COUNTERPRODUCTIVE WORKPLACE BEHAVIOR (ABSENTEEISM) Absenteeism can be defined as the habitual failure for one to appear in most cases

for regular duties bestowed to them or the rate of occurrence of frequent absence from work (American Heritage dictionary, 2000). Fitzpatrick and Huczynski (1989) considered absenteeism to be nonattendance when scheduled or clearly expected to be in work and in this, holidays as well as other planned leaves are not included. According to Gary (2007) absenteeism is a situation whereby an individual misses his or her regular scheduled daily activities/duties/tasks/responsibilities referring to absence from place of work for employed adults. Last but not least, absenteeism, approved or unapproved, can be viewed as the expression of a choice by a worker not to present themselves at their working station at a time when it is intended by organization that they should be present to carry out their assigned duties (Ramsey & Punnet, 2007). The essence of absenteeism is missing from place of work which can lead to enormous costs to businesses due to lost productivity, low employee morale, possibility of losing business, dissatisfied clients, overtime for other workers, etc. which is why Nicholson (1977) developed a model that numbered a few factors that could influence the attendance and absence of employees: personal characteristics, work involvement, random factors such as vehicle mechanical problems or attendance motivation and organizational commitment. Organizational commitment refers to attachment to the organization or employees emotional bond to their organization, an affective commitment which leads to dedication and loyalty. Meyer, Becker, & Vandenberghe (2004) defined organizational commitment as psychological attachment to social or nonsocial foci and to courses of action relevant to these foci. High attachment to the organization leads to strong and proud loyalty to the organization hence the desire to actively engage in activities to better the organization by being present at work while employees with low organizational commitment will not put a lot of effort/sacrifice for the sake of bettering the organization (Rhodes & Steers, 1990, 1978). For example, a small issue like bad weather will become an excuse for not reporting to work for an employee with low organizational commitment whereas the employee with high organizational commitment will view it as a bloc/barrier to overcome. Meyer & Allen (1984, 1990) divided organizational commitment into three forms: affective commitment (which denoted a sense of belonging and emotional attachment to the organization), continuance commitment (which emphasized the perceived costs of leaving the organization) and normative commitment (which reflected the perceived obligation to remain with the organization) which could predict important work outcomes like withdrawal, performance, absenteeism and tardiness (Randal & Cote, 1991; Steers & Rhodes, 1978). The explanation lies in the fact that the object of organizational commitment is none other than the employing organization therefor the organizationoriented behavior is influenced: employees who experience positive exchange with the organization will have higher levels of commitment which will determine a higher level of motivation to contribute to the organization and viceversa.

Another workplace related variable that influences counterproductive behavior is organizational climate. Work environment or climate perception of employees has significant consequences for both individuals and organization. Climate or atmosphere in work place has impact on employees motivation, behavior, attitudes and potentials, which, in turn is predicted to influence organizational productivity (Adenike, 2011 apud Kanten & lker, 2013). Organizational climate is a set of characteristics that describe an organization and that distinguishes the organization from other organizations and influences the behavior of people in the organization (Farooqui, 2012). Organizational climate can be defined as a set of measurable properties of the work environment that is either directly or indirectly perceived by the employees who work within the organizational environment that influences and motivates their behavior (Halloway, 2012 apud Kanten & lker, 2013). Aiswarya and Ramasundaram (2012, apud Kanten & lker, 2013) considered organizational climate to be the recurring patterns of behavior, attitudes and feelings that characterize life in the organization more related to atmosphere and value. According to Moghimi & Subramaniam (2013, apud Kanten & lker, 2013), organizational climate is the values, beliefs that are not visible but exist within the employees behavior and action. Last but not least, organizational climate can be viewed as a complex, multilevel, and multidimensional phenomenon derived from employees perception of their experiences within an organization, stable over time and widely shared within an organizational unit (Dawson et al., 2008, apud Kanten & lker, 2013). Vardi (2001, apud Kanten & lker, 2013) assumed that because people tend to accept and internalize the climate of the organization in which they work, the perception of climate has an important impact on their behavior. Thus, if employees feel that the organization stands behind them and performs employee oriented politics, they will develop positive behaviors: organizational citizenship , innovative, creative and proactive behaviors and persistence/helpfulness even in case of unexpected problems (Wolf et al., 2012 apud Kanten & lker, 2013). On the other hand, if employees feel that the organization adopts a non-supportive or unwelcoming climate, they will develop negative behaviors translated in counterproductive workplace behaviors like absenteeism, lateness, putting little effort into work, taking excessive breaks, wasting resources, arguing workmates, acting rudely towards them and so on. (Applebaum et al., 2007; Pena-Suarez et al., 2013; Dawson et al., 2008 apud Kanten & lker, 2013). In conclusion, organizational climate affects the prevalence of employees positive or counterproductive behaviors. When organizational climates are perceived as more supportive socially and emotionally by employees, they generally tend to lower the level of counterproductive behaviors (Kidwell and Valentine, 2009 apud Kanten & lker, 2013). Whether is refers to organizational norms (adopted rules of organization) (Applebaum et al., 2007 apud Kanten & lker, 2013) or behavioral norms (values, beliefs, attitudes, emotions of employees) (Ahmad et al., 2012 Kanten & lker, 2013), organizational climate influences employees satisfaction and performance which leads to the organizations success and ability to continue.