teeism data. The data will reveal whether the problem is with a 
 few individuals, mine wide, or if the problem is restricted to a 
 particular section, shift, or unique subpopulation of workers. 
 A graphic representation of the data across time also allows 
 one to see if new attendance control measures are having any 
 impact. 
 
 There are a number of useful ways to examine the data, 
 each having strengths and limitations. For example, the data 
 may be broken into excused versus unexcused absences. It may 
 also be informative to look for seasonal or temporal trends in 
 the data, e.g., breakdowns by day of the week, or other 
 significant events like the opening of hunting season. Another 
 useful method to display attendance is to make charts of the 
 number of days on the job per worker. Displays that aggregate 
 attendance over time or over groups of people often help to 
 reveal a more complete picture of the major causes of absen- 
 teeism, thus improving one's ability to select appropriate 
 strategies for improving attendance. These aggregate displays 
 will also allow one to get a better picture of the effects of a 
 given intervention. 
 
 A good source of information about discerning trends 
 and patterns in the rates of miner absenteeism (perhaps for 
 comparison purposes) is Goodman's report (70), which pre- 
 sents several types of breakdowns of the absenteeism that 
 occurred at each of 15 coal mines during the early 1980's. 
 Linear modeling, a procedure described in the appendix to this 
 report, is another valuable aid in understanding the causes of 
 absenteeism. 
 
 The charts constructed to track attendance patterns 
 should contain tallies of all absences for whatever reason. If 
 distinctions are made between different types of absences (e.g. , 
 excused and unexcused) the meaning of the tallies will be 
 obscured by the often subjective nature of making the distinc- 
 tion. Also, it is preferable to chart absences rather than 
 attendance because it is simply unwieldy to check off every 
 attending miner every day, and the resulting chart would be too 
 cluttered for easy analysis. As long as the absence measure 
 used for the tallies is a mirror image of simple attendance, the 
 charts should be both unambiguous and easy to maintain. 
 
 Individual Level Charts 
 
 A simple, but effective mode of examining absences is to 
 create a chart that displays the absences per worker per crew 
 (worker absence chart). A tally of this sort may be updated 
 daily by simply placing an "X" above any worker who is 
 absent during that recording period. Blank recording forms 
 can be copied for use by administrators or supervisors. Figure 
 2 shows a hypothetical example of this sort of display. 
 
 Each worker's chart should be updated daily as the 
 behavior of interest (absence) occurs. As the X's accumulate, 
 patterns may become evident that reveal problems needing 
 prompt remedial action. For instance, one would interpret the 
 situation differently if the pattern seen in figure 2 occurred by 
 March rather than in June. Recording absences as they occur is 
 
 important in order to prevent minor problems from becoming 
 major problems. 
 
 Figure 3 shows another pattern of absences which may 
 lead to different decisions about remediation than the deci- 
 sions made based on the pattern in figure 2. An absence 
 pattern like that shown in figure 2 might lead one to suspect 
 that one or two workers have an absence problem and that the 
 work section is otherwise relatively conducive to attendance 
 for the rest of the crew. Figure 3, on the other hand, might 
 prompt a search for problems with the particular working 
 conditions, which seems to be affecting the attendance of the 
 entire crew (including physical factors and supervision) on this 
 section, or it might stimulate development of a positive 
 incentive plan for attendance. 
 
 Charts like the ones shown in figures 2 and 3 can also use 
 color codes or lines to indicate at what point a worker is in 
 need of help or remedial action. These charts can be an aid in 
 catching problems before they cause production losses or 
 safety hazards. 
 
 For some purposes it may be useful to look at the 
 durations of each employee's absences. For example, absences 
 owing to an accident may cause a number of consecutive days 
 off the job. Often it is the case that severe illness and injury 
 will cause a long period of consecutive days off the job. A lack 
 of motivation, on the other hand, might result in a great 
 number of absences of short duration. Thus, different patterns 
 of absences may be interpreted differently. An interesting series 
 of graphs could be made on number of absences and duration 
 of absences for individual or group data. This sort of fine- 
 grain analysis may help one see aspects of attendance which 
 are important to production and safety. These charts will be 
 described in later sections. At this point, it should be pointed 
 out that they may be useful as part of the procedure for 
 measuring and displaying data. 
 
 An attendance chart might also include information 
 about the job classification of the miners present or absent. 
 Information of this type might be useful for those using 
 attendance records to help plan replacements for absent work- 
 ers or when evaluating the effect of absences. The important 
 thing in using charts to evaluate attendance is to make sure it 
 views the aspect of the importance of attendance to the mine 
 and the program. 
 
 Aggregating Across Individuals 
 
 Another chart that can be very helpful in assessing the 
 effectiveness of a program is a frequency attendance chart. 
 This chart is also very easy to prepare and use. In order to 
 prepare this chart, simply label the horizontal axis with 
 successive calendar days. For easy analysis, use all, of the days 
 of the week even if work is done only on weekdays. Label the 
 vertical axis with workers on the job. Then, to fill out the 
 chart, take the total count of attendance for that day and put 
 a dot at the appropriate place. This chart can be used mine 
 wide or by section depending upon the aspect of attendance 
 that is important. As with the worker absence chart, charting 
 on a daily basis is easier and more effective than tallying a 
 number of days all at once. Trying to chart 3 months of data 
 at once may seem like a prohibitively time consuming and 
 difficult task, while consistent daily recording is a fairly easy 
 job. Moreover, the information obtained as the data is charted 
 on a daily basis can be used immediately to correct any 
 impending problems. 
 
 Looking at 6 months of recorded data can yield valuable 
 information about the nature of the absenteeism problem, 
 days with low attendance, and possible causes of absences. A 
 pointer or cane may be placed over significant changes in the 
 
10 
 
 Number of 
 absences 
 
 Worker absences 
 
 11 
 
 10 
 
 8 
 
 X 
 
 X 
 
 X 
 
 X 
 
 X 
 
 X 
 
 X 
 
 X 
 
 X 
 
 X 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 <b 
 
 ^ 
 
 6 
 
 ^ 
 
 o*^ 
 
 ^^ 
 
 
 Recording period: ^ aL/r ^ ] 
 
 to v-usruz, J)(j 
 
 Figure 2.— Absences recorded over 6-month period for hypothetical mining crew. 
 
11 
 
 Number of 
 absences 
 
 TT 
 
 Worker absences 
 
 TO" 
 
 ~5 
 
 X 
 
 X 
 
 X 
 
 X 
 
 X 
 
 X 
 
 X 
 
 X 
 
 X 
 
 X 
 
 X 
 
 X 
 
 X 
 
 X 
 
 X 
 
 X 
 
 X 
 
 X 
 
 X 
 
 X 
 
 b? 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 « 
 
 <=** 
 
 59 
 
 Recording period: Qovrv 1 
 
 to Vusna, 30 
 
 Figure 3.— Absences recorded over same period as figure 2 for crew with different absence patterns. 
 
12 
 
 attendance program or important events. The correlation 
 between the events and changes in attendance can then become 
 graphically apparent. Most importantly, a 6-month graph can 
 show how consistently attendance rates were at the desired 
 levels. Consistent attendance rates should be sought in addi- 
 tion to high overall attendance rates. Figure 4 shows how a 
 frequency attendance chart might look. 
 
 After implementing a new procedure to improve atten- 
 dance, this measurement and display stage of the plan should 
 continue. Then in 2 or 3 months, when enough data is 
 collected to ensure that seasonal or random fluctuations are 
 not in play, one can evaluate the effectiveness of the new policy 
 or procedure. An even shorter time period may be used if past 
 records are charted and used for analysis. Looking at corre- 
 sponding times of the year can be especially valuable when 
 doing a historical comparison. 
 
