Absenteeism and Labour Precarity: A Quantitative Analysis of a South African Cleaning Services Company
Main Article Content
Keywords
Absenteeism, janitorial services, working hours, quantitative research, South Africa, clinical sociology
Abstract
This study investigates absenteeism among cleaners employed by a South African cleaning services company. Despite its economic importance and the challenges faced by its workforce, the cleaning services industry remains understudied, particularly in terms of absenteeism and its impacts on cleaners’ livelihoods. To fill this void, a quantitative approach was employed, utilising a dataset of 5109 cleaners to analyse the prevalence and patterns of absenteeism. Results show that Black African females were disproportionately affected, and regions such as Cape Town and the North-West Province displayed the highest prevalence of absenteeism among cleaners. This study contributes to the growing body of research on precarious work and informs policy discussions and interventions on improving labour practices in low-wage sectors.
References
Acosta, B. (2025). Work absenteeism and its impact on productivity in the administrative area [Absentismo laboral y su impacto en la productividad del área administrativa]. Revista Tecnológica Ciencia y Educación Edwards Deming, 9(1): 18–27. https://doi.org/10.37957/rfd.v9i1.142
Ally, S. 2010. From Servants to Workers: South African Domestic Workers and the Democratic State. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Anakpo, G. & Kollamparambil, U. (2021). Teenage motherhood and child outcomes: Evidence from South Africa. South African Journal of Childhood Education, 11(1): 1-12. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajce.v11i1.972
Ashraf B, Ashraf R. (2024). Factors influencing absenteeism among nurses of a tertiary care hospital of Lahore. Annals of Human and Social Sciences, 5(1): 319-25. https://doi.org/10.35484/ahss.2024(5-I)29
Badubi, R.M. (2017). A Critical Risk Analysis of Absenteeism in the Work Place. Journal of International Business Research and Marketing, 2(6): 32-36. https://doi.org/10.18775/jibrm.1849-8558.2015.26.3004
Bao, S., Lin, J.H., Howard, N. & Lee, W. (2023). Development of Janitors’ Workload Calculator. Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 67(1): 1043–1048. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/21695067231192623
Barchiesi, F. (2008). Wage Labor, Precarious Employment, and Social Inclusion in the Making of South Africa’s Postapartheid Transition. African Studies Review, 51(2): 119-142. https://doi.org/10.1353/arw.0.0083
Bayron, M.S.S., Buna, G.A.S., Flores, K.I.S., Flores, R.J.R., Pasiolan, A.M.A., Samarista, I.L.N., Solas, N.L., Torino, M.Y.C., Yap, M.S.A. & Cruz, H.G.M. (2024). Jack of All Trades: Unveiling the Narratives of Janitors. Psychology Education, 26(9): 1018-1024. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo
Bezuidenhout, A. and K. Fakier. (2006). Maria’s Burden: Contract Cleaning and the Crisis of Social Reproduction in Post-apartheid South Africa. Antipode, 1(38): 462–485. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0066-4812.2006.00590.x
Charles, L.E., Loomis, D. & Demissie, Z. (2009). Occupational Hazards Experienced by Cleaning Workers and Janitors: A Review of the Epidemiologic Literature. Work, 34: 105–116. https://doi.org/10.3233/WOR-2009-0907
Cho, H. (2019). Humble White Apron, Shameful Blue Uniform and Empowering Red Union Vest: Women Janitors in South Korea. Asian Journal of Women’s Studies, 25(4): 555–571. https://doi.org/10.1080/12259276.2019.1672247
