Mélanie Volral

Are workers less absent when wage dispersion is small

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of wage dispersion on sickness absenteeism observed in Belgian firms. Design/methodology/approach - – The authors use detailed linked employer-employee panel data for the period 1999-2006 that allow the authors to compute a conditional wage dispersion indicator following the Winter-Ebmer and Zweimuller (1999) methodology and to estimate the relationship between sickness absenteeism and wage dispersion while controlling for time-invariant workplace characteristics. Findings - – The authors find a positive and hump-shaped relationship between intra-firm wage dispersion and sickness absenteeism, the turning point of this relation being extremely high. In addition, the magnitude of the influence of wage dispersion on sickness absenteeism is found to be stronger in firms employing a larger share of blue-collar workers. Practical implications - – The results could therefore suggest that wage dispersion, suggestive of larger pay-for-performance mechanisms, decreases worker satisfaction and the workplace climate in general. Only a minority of workers, who are less sensitive to equity and cohesion considerations, would be less absent as pay-for-performance increases. Originality/value - – While numerous approaches analyse the link between wage dispersion and firm productivity, very few studies we are aware of are devoted to the relationship between wage dispersion and sickness absenteeism. Yet, the outcomes in terms of productivity and sickness absenteeism may be different. Furthermore, the influence of wage dispersion on sickness absenteeism does not seem unambiguous from a theoretical point of view. To the authors knowledge, it is the first time that this relation is analysed with Belgian data.

La dispersion salariale augmente-t-elle l’absentéisme au sein des firmes ?

The aim of this paper is to provide a critical summary of the literature regarding the relationship between wage dispersion and sickness absenteeism. From a theoretical point of view, according to the tournament theory, this relation could be either i) negative, due to the incentive effect induced by the expected attribution of the largest prize to the most productive worker or ii) positive, because of adverse working conditions associated to required increased productivity in order to win the prize. On the other hand, according to a group of theories based on fairness considerations, this relation could be i) positive, because of the lower cooperation induced among the workforce, or ii) negative, if a higher wage dispersion is perceived as a sign of gratitude by the more productive workers. We present the very few studies we are aware of analyzing the influence of wage dispersion on sickness absenteeism with particular attention devoted to the empirical results that have been obtained for the Belgian private sector.

EFFECTS OF HUMAN RESOURCE PRACTICES ON FAMILY FIRMS SOCIAL PERFORMANCE

The aim of our research is to analyse social performance (through turnover rate) of large family owned business in relation to their human resource practices. We made multiple regressions on a sample of 60 large firms. Our global model, considering large family owned business and non-family owned business, shows that part-time contracts increase turnover significantly, while training reduces it. We observe the same relation when we analyse family owned business specifically where we also note that to belong to the trade sector influences turnover significantly. When we consider non-family owned business on the other hand, then variables like pay, training, firm’s age and services or building sectors tend to affect turnover significantly.