 It is impossible to evaluate and possibly even implement a 
 change in an attendance program if one does not gather and 
 analyze enough absenteeism data to get a good baseline. As 
 the attendance program progresses through the other stages, 
 this measurement and display continues as an integral part of 
 the entire program. It will be used through the successive stages 
 of program development and represents one of the most 
 important elements of the program. 
 
 In summary, measuring and displaying data is an impor- 
 tant step in an absence control program that should include the 
 following tasks: 
 
 • Chart the aspect of attendance of concern to you. 
 
 • Look for seasonal or other trends in the data. 
 
 • Chart on a daily basis. 
 
 • Various charts can be used. For example, total atten- 
 dance can be looked at with frequency attendance charts or 
 individual levels of attendance can be viewed with worker 
 attendance charts or a daily attendance record. 
 
 STATE GOALS AND ABSENTEEISM POLICY 
 
 The formation of goals and policy statements is viewed as 
 an important prerequisite to the stages that follow. Further, it 
 is important to tell the workers what is happening both from 
 an ethical standpoint and to avoid conflicts owing to lack of 
 information. Workers will accept changes more readily (even 
 positive ones) if they are informed of the changes before they 
 occur. Last, the mere act of informing the workers of the rules 
 can result in better attendance. 
 
 Goal Setting 
 
 The importance of setting goals about attendance cannot 
 be overstated. Before attempting to solve any problems, decide 
 upon what success will mean. The goal should be beneficial to 
 both the mine and the workers, and it should be reasonable. 
 Being reasonable means that one should aim for modest 
 gains — ones that are likely to be perceived as attainable. If the 
 goals are easy to attain, then the chances of success are 
 enhanced and the entire work force is less likely to become 
 disenchanted with the program. 
 
 At this point, management may want to involve supervi- 
 sors and labor by establishing a committee with representatives 
 from both groups. Input from various segments of the work 
 force can give management useful inputs on establishing goals. 
 This committee can also help oversee the program as it is 
 developed, implemented, and evaluated. The committee can be 
 useful in representing the needs of the workers and in keeping 
 them informed of the company goals. This can be a useful aid 
 
 in securing worker acceptance and compliance to changes in 
 rules or procedures. 
 
 The first step in establishing an attendance goal is to 
 decide why absenteeism is a problem. In other words, state the 
 factors that lead the company to work on increasing consistent 
 attendance. Make a list of the benefits to the company and to 
 the miners. As mentioned earlier in the text, these reasons may 
 be in terms of productivity, job security, reducing labor costs, 
 safety, planning work, etc. Explicitly writing out these reasons 
 for an attendance goal will help guide decisions in further 
 interventions. For some goals, an attendance program may not 
 be an entirely adequate answer. Perhaps positive incentives for 
 some aspect of production will be in order, or a novel work 
 plan may emerge as a better solution. In any case, a written 
 statement of the reasons should be part of the goals as these 
 will help guide future decisions. 
 
 The next step in establishing an attendance goal is to state 
 the level of attendance that will be considered exemplary in 
 terms of frequency of attendance. The relevant dimension for 
 measuring attendance will be selected according to the nature 
 of the chosen goal. It might be the rate of attendance per day, 
 rate per week, absences per day, absences per worker, or 
 whatever dimensions are most applicable to the stated goals. 
 Remember it is important for the goal to be reasonable and 
 beneficial for both the company and the miners. 
 
 The last part of this goal setting procedure is one that can 
 start having an impact on the attendance pattern. Inform the 
 miners of the goals. This is important for a few reasons. First, 
 it provides honest information about why this program is 
 important for them and for the mine. If people see reasons for 
 attendance they may use this information to change their 
 beliefs and values about attendance. Second, it will help 
 counter resistance to the program by getting people ready for 
 change. If workers see a program as unfair, they have a chance 
 to voice their opinions and management has a chance to 
 counter these objections openly. Moreover, if there are valid 
 objections to the goals, then management has a chance to 
 make adjustments before negative forces act to sabotage the 
 whole program. Stating the goals of the attendance promotion 
 program can help ensure that the subsequent interventions will 
 succeed. Allow a month's notice before new procedures begin 
 so that employees will be prepared for the changes. 
 
 Negative Sanctions 
 
 An employer needs to respond to problems quickly. Yet, 
 employers sometimes attack the problem without sufficient 
 forethought. Taking vindictive action or punitive measures 
 may actually exacerbate the problem and could lead to a 
 negative backlash among workers. A plan that is most useful is 
 one that intervenes in stages in such a way as to help workers 
 perform better. A system should bring out the best in workers 
 and not be used solely as a club that threatens them for 
 attendance transgressions. When punitive measures must be 
 used, they should be applied consistently, and adhere to the 
 rules of the program. Used in this way, the punishment will be 
 more effective, have less negative backlash, and will help set 
 the standards for the limits of acceptable attendance. 
 
 Negative sanctions usually are in the form of disciplinary 
 actions that go from formal warnings, through suspensions 
 without pay, to employment termination. The last negative 
 sanction will eliminate workers who are not amenable to the 
 absenteeism policies. 
 
 An essential part of the use of negative sanctions is that 
 the specifics of each negative sanction be added to the 
 
13 
 
 Frequency of attendance 
 
 Number of workers 
 on the job 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 - *> fa cell on * i fiterveriiipi 
 
 
 / /: _ : 
 
 / _ _ t 
 
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14 
 
 absenteeism policy statement. Then, ensure that the workers 
 know exactly what these sanctions are and how they accrue. 
 This has two purposes: first, it will help keep dissent down if 
 the sanctions are applied, and second, it will inform workers as 
 to what behaviors are not acceptable and the sanctions that 
 will follow them. The latter may help reduce absenteeism by 
 allowing miners to make an informed decision about the 
 consequences of absenteeism. 
 
 Premature use of negative sanctions can cause counter- 
 productive behaviors. For example, workers who experience 
 negative sanctions for absenteeism might be more prone to 
 things like vandalism, sabotage, or slower work habits. 
 Nicholson's (36) study suggests the increased use of negative 
 sanctions for absenteeism may cause employees to find ways to 
 circumvent the disciplinary system, leaving the overall rate of 
 attendance unchanged. 
 
 Just as it is important to avoid delivering sanctions too 
 soon, it is also important that there be no delay between when 
 a worker meets the criterion for disciplinary action and the 
 administration of the negative sanction. For punishment to be 
 effective it should be given out consistently and immediately 
 after the transgressive behaviors. 
 
 In order to be most effective, negative sanctions should be 
 used only at times specified in the absence control policy, and 
 used in a fair and consistent manner (for all occasions and for 
 all workers). It is hoped that measures in an attendance 
 promotion program will reduce the need to apply negative 
 sanctions. 
 
 In summary, this step is a prerequisite. It should be done 
 even if there are currently no major absenteeism problems. 
 Workers will know what is expected and should problems arise 
 management will have recourse to act in a remediative manner. 
 The policy statement should be precise and understandable. 
 All workers should periodically be made aware of it. Specifi- 
 cally, this policy statement should explain what types of 
 absences are excusable and not excusable, procedures for 
 reporting off, and consequences for violating the rules. Espe- 
 cially during the initial phases, the absenteeism program is 
 likely to undergo some changes as rules are added, deleted, or 
 modified. Therefore, this stage should be viewed as a continu- 
 ing process. 
 
 In summary, it is recommended that the absence control 
 program stage of stating the goals and absenteeism policy 
 should include the following characteristics: 
 
 • Involve supervisors and labor by utilizing a committee. 
 
 • Goals should be beneficial to both the company and the 
 employee. 
 
