The nursing professional and their perception of absenteeism

Abstract

Absenteeism in nursing is a situation that is difficult to resolve in healthcare organizations, as it is recognized as multifactorial and complex. This study analyzed the perception of absenteeism among nursing professionals at a University Hospital. It is a qualitative cross-sectional study, guided by two questions: “What are the consequences of nursing professional absenteeism?”, and “What attitudes can be adopted to reduce absenteeism among members of the nursing staff?”. The results were analyzed based on the technique of content analysis. The participants consider that absenteeism is related to overload, compromising of care and loss of benefits, proposing strategies such as better working conditions, motivation and incentives to minimize absenteeism. Based on the present study, it has been shown that absenteeism constitutes a serious factor of unpredictability for the organization, provoked by human behavior, being associated with the organizational atmosphere and satisfaction.