QUALITY OF WORK LIFE (QWL) AND ABSENTEEISM INDEX (AI) IN A SMALL BUSINESS

The competition between companies is generating a reduction in profitability ratios of the same, forcing the optimization of the production process, thus obtaining, greater efficiency in the allocation of factors of production involved. This research aims to correlate the rate of absenteeism with indicators of Quality of Work Life (QWL), through the results of a case study applied between employees of a brick small factory (pottery), located in central region of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. For this, a method of qualitative research was used, which enables the researcher to evaluate in detail the practice of improving QWL, as quantitative in the identification of satisfaction and absenteeism rates. It was found that in the company is no correlation between absenteeism and QWL, being the category of "attendants" that had the highest rate of absenteeism and job dissatisfaction, on issues of QWL. In general, it can be concluded that most of the causes of absenteeism is related to the low level of employees satisfaction with their work, undermining personal relationships, principles of QWL, and hence production levels.