 • Goal statements should include the reasons why good 
 attendance is important (e.g., job security, reducing labor 
 costs, safety, planning work, etc.). 
 
 • The goal should be reasonably attainable to help ensure 
 success. 
 
 • State the specific level of attendance that has been 
 targeted as the goal. 
 
 DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT ATTENDANCE 
 PROMOTION PROGRAM 
 
 The development and implementation of an attendance 
 plan is the core stage. In order to engender a high level of 
 support and acceptance for the program, it should attempt 
 positive interventions before negative ones, and should inter- 
 vene only to the extent necessary. Beyond this, it is difficult to 
 formulate recommendations that have widespread applicabil- 
 ity. In order to specify the particular details of a program for 
 
 a specific mine site, one must take into consideration other 
 characteristics of the company and the mine workforce. 
 
 Several specific strategies for improving attendance were 
 reviewed in the first half of this report. Depending on what the 
 major causes of the absenteeism at a particular mine are, some 
 of these strategies will be more effective than others. However, 
 two of these strategies appear to be advisable for almost any 
 mine experiencing high absenteeism because of low attendance 
 motivation. These strategies are (1) supervisory interventions 
 and (2) incentive programs. The components of each of these 
 two strategies are presented. 
 
 Supervisory Intervention 
 
 Three major things immediate supervisors can do to help 
 eliminate aberrant absenteeism are (1) publicly chart atten- 
 dance, (2) treat absent workers in a just and reasonable 
 manner, and (3) monitor and refer employees whose poor 
 attendance may reflect off-the-job problems. 
 
 The supervisor is the first line of defense against problem 
 absenteeism. In order to perform these measures correctly, the 
 supervisor should be given training on procedures for reducing 
 absenteeism and should be given feedback on dealing with the 
 employees. Giving a supervisor feedback requires periodic 
 monitoring of the supervisor's behavior concerned with carry- 
 ing out the three approaches to supervisory intervention. 
 
 Publicly Chart Attendance 
 
 A crew supervisor can be shown how to fill out one of the 
 blank charts described in stage one. These charts should be 
 filled out daily and publicly posted for the crew to see. Charts 
 make it easier for individuals to see where they are with respect 
 to company goals and policies. As previously mentioned, 
 Miller (57) found that publicly posting each employee's atten- 
 dance record significantly reduced absenteeism from 14 to 5.7 
 pet. Using this technique should be seen as a method of 
 communicating information with the employees. The supervi- 
 sors should refrain from making disparaging remarks about 
 absences and use the graphic presentation only to help the 
 workers see what is going on with respect to their absences. 
 Figure 5 shows a record that can be very easy for a supervisor 
 to fill out on a daily basis. The supervisor simply puts a mark 
 across from the name of the employee on days worked. 
 Alternatively, one might want to chart absences, i.e., the 
 opposite of attendance. Figure 6 (based on absences) repre- 
 sents a different method of portraying the data on which figure 
 5 is based. Because days of absence are much less numerous 
 than days of attendance, individuals' absence patterns and 
 frequencies are somewhat easier to see in figure 6 than in figure 
 5. 
 
 Workers need to be informed about the nature of these 
 charts. It should be made clear that these charts are not 
 indexes of unexcused absenteeism. They are simply devices for 
 looking at the patterns of attendance at the mine. The charts 
 may help workers to realize where they are with respect to goals 
 or positive or negative sanctions. 
 
 These charts represent a different (less refined) level of 
 analysis than the records kept by the mine office. For example, 
 management records may categorize absences according to 
 various reasons, while the supervisor is mainly interested in a 
 count of people on the job. 
 
 While more than 1 month may be displayed at a time, 
 each chart produced by a supervisor should probably contain 
 about 1 month's attendance data. Supervisors must consis- 
 tently record attendance each day on the public chart. It takes 
 
15 
 
 Daily attendance record 
 
 
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 Month: j^a^xccoL,^ , 19 85 
 
 Figure 5.— Chart showing daily attendance recording for hypothetical mine crew during 1 -month period. 
 
16 
 
 Daily absence record 
 
 
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 Month: Qgyn^^cca^ 19 85 
 
 Figure 6.— Same chart as figure 5, only with absences rather than attendance indicated. 
 
17 
 
 only a few minutes, at most, for the supervisor to place a check 
 or other mark in the appropriate box on the tally. This is one 
 of the easiest interventions, involving only minor changes to 
 existing procedures. It can also enhance the effectiveness of the 
 other interventions. Therefore, it is one of the first things to 
 consider in an attendance promotion program. 
 
 Treating Employees Reasonably 
 
 Supervisors should not attempt to punish the worker by 
 word or deed. Every negative sanction should already be 
 clearly stated in the policy statement from stage two. Attempts 
 by supervisors to deliver punishments outside of the formal 
 sanctions in this policy can have strong negative consequences 
 and might lead to a more intractable absenteeism problem. 
 However, communicating policy to the worker can be impor- 
 tant. Supervisors must know how to warn of impending 
 negative sanctions without the warning itself seeming like a 
 punishment. One way to do this is to incorporate the warning 
 into an expression of concern for the worker's welfare. This is 
 a tricky point. The supervisor could appear to be threatening 
 the employee when it is important that the supervisor be seen 
 as giving information to help the employee do well at that 
 mine. It is important, for the success of the attendance 
 promotion program, that supervisors be properly trained as to 
 how and when to give this sort of informative feedback. 
 
 A supervisor who makes value judgments about a work- 
 er's morals or personality is less likely to communicate as 
 effectively as one who clearly states the consequences of the 
 worker's behavior in a factual manner. A statement such as, 
 "What is wrong with you? You have got to show up for work 
 or you are going to lose your job, buddy" is loaded with 
 negative meanings. It is actually a form of punishment, which 
 is likely to cause a number of undesired reactions. A more 
 emotionally neutral factual statement can communicate the 
 same information and have a better effect e.g., "John, I am 
 concerned about your attendance because the company rules 
 only allow one more day of unexcused absence. I'd hate to lose 
 you because you are a good worker, but I know that manage- 
 ment strictly enforces the absenteeism policy. So make sure you 
 don't miss any more work." This type of emotionally neutral 
 informative feedback, if actually true, can be a step in the 
 direction of clear information without alienating a worker. 
 
 When the worker returns after an absence, the supervisor 
 should first welcome the person back. Informative feedback 
 should not be given until later at a time when the employee will 
 be more receptive to this type of communication. Advise 
 supervisors to give feedback before a negative sanction is 
 applied, but not when the person first returns to work and not 
 in the potentially embarrassing presence of fellow crew 
 members. 
 
 Monitor and Refer Employees For Problems 
 
 Many times, a supervisor is confronted with a relatively 
 small number of habitually absent miners. Habitual absentees 
 are apt to be experiencing some type of off-the-job problems. 
 Their absenteeism may be the result of alcoholism, drug abuse, 
 emotional distress, or family related problems. In such cases, 
 it may be helpful to both the employer and the employee if the 
 individual gets appropriate counseling or some other type of 
 assistance to help cope with the problem. 
 
 It is important that persons with certain types of prob- 
 lems, (e.g., alcoholism), be helped before their problem 
 progresses to the point of being irreversible. Working daily 
 with the employee, the supervisor is in a good position to spot 
 employees with off-the-job problems affecting their work. 
 
 Therefore, the immediate supervisor may be in the best 
 position to initially refer employees for help. However, in order 
 for supervisors to serve this function effectively, it is important 
 that they receive appropriate training. One needs to avoid 
 either (1) neglecting those who could be helped by referrals 
 (and these people may often deny their problems) or (2) 
 sending people for help who do not need it. Many agencies, 
 offering EAP services, will provide training workshops on how 
 to identify and refer employees with problems. See Campbell 
 (7) and Goodman (//) for more information about employee 
 assistance programs for coal miners. 
 
