Can conflict management be an antidote to subordinate absenteeism?

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between supervisors' conflict strategies and subordinates' affective commitment and absenteeism. Design/methodology/approach - To test the hypotheses, the authors conducted a survey of 173 higher educated employees in consulting and staff functions. They measured supervisory conflict management by asking subordinates to rate the conflict strategy of their superior. For the measurement of absenteeism the officially recorded sick leave figures of days per year were used. Findings - The results show a pure mediating effect of commitment in the relationship between supervisory integration strategy and absenteeism. The non-confrontation strategy is negatively related to commitment, but neither directly nor indirectly related to absenteeism. There is no direct or indirect (through commitment) relationship between the supervisory controlling strategy and absenteeism. Practical implications - Suggestions for absence management and management development are offered. Originality/value - The work advances the thinking on supervisory cooperative and competitive behavior and the operating mechanisms between this behavior and employee work attitudes and behavior.