Absences of Navy Enlisted Personnel: A Search for Gender Differences
Abstract
The purposes of this report were to compare the lost time of Navy enlisted women and men and to determine whether single parents lose more time than other personnel. A secondary goal was to replicate a 1978 study of women's and men's absenteeism behavior. Two separate investigations were conducted. The first relied on work diaries that were completed by immediate supervisors at 50 commands and the second consisted of lost time that was recorded in personnel and medical data tapes (as done a decade earlier). Key findings are: (1) No gender difference in lost time was found in ships, aviation squadrons, and 4 of the 7 types of shore commands in the sample. Women lost an average of 17 minutes more a day (62 hours per year) than men in naval stations, naval air stations/ air intermediate maintenance detachments and shore intermediate maintenance activities due to pregnancy and postpartum convalescent leave. (2) Parents lost more time than non-parents in two command types, averaging 11 minutes a day (40 hours per year), to care for the needs of their dependents and for medical reasons. (3) Married personnel lost 10 minutes more a day (37 hours per year) than single personnel in one command and single personnel lost 9 more minutes (33 hours per year) than married personnel in another. (4) Single parents did not have significantly more lost time than married parents. (5) As was found in 1978, men had more recorded days absent than women for disciplinary events. When added to hospitalization, a category where women's rates are higher than men's, the gender difference still was present. (6) Days lost due to disciplinary events are highly related to level of education.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA264161
Entities
People
- Marie D. Thomas
- Patricia J. Thomas
- Paul Robertson