 Summary 
 
 Supervisors have a primary role because they work directly 
 with the miners and because they are involved in virtually any 
 intervention. Supervisors may need some training and feedback 
 in order to properly carry out these recommendations. 
 Recommendations for Publicly Charting Attendance: 
 
 • Charts should be filled out daily. 
 
 • Publicly post charts where the crew can see them. 
 
 • Make it easy for the supervisor to fill out the chart. 
 
 • Inform the miners that the charts are not to show 
 unexcused absences, but to show how well they are doing. 
 
 • A month's worth of data is an appropriate time frame 
 for each chart. 
 
 Recommendations for Giving Reasonable Feedback: 
 
 • Set the tone i.e., why attendance is important. 
 
 • Communicate honestly avoiding value judgments. 
 
 • Do not add punishments to the ones present in absen- 
 teeism policy. 
 
 • When the worker returns after an absence the supervi- 
 sor should first welcome the employee back. 
 
 • Remind employees of impending negative sanctions 
 before the sanctions are applied. 
 
 • Advise workers with attendance problems in private not 
 in front of fellow workers. 
 
 Referring employees with personal problems 
 
 Some miners are frequently absent because of personal 
 problems that are unrelated to the job. In such cases, it may 
 help both employee and employer if these miners receive 
 counseling or other assistance. Many agencies offer training 
 for supervisors on how to identify employees with personal 
 problems and how to motivate them to seek appropriate help. 
 
 Positive Incentives 
 
 If a problem still exists, as indicated by the ongoing 
 attendance recording activity, the next step in the attendance 
 promotion program is to implement a positive incentive sys- 
 tem. There are a few things to remember about a positive 
 incentive program. First, a criterion for success should be 
 established. Workers need to have specific information on 
 what will earn them the reward. It is in the best interest of the 
 company and the worker to not make this criterion too 
 difficult. For example, if workers are encouraged to attend 
 work when they are actually sick, they may become more ill or 
 help spread the illness among the healthy part of the work 
 force. Moreover, making the criterion for success too high will 
 cause the system to be less effective. 
 
 Positive incentive programs require careful planning. Pos- 
 itive incentive programs can be easy to implement and effec- 
 tive, but if they are not planned and used correctly they will fail 
 and could even cause other problems to arise. See Goodman 
 (72) for a discussion of common inadequacies in the design of 
 incentive plans for miners. 
 
18 
 
 The following example of a positive incentive system used 
 by a mine to increase safety illustrates some problems that may 
 arise. A mine provided expensive awards to each member of a 
 crew if no one in the crew suffered a lost time accident for a 
 year. As a result, for the first 6 months there was a reduction 
 in accidents. However, the rate of accidents increased sharply 
 during the second 6 months. 
 
 Why might something like this occur? The first part of the 
 year the whole crew might have been more vigilant and more 
 inclined to watch out for each other. But as the year went on, 
 it was inevitable that a few accidents were bound to occur. 
 After an accident occurred to anyone on a crew, the opportu- 
 nity to earn the reward was removed for the entire crew. As the 
 year progressed more and more crews became eliminated from 
 the available rewards. Thus, the overall impact the rewards had 
 on motivating safe behavior dwindled to almost nothing by the 
 end of the first 6 months. It was not because positive incentives 
 did not work, but because the system was structured so that 
 over time the rewards were no longer available to the majority 
 of the workforce. Here are some suggestions to consider when 
 designing a positive incentive program for attendance. 
 
 Size and Timing of Rewards 
 
 Most research has shown that small rewards given fre- 
 quently have more effect than large rewards given after a long 
 period of time (Malott (30), Morse (33), Sulzer-Azaroff (48)). 
 This suggests that giving a small reward, like a sticker or five 
 dollars, every 2 months for not missing more than 1 day is 
 better than giving a watch or 50 dollars for perfect attendance 
 over a year. In a positive incentive program, the criterion for 
 success should be within reach and the rewards given promptly. 
 For example, if perfect attendance is required for 6 months 
 then this will have no effect on a person who misses work the 
 second day of the program. Furthermore, this program will 
 only impact the few workers with good attendance and not the 
 general population of miners. A better program will have an 
 effect on a wider range of employees. 
 
 A good way to administer a positive incentive system is by 
 granting a reward or privilege each month for last month's 
 attendance. This short time span increases a worker's oppor- 
 tunities to succeed. It encourages good attendance at the start 
 of each new month. The rewards or privileges will work best if 
 they are considered small tokens of appreciation, that is, things 
 that workers will not feel too badly about if missed for 1 
 month. 
 
 Choosing Criterion 
 
 When setting the criterion for such a system, establish a 
 baseline by counting days on the job over the preceding month 
 or over the same time period a year ago and then use a slightly 
 higher number of days as the goal. With this criterion, a chart 
 of the total days on the job as seen in figure 7 can be useful. 
 
 The chart in figure 7 has no data on the particular days 
 when an employee is absent or on the job. The supervisor 
 simply puts an "X" over the workers name if present that day. 
 A criterion line is present to show if a worker achieves the goal 
 for that month. By looking at the chart on any day a worker 
 can see graphically how close he or she is to the goal by the 
 spaces between the last "X" and the criterion line. This chart 
 might be used in conjunction with the days actually attended 
 as described in the discussion of supervisory intervention. 
 
 In order for an incentive to effectively motivate, it is 
 critical that employees have some amount of control over the 
 performance required to attain the reward. Lawler (27) argues 
 that the more control the employee has over achieving the 
 
 performance level required to receive the reward, the greater is 
 the reward's motivating power. Therefore, a positive incentive 
 program that makes each employee's reward contingent on the 
 basis of one's own attendance record will be more effective 
 than a program that makes each employee's reward contingent 
 on the basis of the overall crew's level of attendance. 8 
 
 Rewarding a high frequency of on the job behavior, with 
 a bonus, may change the employee's focus from meeting a 
 minimum acceptable standard to the goal of exemplary atten- 
 dance. It will also eliminate some of the tricky evaluations of 
 excused versus unexcused absences. Using frequency of atten- 
 dance, with no other criterion, allows for the consistent 
 administration of the program. 
 
 Choosing Reward 
 
 The type of reward used in the program will have a large 
 impact on the outcome of the program. There is an important 
 difference between the terms reward and reinforcer. The term 
 reward has been used to indicate something offered or given 
 for some service or attainment. The definition says nothing 
 about the behavior one would be interested in increasing (in 
 this case, attendance). A reward may be given to show 
 gratitude for a job well done with no concern for future 
 behavior. On the other hand, a reinforcer is a stimulus which 
 increases future probability of the behaviors it follows. If a 
 reward is given that does not increase attendance behavior 
 (when it is appropriately applied) then that reward is not a 
 reinforcer. If this happens, one should consider changing the 
 reward to something that will increase the desired behavior. 
 
 Here are three reasons why a particular reward may not 
 function to reinforce a behavior. (1) Workers, who do not earn 
 the reward, may tease the ones who do causing a loss of desire 
 for the reward. 9 (2) Some miners may view the reward as a 
 meaningless gratuity. A particular worker may just not value a 
 reward even though others do. (3) After a person earns a 
 particular reward, one may be satiated with that object and no 
 longer desire it (e.g., if a person is not a collector, one can only 
 use so many belt buckles). 
 
