Antecedents and Consequences of Presenteeism in the Lebanese SMEs

Purpose Based on review of literature it is found that presenteeism is one of the biggest management tests a business can face and the question that arises is to what extent does the perception of leadership style affects perceived intention to quit as mediated by perceived presenteeism, perceived work life balance and perceived job satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach Based on review of literature, the researcher developed an instrument that was concise and easy to understand. This instrument was undergone a robust process of development and testing. The content of the questionnaire was based on review of literature and after piloting, the construct validity of the Likert 5- points scale items was established using factor analysis. Most of the items were drawn from previously tested questionnaires in the literature but were modified to suit the Arabic culture. The psychometric properties of reliability were determined using Cronbach’s Alpha. The instrument was distributed to a large sample of employees working for different SMEs in Lebanon. Furthermore, the researcher depended on highly trained girls to conduct structured face-to-face interviews by visiting respondents at their homes and/or work. The sample size was determined using the statistical confidence formula. Findings Almost half of the respondents reported that they don’t perceive their leaders as role models that listen to employees or create a sense of community among them. Almost two thirds believe that employees in our country are trained to work under stress, demonstrate lack of loyalty and like to quit their job. Most employees still force themselves to go and be present at work even if they have health or non–health problems. Results show a weak negative correlation; perceived Intention to Quit decreases as level of perceived collaborative leadership, job satisfaction and presenteeism increase. Furthermore, it is highly recommended that decision makers at the surveyed Lebanese SMEs make presenteeism and job satisfaction a priority, because they are considered critical and highly important. What’s more, leadership is the first step in reducing employees’ turnover. Originality This article empirically tested structural equation model (path Analysis) within the context of leadership in a developing country.