Connolly, H., Marino, S. & Martinez Lucio, M. (2017). ‘Justice For Janitors’ Goes Dutch: The Limits and Possibilities of Unions’ Adoption of Organizing in a Context of Regulated Social Partnership. Work, Employment and Society, 31(2): 319–335. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017016677943
Credence Research. (2025). South Africa contract cleaning services market size and growth 2032. San Jose, CA: Credence Research. Available: https://www.credenceresearch.com/report/south-africa-contractn-cleaning-services-market
Du Toit, D. (2012). For Better or Worse: Domestic Work and Outsourced Housecleaning Services in Stellenbosch. Unpublished MA Dissertation. University of Stellenbosch. https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=b1Vq_RIAAAAJ&citation_for_view=b1Vq_RIAAAAJ:u-x6o8ySG0sC
Du Toit, D. (2013). From” Cinderella Cleaners” to” Maids from Heaven”: Clients’ and Domestic Workers’ Perceptions of Housecleaning Services in Stellenbosch. South African Journal of Labour Relations, 37(1): 97-114. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282855652_From_Cinderella_Cleaners_to_Maids_from_Heaven_Clients’_and_domestic_workers’_perceptions_of_housecleaning_services_in_Stellenbosch
Du Toit, D. (2025). Outsourcing and Domestic Cleaning Services: Insights from Clients and Domestic Workers in South Africa. In García Márquez, F.P., Lev, B., and Liao, H. (eds.). (2025). Outsourcing Using Operations Research and Management Science Methods: From Theory to Practice. Pp 1-20. Springer Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-91845-2
Du Toit, D., and Casanova, E. (2025). Polishing the Pearl of the Pacific and the City of Gold: Paid domestic work in Guayaquil, Ecuador and Johannesburg, South Africa. Women’s Studies International Forum, 109, Article 103055. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2025.103055
Duffy, M. (2007). Doing the Dirty Work: Gender, Race, and Reproductive Labor in Historical Perspective. Gender & Society, 21(3): 313–336. https://doi.org/10.1177/08912432073007
Eimer, S. (2024). When Unions Organize Workers and Capitalists: Union Growth, the Trigger Mechanism and Service Employees International Union’s Justice for Janitors. Labor Studies Journal, 49(1): 28–48. https://doi.org/10.1177/0160449X231212606
Flanagan, F. (2022). Beyond Invisibility: Landscapes of Intersubjective Recognition Experienced by Cleaners in Australian Schools. Journal of Industrial Relations, 64(5): 645–666. https://doi.org/10.1177/00221856211070631
Gow, J and George, G. (2011). Business Management of HIV/AIDS: Case Study of a South African Contract Cleaning Company. African Journal of Business Management, 5(11): 4100-4106. http://www.academicjournals.org/AJBM
Goscore. (2022). Top Cleaning Companies in South Africa. https://goscorcleaning.co.za/trends-and-challenges-in-the-contract-cleaning-industry/
Gutsa, L. and Luke, R. (2021). An Assessment of Factors Affecting Absenteeism: Case Study of a Major South African Manufacturer. African Journal of Employee Relations, 45: 1-28. https://doi.org/10.25159/2664-3731/8388
Haywood, S. (2020). Effective Strategies to Reduce Employee Absenteeism amongst Canadian Female Employees. Doctoral dissertation. Walden University. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/9745
Herod, A., and Aguiar, L.M. (2006). Introduction: Cleaners and the Dirty Work of Neoliberalism. Antipode, 38(3): 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0066-4812.2006.00587.x
HSRC. (2023). Stark Neighbourhood Divides in Cape Town Raise Uncomfortable Questions. https://hsrc.ac.za/news/social-cohesion/stark-neighbourhood-divides-in-cape-town-raise-uncomfortable-questions/
Karimbil, M. R. (2019). A Study on Employee Absenteeism in Today’s Workplace. Journal of the Gujarat Research Society, 21(17): 273-279.