 What are some of the rewards that could be used as 
 reinforcers for good attendance? As mentioned before, small 
 reinforcers given frequently have a larger impact on behavior 
 than large reinforcers given infrequently. Here are some of the 
 things that have been offered to employees us incentives for 
 various achievements: stickers, patches, uuii caps, uclt buck- 
 les, penknives, bonuses, public comrncnauuons, written com- 
 mendations, certificates, and stock m i... ^umpany. Although 
 all of these may be used as rewu.cj in positive incentive 
 programs, privileges may serve betici ui lcmiorcers because 
 satiation is not as much of a problem u-s-» a number of belt 
 buckles may accumulate, but eacn wcck the right to ao 
 something in a preferred way is used up,*. 
 
 How might some of these privileges v>urk? One might, ior 
 example, give an employee paid time on ai preierred times to 
 reinforce good attendance. 10 The question mignt arise, why 
 should one give a worker time off when thai is what the 
 
 8 For some purposes (e.g., increasing productive , c .uu[j icvcl incentive plans 
 for miners may be preferable to individual level pi_.._. uu^ Lontingencies m~, 
 be useful where (1) the individual's level of pen. iumuu is hoi amenaolc 10 
 measurement, (2) good measures of the group's pei c ... .nance are rcauiiy available 
 (e.g., the tonnage produced by face crews during « ..cck), and (,.>> icaniwork is. 
 needed to accomplish the goal, as group incentives nuj iiiitt grouy uonns aooui 
 the importance of productivity and cooperation. 
 
 9 Rothlesberger (43) landmark study at Western Eiecu'ic iiiuan-tes iiu» £ .oup 
 norms can mitigate management's performance goals. 
 
 10 Indeed, Goodman's (10) study suggests that most miners place a mgn vaiue 
 on paid time off. Most of those interviewed said they would rather have more 
 time off than more money. 
 
Total days on the job 
 
 19 
 
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 Figure 7.— Attendance tally chart for the same period as figure 5. The horizontal line at 21 days indicates the criterion level. 
 
20 
 
 program is trying to discourage? The answer is the purpose of 
 the program is not merely to have higher attendance, but to 
 have more predictable attendance so that absences can be 
 planned for and will therefore not be as disruptive. 
 
 Most managers want attendance patterns that help them 
 achieve a higher level of production, efficiency, and better 
 safety. If it is known in advance that a person will be off the 
 job because of a bonus day, one has a better chance of getting 
 an experienced replacement for the absent miner. One should 
 make provisions to spell off workers who hold critical jobs. In 
 this regard, days when absences are liable to be high anyway 
 (e.g., hunting season, fishing season, or holiday seasons) may 
 be designated as bonus days for exemplary attendance rates at 
 other times of the year. Similarly, extended vacation periods or 
 the right to leave work early, where feasible, can have a positive 
 impact on attendance behavior. 
 
 Finally, since everyone has different values and needs, 
 miners might choose from a personal incentive menu. Points 
 might be earned and later exchanged for any number of things 
 or privileges according to the miner's own particular desires. 
 
 Scheduling Reward 
 
 It is also very important how the rewards are delivered and 
 made available. In order for a reward to be an effective 
 reinforcer of a high rate of attendance, the reward must be 
 given contingent upon that behavior. This means if a bonus is 
 used to increase attendance, then a high rate of attendance 
 must first occur before the bonus is given. To ensure that a 
 particular reward is contingent upon the desired behaviors, one 
 must (1) be explicit in the criterion that will earn the reward 
 and (2) give the reward soon after the behavior of interest. 
 
 Giving rewards every day as the miner comes to work is 
 not usually possible. But, some sort of indicator of progress 
 toward the reward can be given immediately on a daily basis. 
 This is one of the reasons the charts and graphs described 
 above are of such importance. Every time a person comes to 
 work a tick mark is placed above one's name and the progress 
 toward the attendance goal that will earn a specified reward 
 can be seen. Thus, charts or point systems can be used as small 
 immediate consequences for desired behaviors. This helps to 
 bridge the gap in time between behaviors and the receipt of 
 rewards, and is important even if the time between behavior 
 and reinforcement is only a week. The public display of 
 attendance data can be a valuable aid to miners interested in 
 meeting the established criterion. Anything that can be done to 
 help them see progress toward their goal will be useful. 
 
 Vacation days must be treated carefully when implement- 
 ing a positive incentive program. Taking these days is certainly 
 the miners' right, but a last-minute decision to take a vacation 
 can be as disruptive as an unanticipated absence. To reduce 
 this problem, a time criterion for vacation days can be 
 established. Vacation days, if approved a specific period of 
 time in advance, might be treated the same as a day on the job 
 for the purposes of the incentive plan. Using this method, a 
 vacation day not approved in advance would not count toward 
 the good attendance bonus, although it would still officially be 
 an excused absence. In a similar vein, an absence due to illness 
 would also be considered to be an excused absence, but would 
 not count toward the attendance bonus. This system would 
 allow for vacation days, while keeping the integrity of the 
 attendance incentive plan intact. 
 
 After a positive incentive program is in effect it is 
 important to look at the data for changes, which may not have 
 been anticipated. It is impossible to know all of the ramifica- 
 tions a priori for a particular site. In the examples given above, 
 the total number of days of attendance was used as a criterion 
 for earning the reward. Workers might start scheduling their 
 
 absences around blocks of time so that they maximize the 
 times they can earn the rewards. These unanticipated changes 
 may or may not be useful to the mining operation. Therefore, 
 when a program is established, first allow some time to let any 
 imposed variability in the rates of attendance stabilize. Then, 
 examine the data carefully for unanticipated changes in atten- 
 dance patterns. Adjustments may need to be made to the 
 system if these unanticipated changes are counterproductive. 
 There are several design aspects to consider when incor- 
 porating positive incentives into the absence control program: 
 
 • Design the system to help you reach the attendance 
 goals you want. Establish a specific criterion of success for 
 earning the reward. 
 
 • Find a baseline by looking at the data from last month 
 or the same time period a year ago. 
 
 • A system that rewards small, but significant gains is 
 more likely to succeed than one which attempts to get perfect 
 attendance. 
 
 • Use small rewards frequently, say on a monthly basis. 
 
 • In order to provide for some immediate reinforcement, 
 use charts to show daily attendance. 
 
 • If a reward is given that does not increase attendance 
 then that reward is not a reinforcer for attendance. Change it 
 to something that will increase attendance. 
 
 • Using unadjusted attendance rates helps remove ambi- 
 guities about the meaning of the numbers. This allows for a 
 more consistent administration of the program. 
 
 • Some possible rewards that could be used as reinforcers 
 for good attendance include: stickers, patches, ball caps, belt 
 buckles, penknives, public commendations, written commen- 
 dations, certificates, stock in the company, money, and 
 privileges. 
 
 • Privileges, like paid time off, have the advantage that 
 they must be earned anew each month. 
 
 RECYCLE 
 
 The last stage in this program is to recycle. Recycling 
 means to look at what is happening and evaluate the effective- 
 ness of the program. If goals are not being met or if unex- 
 pected counterproductive behaviors have emerged, then 
 changes need to be made. If goals are on target then make sure 
 that the supervisory staff keeps administering the program 
 consistently. This stage of the program is important since it will 
 help the attendance promotion program to evolve to fit 
 particular needs of specific sites. It will also help maintain 
 gains from the intervention. If an absenteeism committee was 
 formed, it should be involved in this recycling and evaluation 
 process. 
 
 To recycle, take an in-depth look at the entire system, the 
 policies, absenteeism problem, goals, data, and views of 
 workers. Go back to stage one and check each stage to see if 
 anything can be improved. In order to get a more thorough 
 analysis of what is going on with respect to the absenteeism 
 program, one might perform a linear modeling procedure. For 
 details on the specifics of such a procedure see the appendix to 
 this report. 
 
