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Publications
  • 2022
  • Working Paper

The Effect of Employee Lateness and Absenteeism on Store Performance

By: Caleb Kwon and Ananth Raman
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:38
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Abstract

We empirically analyze the effects of employee lateness and absenteeism on store performance by examining 25.5 million employee shift timecards covering more than 100,000 employees across more than 500 U.S. retail grocery store locations over a four year time period. We first document that both lateness and absenteeism rates are sizeable: in our sample, shift-level lateness (by at least 5 minutes) and absenteeism rates are 9.6% and 11.6%, respectively. Additionally, conditional on being at least 5 minutes late, employees clock in on average 21 minutes after their designated start time. Using instrumental variables constructed from shifts scheduled with short notice, we find that lateness and absenteeism negatively affect sales, transactions, and average basket sizes. We also find that one employee's lateness and absenteeism can "spillover" onto their coworkers, which causes them to stay past their original clock-out times. Our estimates suggest that even with accurate demand forecasting capabilities, retail stores can potentially improve performance by accounting for employee lateness and absenteeism in their labor scheduling decisions.

Keywords

Absenteeism; Lateness; Scheduling; Performance Productivity; Employees; Retail Industry

Citation

Kwon, Caleb, and Ananth Raman. "The Effect of Employee Lateness and Absenteeism on Store Performance." Working Paper, August 2022.
  • SSRN
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About The Author

Ananth Raman

Technology and Operations Management
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • 2024
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    Human-Computer Interactions in Demand Forecasting and Labor Scheduling Decisions

    By: Caleb Kwon, Ananth Raman and Jorge Tamayo
    • 2025
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    The Impact of Input Inaccuracy on Leveraging AI Tools: Evidence from Algorithmic Labor Scheduling

    By: Caleb Kwon, Antonio Moreno and Ananth Raman
    • 2023
    • Faculty Research

    The Real Effects of Fair Workweek Laws on Work Schedules: Evidence from Chicago, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia

    By: Caleb Kwon and Ananth Raman
More from the Authors
  • Human-Computer Interactions in Demand Forecasting and Labor Scheduling Decisions By: Caleb Kwon, Ananth Raman and Jorge Tamayo
  • The Impact of Input Inaccuracy on Leveraging AI Tools: Evidence from Algorithmic Labor Scheduling By: Caleb Kwon, Antonio Moreno and Ananth Raman
  • The Real Effects of Fair Workweek Laws on Work Schedules: Evidence from Chicago, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia By: Caleb Kwon and Ananth Raman
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