Kim, J.Y., Lee, J., Muntaner, C. and Kim, S.S., (2016). Who is Working While Sick? Non-standard Employment and its Association with Absenteeism and Presenteeism in South Korea. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 89(7): 1095-1101. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-016-1146-2
Klootwijk, L., Zeyrek, E., Njuguna, F., Ket, J.C.F., Mostert, S. and Kaspers, G.J.L. (2025). Absenteeism of Healthcare Workers in Primary Healthcare in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Scoping Review. Health Planning & Management, 40(2): 474-493. https://doi.org/10.1002/hpm.3890
Knotter, A. (2017). Justice for Janitors Goes Dutch. Precarious Labour and Trade Union Response in the Cleaning Industry (1988–2012): A Transnational History. International Review of Social History. 62(1): 1-35. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020859016000651
Kocakulah, M.C., Kelley, A., Mitchell, K.M. and Ruggieri, M.P. (2016). Absenteeism Problems and Costs: Causes, Effects and Cures. International Business & Economics Research Journal, 15(3): 89–96. https://doi.org/10.19030/iber.v15i3.9673
Mokomane, Z. (2021). Balancing Care and Work Roles among Women Working in the Informal Sector in South Africa. International Journal of Care and Caring, 5(1): 129-147. https://doi.org/10.1332/239788220X15984634358661
Motatsa, K., and Mokwena O.H. (2014). Transport and Rural Development: An Overview of the North West Province. The Case of Ngaka-Modiri Molema District. Proceedings of the 33rd Southern African Transport Conference (SATC 2014).
Moyo, L. and Smallwood, J. (2024). H&S Factors Linked to Absenteeism in Small and Medium-Sized Contractors. Journal of Contemporary Management, 21(1): 298–323. https://doi.org/10.35683/jcman1065.257
National Contract Cleaners Association. (2025). The Contract Cleaning Industry in South Africa 2025. Available: https://ncca.co.za/
Ntlokwana, Z. (2016). Restructuring in Higher Education Institutions: A Case Study of Centralised Cleaning Services at Rhodes University. Unpublished MA Dissertation. Rhodes University. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/3738
Ntsie, A. (2020). Invisible Workforce: The Experiences of Female Cleaning Service Employees within The Department of Public Works in Pretoria Region. Unpublished MA Dissertation. University of the Witwatersrand. https://hdl.handle.net/10539/30706
Perri, B. (2023). Maintaining Value: How University Janitors Gain Status on the Job. Humanity & Society, 47(1): 29–48. https://doi.org/10.1177/01605976221111815
Petro, L. (2014). Invaluable and Outsourced: Experiences of Private Company Cleaners Working in the Public Hospital Sector in Cape Town. Unpublished MA Dissertation, University of Cape Town. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/6829
Rabelo, V.C. (2017). Cleaning the Ivory Tower: (De)Constructing Neoliberal Discourse and Dignity in “Dirty” Work. Doctoral dissertation. University of Michigan. https://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/137098
Restrepo, C. and Salgado, E. (2013). Types of Contracts and Worker Absenteeism in Colombia. Journal of Business Research, 66(3): 401–408. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2012.04.006
Rodríguez-Nieto, M.C., Jiménez-Sánchez, O., Peña-Moreno, J.A. and Ibarra-González, V.H., (2018). Quality of Life at Work of Janitors Workers. Journal of Social Science Research, 13: 2831–2836. https://doi.org/10.24297/jssr.v13i0.7978
Runciman, C. (2022). Why formal employment is not a guaranteed path to social equality. The Conversation, 18 February. Available at: https://doi.org/10.64628/AAJ.njjeyrs4y
Sectoral Determination 1 (SD1). Available: https://www.gov.za/documents/basic-conditions-employment-act-sectoral-determination-1-contract-cleaning-sector-0
SweepSouth. (2025). Available: https://sweepsouth.com/blog/8th-annual-sweepsouth-report-on-domestic-worker-pay-and-working-conditions/