 In this in-depth review one should look at some critical 
 questions. For example: Have positive changes occurred due to 
 interventions? Can more gains be realized? Is the system being 
 followed by supervisors? If the answer to the last question is 
 yes then reward the supervisors. 
 
 If the supervisors are not following the system then 
 consider these suggestions. First, if the supervisors are not 
 effective get them to be consistent with the program. For 
 example, set up a system to monitor their behavior and reward 
 
21 
 
 the supervisors for staying with the plan. Second, find out if 
 the goals are reasonable. The goals may not be stated in terms 
 of benefit for the organization and the worker. In the latter 
 case, review the goals and make sure they are reasonable. 
 
 However, if these supervisors, who are not following the 
 attendance program's procedures, are effective in promoting 
 the type of attendance desired then consider incorporating 
 their practices into the formal program. In any case, involve 
 the supervisors in the decisions about the policies. 
 
 Other questions worth looking at include: Is the data 
 being collected relevant? Does it measure a critical element of 
 the goal? Does the type of data display help one see gains? Is 
 it easy for the supervisors to collect and display data? Is the 
 system working with some populations or crews and not with 
 others? If so, why? Are the rewards in the positive incentive 
 program functioning as reinforcers for high attendance rates? 
 Are rewards being conferred appropriately for the system to 
 work effectively? 
 
 The system should be recycled on a regular basis. If 
 anomalies start to show up in the daily recording and display 
 then the system should be recycled to head off a possible 
 
 problem. About 3 months after any change to the system, 
 recycle to see the effects of these efforts. If things are working, 
 one should still recycle through the program on an annual 
 basis. This will ensure gains are maintained and the system is 
 working. For the most effective use of the program, ensure that 
 it is applied consistently and allowed to undergo adaptive 
 changes when it is recycled. 
 
 The following considerations are recommended as part of 
 the recycling phase of the absence control program: 
 
 • Recycling means to evaluate the program and correct 
 any problems. 
 
 • Recycling is important since it helps the program adapt 
 to fit the needs of the particular site, and it helps maintain the 
 gains. 
 
 • Recycle on a regular basis: 
 
 1. If the daily recording of attendance data shows a 
 potential problem. 
 
 2. About 3 months after a change to the system. 
 
 3. If things are working, recycle through the program on 
 an annual basis. This will ensure that the system is consistently 
 applied and keeps working properly. 
 
 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 
 
 The major determinants of job attendance appear to vary 
 significantly from one group of miners to another. Therefore, 
 before adopting a plan for increasing attendance at a particu- 
 lar mine site, one should try to identify the major reasons for 
 absenteeism at that mine. Three general areas for improving 
 attendance are improving employment procedures; overcoming 
 problems that make employees unable to attend work; and 
 increasing employees' motivation to attend work. 
 
 With regard to employment procedures, research suggests 
 that employers should attempt to review prospective mine 
 employees' past attendance records before making a hiring 
 decision. It may also be advisable to give prospective mine 
 employees a realistic job preview before offering them employ- 
 ment, especially if they are to work underground. 
 
 When employees are unable to attend work, it is usually 
 because they are experiencing one of the following: a physical 
 or mental health problem, an injury, or a transportation 
 problem. It has been estimated that from one-half to two- 
 thirds of all absenteeism is due to illnesses. In order to reduce 
 the amount of time lost because of miners illnesses, employers 
 should consider providing miners with information about the 
 importance of good health and how to achieve it. It may also 
 be advisable to offer certain types of medical services (e.g., 
 influenza vaccinations). Mental health problems can often be 
 dealt with successfully by referring troubled employees to an 
 EAR To reduce the amount of time lost because of work- 
 related injuries, one should attempt to find out what is causing 
 them, and then take appropriate countermeasures to prevent 
 them. 
 
 Employers who wish to increase mine employees' motiva- 
 tion to attend work should consider doing the following: give 
 supervisors training on how they should respond to employee's 
 absences; give miners periodic training on the company's 
 policies concerning absenteeism and how good attendance is 
 necessary for the mine to be operated in a safe and profitable 
 manner; post attendance information; enrich (redesign) jobs 
 to increase employee involvement; provide some remuneration 
 for unused sick leave, and provide incentives (both rewards and 
 negative sanctions) that are based on job attendance. 
 
 A program for improving miners' attendance was de- 
 scribed that has the following four stages: (1) measure and 
 
 display data, (2) state goals and absenteeism policy, (3) develop 
 and implement attendance promotion program, and (4) 
 recycle. 
 
 The first stage, measure and display attendance data, was 
 described as a prerequisite to any of the other stages. It is a 
 continuous process during the entire program. 
 
 The next stage, stating the goals and the absenteeism 
 policy, is considered important as it informs workers of what is 
 expected and of impending changes. This information can 
 positively impact attendance and can help the rest of the 
 program to succeed. During this stage, goals are set with 
 respect to attendance. The absenteeism policy statement 
 should be precise and understandable. It should explain what 
 absences are excusable, the procedures for reporting off, and 
 the negative sanctions for violating the rules. 
 
 Developing and implementing an attendance promotion 
 program is the stage where attendance improvement strategies 
 are tried. Two strategies that appear to hold much promise for 
 improving miners' attendance motivation are (1) supervisory 
 interventions and (2) incentive programs. 
 
 An immediate supervisor can facilitate better attendance 
 by: publicly charting attendance, treating absent workers 
 reasonably, and referring employees who may have off-the-job 
 problems. 
 
 A positive incentive program needs to have a criterion for 
 success, which is within reach. In establishing this criterion, it 
 helps to review attendance rates during prior time periods. 
 Small rewards given frequently will have more effect than large 
 rewards given after a long period of time. Rewards should be 
 chosen that will reinforce attendance. Charts can be used to 
 help bridge the gap in time between behaviors and the receipt 
 of rewards. 
 
 The last stage in this program is to recycle. Recycling 
 means to evaluate the effectiveness of the program and make 
 needed changes. The system should be recycled on an annual 
 basis unless changes are made to the system or some irregu- 
 larities in the data suggest a problem is developing. Recycling 
 will ensure that the system is working as planned, the program 
 is tailored to the specific needs of the mine, and gains are 
 maintained. 
 
22 
 
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23 
 
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24 
 
 APPENDIX.— LINEAR MODELING: STATISTICAL ATTENDANCE MANAGEMENT TOOL 
 
 This report has detailed several methods that can be used 
 to improve attendance. Aside from theoretical assurances that 
 these methods ought to work, a manager also needs to have 
 tools for objectively assessing the effectiveness of a specific 
 implementation in a specific mining situation. An obvious first 
 approach might be to implement a new program (e.g., atten- 
 dance bonuses) and compare the attendance rates before and 
 after the change. If the rates after the change are higher, the 
 implementation has been effective. Likewise, if rates are the 
 same or worse, the program has been ineffective. 
 
 Unfortunately, this simple approach has several potential 
 flaws. First, it doesn't account for other things that may affect 
 attendance. Second, even if all of the things known to affect 
 attendance could be accounted for, there are still random 
 fluctuations over time. This becomes a problem in evaluating 
 a small change in attendance rates. Was the change significant 
 and likely to persist, or was it nothing more than an ordinary 
 random fluctuation? 
 
 An effective and relatively simple way to address these 
 problems is to use statistical modeling techniques drawn from 
 management science. This approach has been shown to be an 
 effective way to manage a mining crew's productivity (P), 1 and 
 it can be readily adapted to managing attendance. The method 
 is actually simpler than it sounds. It is merely a way to 
 simultaneously assess the relative influences of all of the 
 
 1 Italic numbers in parentheses refer to items in the list of references preceding 
 the appendix. 
 
 factors likely to influence an important outcome (e.g., produc- 
 tion, accidents, or attendance). For instance, figure A-l shows 
 a hypothetical mine's attendance patterns over about 6 months 
 (128 days). As indicated on the graph, several significant events 
 occurred during this period. Hunting season was open during 
 part of the period, and there was also a heavy snowstorm that 
 overlapped part of the hunting season. The management at 
 this mine had instituted a new incentive program designed to 
 improve attendance about 1 month into the period and would 
 like to know how well it worked. 
 
