  Among the main causes of absenteeism are health problems, emotional problems,
and inadequate work-family policies (WFP). This paper analyses the impact of
the existence and accessibility of WFP on work absenteeism, by considering the
mediating role of the well-being, which includes emotional as well as physical
or health problems, that is generated by these policies. We differentiate
between the existence of the WFP and its accessibility, as the mere existence
of the WFP in an organisation is not enough. Additionally, workers must be able
to access these policies easily and without retaliation of any kind. The model
includes the hierarchy and the gender as moderating variables. To test the
proposed hypotheses, a structural equation model based on the partial least
squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) approach is applied to a sample
of employees in the service sector in Spain. On the one hand, the findings show
that the existence of WFP has no direct effect on absenteeism; however,
accessibility to these policies does have a direct effect on absenteeism. On
the other hand, both the existence and accessibility of WFP have positive
direct effects on emotional well-being. In addition, emotional well-being is
positively related to physical well-being which, in turn, promotes a reduction
in absenteeism. Finally, significant differences in the relationship between
the existence of WFP and emotional well-being confirm the special difficulty of
female managers in reconciling family life and work life.