Vidal, M. (2016). Fordism and the Golden Age of Atlantic Capitalism. In Edgell, S., Gottfried, H., and Granter, E. (Eds.). The Sage Handbook of the Sociology of Work and Employment. London: Sage Publications. https://www.scribd.com/document/726660514/Stephen-e-Gottfried-h-Granter-e-2016-the-Sage-Handbook-of-the-Sociology-of-Work-and-Employment
Warren, T. (2016). Work and Social Theory. In Edgell, S., Gottfried, H., and Granter, E. (Eds.). The Sage Handbook of the Sociology of Work and Employment. London: Sage Publications. https://www.scribd.com/document/726660514/Stephen-e-Gottfried-h-Granter-e-2016-the-Sage-Handbook-of-the-Sociology-of-Work-and-Employment
Wildbret S, Stuck L, Luchen CC, et al. (2023). Drivers of informal sector and non-prescription medication use in pediatric populations in a low- and middle-income setting: a prospective cohort study in Zambia. PLOS Global Public Health, 3(7), Article e0002072. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0002072
Yuliani, M. and Suryani, E. (2025). The Effect of Recognition and Appreciation on Employee Motivation and Performance. Economics and Digital Business Review, 6(1): 1-12. https://doi.org/10.37531/ecotal.v6i1.1890
Zulfiqar, G., and Prasad, A. (2022). How is Social Inequality Maintained in the Global South? Critiquing the Concept of Dirty Work. Human Relations, 75(11): 2160–2186. https://doi.org/10.1177/00187267221097937
Ally, S. 2010. From Servants to Workers: South African Domestic Workers and the Democratic State. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Anakpo, G. & Kollamparambil, U. (2021). Teenage motherhood and child outcomes: Evidence from South Africa. South African Journal of Childhood Education, 11(1): 1-12. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajce.v11i1.972
Ashraf B, Ashraf R. (2024). Factors influencing absenteeism among nurses of a tertiary care hospital of Lahore. Annals of Human and Social Sciences, 5(1): 319-25. https://doi.org/10.35484/ahss.2024(5-I)29
Badubi, R.M. (2017). A Critical Risk Analysis of Absenteeism in the Work Place. Journal of International Business Research and Marketing, 2(6): 32-36. https://doi.org/10.18775/jibrm.1849-8558.2015.26.3004
Bao, S., Lin, J.H., Howard, N. & Lee, W. (2023). Development of Janitors’ Workload Calculator. Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 67(1): 1043–1048. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/21695067231192623
Barchiesi, F. (2008). Wage Labor, Precarious Employment, and Social Inclusion in the Making of South Africa’s Postapartheid Transition. African Studies Review, 51(2): 119-142. https://doi.org/10.1353/arw.0.0083
Bayron, M.S.S., Buna, G.A.S., Flores, K.I.S., Flores, R.J.R., Pasiolan, A.M.A., Samarista, I.L.N., Solas, N.L., Torino, M.Y.C., Yap, M.S.A. & Cruz, H.G.M. (2024). Jack of All Trades: Unveiling the Narratives of Janitors. Psychology Education, 26(9): 1018-1024. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo
Bezuidenhout, A. and K. Fakier. (2006). Maria’s Burden: Contract Cleaning and the Crisis of Social Reproduction in Post-apartheid South Africa. Antipode, 1(38): 462–485. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0066-4812.2006.00590.x
Charles, L.E., Loomis, D. & Demissie, Z. (2009). Occupational Hazards Experienced by Cleaning Workers and Janitors: A Review of the Epidemiologic Literature. Work, 34: 105–116. https://doi.org/10.3233/WOR-2009-0907
Cho, H. (2019). Humble White Apron, Shameful Blue Uniform and Empowering Red Union Vest: Women Janitors in South Korea. Asian Journal of Women’s Studies, 25(4): 555–571. https://doi.org/10.1080/12259276.2019.1672247
Connolly, H., Marino, S. & Martinez Lucio, M. (2017). ‘Justice For Janitors’ Goes Dutch: The Limits and Possibilities of Unions’ Adoption of Organizing in a Context of Regulated Social Partnership. Work, Employment and Society, 31(2): 319–335. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017016677943