 As the graph shows, attendance rates under the new plan 
 were sometimes higher and sometimes lower than before. As 
 you might expect, the lowest points were during hunting 
 season and the snowstorm because, as this report has previ- 
 ously shown, off-the-job recreation and transportation prob- 
 lems are two frequent causes of absenteeism. 
 
 SETTING UP DATA 
 
 Two types of data are used for this modeling approach: 
 data on inputs and outputs. In this case, the output data is 
 simply the number of miners working on a given day. The 
 inputs are factors that are expected to affect overall atten- 
 dance. The choice of data to include as inputs should be 
 guided in part by the discussion at the beginning of this report 
 concerning motivational and ability factors that have been 
 shown to cause absences. Not only should the input data be 
 
 DAILY ATTENDANCE 
 
 120 
 
 110 
 
 100 - 
 
 70 - 
 
 60 
 
 KEY 
 
 Actual 
 Predicted 
 
 New bonus plan 
 
 Hunting 
 season 
 
 J I I L 
 
 J I I L 
 
 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 
 
 DAY 
 
 Figure A-1.— Daily mine attendance fluctuations for statistical attendance modeling example. 
 
25 
 
 plausibly linked to absenteeism, it should also be readily 
 available and easy to measure. Table A-l shows the types of 
 data that can be used and some suggested sources. For the best 
 results, several variables should be selected from the list to 
 measure miners motivation to attend as well as their perceived 
 ability to attend. 
 
 Table A-1 .—Suggested sources of data for statistical 
 attendance control 
 
 Variable name 
 
 Attendance motivation: 
 Overall satisfaction 
 
 Examples of data sources 
 
 Supervisors' daily report: Equipment 
 
 downtime, working conditions. 
 Periodic interviews. 
 Grievances. 
 
 Amount paid in incentives. 
 Shift rotation schedule. 
 
 Desire to avoid income loss Local unemployment rate. 
 
 Mining industry employment. 
 Desire to perform off-the-job Day of the week. 
 
 activities Closeness to holiday. 
 
 Hunting season. 
 
 Job involvement Periodic interviews. 
 
 Distributive justice Do. 
 
 Attendance norms Do. 
 
 Personal work ethic Do. 
 
 Perceived ability to attend: 
 
 Transportation problems Storms. 
 
 Transportation strikes. 
 
 Health status Miners' age. 
 
 Availability-use of health programs. 
 
 Safety Accident records. 
 
 Supervisors' daily report: safety 
 conditions, roof-rib-floor problems, 
 gas. 
 
 For this example, only three variables were selected; 
 implementation of an attendance bonus plan, hunting season, 
 and delays owing to machine downtime. All three of these 
 variables are aspects of a miner's motivation to attend work. 
 The attendance bonus should increase the attractiveness of 
 coming to work while excessive equipment downtime has been 
 shown to be a common source of frustration that reduces the 
 attractiveness of work. Hunting is a popular activity in many 
 mine communities and reduces attendance by drawing miners 
 away from work. Hence, our three variables represent a 
 motivational pull towards attendance (bonus), a push away 
 from attendance (delays), and a pull away from attendance 
 (hunting). In real applications, several additional variables 
 should be added, particularly from the list of ability factors 
 (transportation problems, health, and safety). 
 
 ESTIMATING MODEL 
 
 The statistical technique used to model the effects of the 
 input variables on attendance is called multiple linear regres- 
 sion. Even a simple regression involves such a large number of 
 calculations that it has only become a practical tool with the 
 advent of modern computers. Fortunately, regression software 
 is readily and inexpensively available for even the smallest 
 popular personal computers. The analysis for this example was 
 performed on a microcomputer using the popular Lotus 
 1-2-3 2 general purpose spreadsheet software, although doz- 
 ens of other programs would have worked just as well. 
 
 2 Reference to specific products does not imply endorsement by the Bureau of 
 Mines. 
 
 In any regression program, the analyst must define the 
 input variables (sometimes called independent variables) as 
 well as the daily attendance (the dependent variable, in this 
 case). The regression then determines a mathematical function 
 of input variables that best fits their relationship to the 
 dependent variable. Table A-2 shows how the information on 
 inputs and attendance for a 125 -day period at the hypothetical 
 mine were tabulated in preparation for the analysis. The 
 attendance numbers were entered into a column with parallel 
 columns for the three input variables. The input variables for 
 the bonus plan and hunting season take on values of either 1 or 
 0. This is a numbering system that should be used when 
 dealing with conditions that either exist or do not exist. For 
 instance, there either is a bonus plan (with this condition 
 coded as 1) or there is not (coded as 0). Variables that can take 
 on a range of values, such as minutes of machine delay, should 
 be used directly. Likewise, the bonus variable could be coded 
 as the amount of money offered (if it is a cash bonus system) 
 so that several levels of bonuses could be compared. 
 
 INTERPRETING RESULTS 
 
 Among the output from the regression program (fig. A-2) 
 are two types of numbers that are of particular importance. 
 First, the R 2 (R-squared) is a number between and 1 that 
 indicates how strongly the input and output variables are 
 related. An R 2 of 1 indicates a perfect correlation and reflects 
 no detectable correlation. In actual practice, higher numbers 
 for R 2 are better, but it is unlikely that any model based on 
 actual data will approach a value of 1. A good rule of thumb 
 for an attendance model is to attain an R 2 of 0.5 or greater. 
 The model calculated in our example achieved a relatively high 
 R 2 of 0.64 indicating that the input variables accounted for 64 
 pet of the variation in attendance. 
 
 The second group of numbers to use from the regression 
 output are the regression coefficients. There will be one of 
 these numbers for each of the input variables and they indicate 
 the independent effects of changes in the input variable on 
 attendance. In the hypothetical example, the coefficients for 
 the bonus plan, hunting season, and machine delays were 
 approximately 11, - 18, and -0.03 respectively. This indicates 
 that the bonus plan actually resulted in an increase in atten- 
 dance of 1 1 miners per day and that the hunting season and 
 machine delays had the expected negative effects on atten- 
 dance. 
 
 The beneficial impact of the bonus plan might have been 
 obscured by the other fluctuations in attendance if a more 
 simple analysis had been performed. The average attendance 
 for the period after the new plan was instituted had increased 
 by approximately seven miners per day. It is quite obvious that 
 the effect was diminished by the well-known effects of hunting 
 season and machine delays, but the use of the model shows 
 more precisely how large these effects were. The coefficient for 
 the bonus plan indicates that it actually seems to have resulted 
 in improved attendance of 1 1 miners per day. The difference 
 between attendance improvements of 7 or 11 miners may be 
 significant enough to affect a judgement of the value of the 
 bonus plan. This modeling approach can provide the manager 
 with better, more accurate information about attendance — 
 information that can lead to better attendance management 
 decisions. 
 
 This appendix has only scratched the surface of possible 
 applications of statistical modeling to attendance. For a more 
 complete discussion of applied regression, a number of basic 
 textbooks are available (e.g., 35 and 55). 
 
26 
 
 Table A-2.— Data used in attendance modeling example 
 
 Day 
 
 Attendance 
 
 Bonus 
 plan 
 
 Hunting 
 season 
 
 Machine 
 delay 
 
 Day 
 
 Bonus Hunting 
 Attendance plan season 
 
 Machine 
 delay 
 
 1 
 
 91 
 
 
 
 
 
 84 
 
 64 
 
 96 
 
 1 
 
 79 
 
 2 
 
 76 
 
 
 
 
 
 84 
 
 65 
 
 102 
 
 1 
 
 68 
 
 3 
 
 83 
 
 
 
 
 
 103 
 
 66 
 
 91 
 
 1 
 
 67 
 
 4 
 
 90 
 
 
 
 
 
 75 
 
 67 
 
 100 
 
 1 
 
 107 
 
 5 
 
 75 
 
 
 
 
 
 65 
 
 68 
 
 97 
 
 1 
 
 101 
 
 6 
 
 89 
 
 
 
 
 
 83 
 
 69 
 
 94 
 
 1 
 
 74 
 
 7 
 
 92 
 
 
 
 
 
 111 
 
 70 
 
 86 
 
 1 
 
 101 
 
 8 
 
 85 
 
 
 
 
 
 89 
 
 71 
 
 87 
 
 1 
 
 69 
 
 9 
 
 76 
 
 
 
 
 
 103 
 
 72 
 
 93 
 
 1 
 
 91 
 
 10 
 
 88 
 
 
 
 
 
 77 
 
 73 
 
 69 
 
 
 89 
 
 11 
 
 79 
 
 
 
 
 
 69 
 
 74 
 
 79 
 
 
 94 
 
 12 
 
 82 
 
 
 
 
 
 113 
 
 75 
 
 82 
 
 
 103 
 
 13 
 
 79 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 76 
 78 
 102 
 97 
 65 
 82 
 
 76 
 
 77 
 
 78 
 
 79 
 
 80 
 
 81 
 
 83 
 
 67 
 
 72 
 
 85 
 
 72 
 
 76 
 
 
 69 
 
 14 
 
 77 
 
 80 
 
 15 
 
 80 
 
 66 
 
 16 
 
 91 
 
 72 
 
 17 
 
 76 
 
 100 
 
 18 
 
 75 
 
 120 
 
 19 
 
 87 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 111 
 72 
 
 82 
 
 83 
 
 84 
 
 71 
 
 
 114 
 
 20 
 
 77 
 
 116 
 
 21 
 
 85 
 
 
 
 
 
 74 
 
 84 
 
 76 
 
 
 98 
 
 22 
 
 85 
 
 
 
 
 
 77 
 
 85 
 
 66 
 
 
 119 
 
 23 
 
 98 
 
 
 
 
 65 
 
 86 
 
 79 
 
 
 97 
 
 24 
 
 96 
 
 
 
 
 73 
 
 87 
 
 75 
 
 
 116 
 
 25 
 
 96 
 
 
 
 
 105 
 
 88 
 
 77 
 
 
 117 
 
 26 
 
 88 
 
 
 
 
 75 
 
 89 
 
 78 
 
 
 95 
 
 27 
 
 97 
 
 
 
 
 105 
 
 90 
 
 82 
 
 
 100 
 
 28 
 
 101 
 
 
 
 
 76 
 
 91 
 
 82 
 
 
 107 
 
 29 
 
 87 
 
 
 
 
 93 
 
 92 
 
 81 
 
 
 71 
 
 30 
 
 91 
 
 
 
 
 104 
 
 93 
 
 74 
 
 
 100 
 
 31 
 
 94 
 
 
 
 
 78 
 
 94 
 
 66 
 
 
 71 
 
 32 
 
 95 
 
 
 
 
 87 
 
 95 
 
 66 
 
 
 103 
 
 33 
 
 97 
 
 
 
 
 74 
 
 96 
 
 102 
 
 1 
 
 104 
 
 34 
 
 88 
 
 
 
 
 70 
 
 97 
 
 89 
 
 1 
 
 105 
 
 35 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 
 72 
 
 98 
 
 91 
 
 1 
 
 87 
 
 36 
 
 94 
 
 
 
 
 113 
 
 99 
 
 94 
 
 1 
 
 103 
 
 37 
 
 88 
 
 
 
 
 90 
 
 100 
 
 102 
 
 1 
 
 93 
 
 38 
 
 94 
 
 92 
 
 
 
 
 
 65 
 74 
 
 101 
 
 91 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 93 
 
 39 
 
 102 
 
 92 
 
 116 
 
 40 
 
 88 
 
 
 
 
 116 
 
 103 
 
 92 
 
 1 
 
 114 
 
 41 
 
 97 
 
 
 
 
 70 
 
 104 
 
 98 
 
 1 
 
 84 
 
 42 
 
 91 
 
 85 
 
 
 
 
 
 76 
 113 
 
 105 
 
 91 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 72 
 
 43 
 
 106 
 
 101 
 
 101 
 
 44 ... 
 
 95 
 
 96 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 111 
 66 
 
 107 
 
 83 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 113 
 
 45 
 
 108 
 
 86 
 
 104 
 
 46 
 
 99 
 
 
 
 
 67 
 
 109 
 
 95 
 
 1 
 
 85 
 
 47 ... 
 
 103 
 
 89 
 
 
 
 
 
 77 
 83 
 
 110 
 
 89 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 77 
 
 48 
 
 111 
 
 86 
 
 115 
 
 49 
 
 97 
 
 
 
 
 104 
 
 112 
 
 95 
 
 
 
 99 
 
 50 
 
 102 
 
 
 
 
 96 
 
 113 
 
 87 
 
 
 
 107 
 
 51 
 
 102 
 
 
 
 
 77 
 
 114 
 
 84 
 
 
 
 79 
 
 52 
 
 89 
 
 
 
 
 83 
 
 115 
 
 98 
 
 
 
 88 
 
 53 
 
 93 
 
 
 
 
 100 
 
 116 
 
 97 
 
 1 
 
 100 
 
 54 
 
 103 
 
 
 
 
 74 
 
 117 
 
 89 
 
 
 
 98 
 
 55 
 
 97 
 
 
 
 
 95 
 
 118 
 
 87 
 
 
 
 76 
 
 56 
 
 97 
 
 
 
 
 85 
 
 119 
 
 90 
 
 
 
 108 
 
 57 
 
 97 
 
 
 
 
 90 
 
 120 
 
 91 
 
 
 
 77 
 
 58 
 
 87 
 
 
 
 
 70 
 
 121 
 
 95 
 
 
 
 82 
 
 59 
 
 96 
 
 
 
 
 110 
 
 122 
 
 90 
 
 
 
 104 
 
 60 
 
 97 
 
 
 o 
 
 69 
 
 123 
 
 89 
 
 
 
 119 
 
 61 
 
 96 
 
 
 o 
 
 79 
 
 124 
 
 83 
 
 
 
 112 
 
 62 
 
 98 
 
 
 o 
 
 97 
 
 125 
 
 101 
 
 
 
 113 
 
 63 
 
 90 
 
 
 
 
 82 
 
 
 
 
 
27 
 
 Average before change: 
 
 82.64 
 
 Average after change: 
 
 89.57 
 
 Average difference: 
 
 6.94 
 
 Regression Output: 
 
 
 Constant 
 
 84.87452 
 
 Std Err of Y Est 
 
 5.547504 
 
 R Squared 
 
 0.637926 
 
 No. of Observations 
 
 125 
 
 Degrees of Freedom 
 
 121 
 
 X Coefficient(s) 
 Std Err of Coef. 
 
 11.01826143 -17.6424 -0.02605 
 1.341325900 1.327857 0.031116 
 
 Figure A-2.— Computer output from regression analysis of example data. 
 
 U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 611-012/00,067 
 
 INT.-BU.OF MINES,PGH.,PA. 28908 
 
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