Credence Research. (2025). South Africa contract cleaning services market size and growth 2032. San Jose, CA: Credence Research. Available: https://www.credenceresearch.com/report/south-africa-contractn-cleaning-services-market
Du Toit, D. (2012). For Better or Worse: Domestic Work and Outsourced Housecleaning Services in Stellenbosch. Unpublished MA Dissertation. University of Stellenbosch. https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=b1Vq_RIAAAAJ&citation_for_view=b1Vq_RIAAAAJ:u-x6o8ySG0sC
Du Toit, D. (2013). From” Cinderella Cleaners” to” Maids from Heaven”: Clients’ and Domestic Workers’ Perceptions of Housecleaning Services in Stellenbosch. South African Journal of Labour Relations, 37(1): 97-114. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282855652_From_Cinderella_Cleaners_to_Maids_from_Heaven_Clients’_and_domestic_workers’_perceptions_of_housecleaning_services_in_Stellenbosch
Du Toit, D. (2025). Outsourcing and Domestic Cleaning Services: Insights from Clients and Domestic Workers in South Africa. In García Márquez, F.P., Lev, B., and Liao, H. (eds.). (2025). Outsourcing Using Operations Research and Management Science Methods: From Theory to Practice. Pp 1-20. Springer Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-91845-2
Du Toit, D., and Casanova, E. (2025). Polishing the Pearl of the Pacific and the City of Gold: Paid domestic work in Guayaquil, Ecuador and Johannesburg, South Africa. Women’s Studies International Forum, 109, Article 103055. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2025.103055
Duffy, M. (2007). Doing the Dirty Work: Gender, Race, and Reproductive Labor in Historical Perspective. Gender & Society, 21(3): 313–336. https://doi.org/10.1177/08912432073007
Eimer, S. (2024). When Unions Organize Workers and Capitalists: Union Growth, the Trigger Mechanism and Service Employees International Union’s Justice for Janitors. Labor Studies Journal, 49(1): 28–48. https://doi.org/10.1177/0160449X231212606
Flanagan, F. (2022). Beyond Invisibility: Landscapes of Intersubjective Recognition Experienced by Cleaners in Australian Schools. Journal of Industrial Relations, 64(5): 645–666. https://doi.org/10.1177/00221856211070631
Gow, J and George, G. (2011). Business Management of HIV/AIDS: Case Study of a South African Contract Cleaning Company. African Journal of Business Management, 5(11): 4100-4106. http://www.academicjournals.org/AJBM
Goscore. (2022). Top Cleaning Companies in South Africa. https://goscorcleaning.co.za/trends-and-challenges-in-the-contract-cleaning-industry/
Gutsa, L. and Luke, R. (2021). An Assessment of Factors Affecting Absenteeism: Case Study of a Major South African Manufacturer. African Journal of Employee Relations, 45: 1-28. https://doi.org/10.25159/2664-3731/8388
Haywood, S. (2020). Effective Strategies to Reduce Employee Absenteeism amongst Canadian Female Employees. Doctoral dissertation. Walden University. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/9745
Herod, A., and Aguiar, L.M. (2006). Introduction: Cleaners and the Dirty Work of Neoliberalism. Antipode, 38(3): 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0066-4812.2006.00587.x
HSRC. (2023). Stark Neighbourhood Divides in Cape Town Raise Uncomfortable Questions. https://hsrc.ac.za/news/social-cohesion/stark-neighbourhood-divides-in-cape-town-raise-uncomfortable-questions/
Karimbil, M. R. (2019). A Study on Employee Absenteeism in Today’s Workplace. Journal of the Gujarat Research Society, 21(17): 273-279.
Kim, J.Y., Lee, J., Muntaner, C. and Kim, S.S., (2016). Who is Working While Sick? Non-standard Employment and its Association with Absenteeism and Presenteeism in South Korea. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 89(7): 1095-1101. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-016-1146-2
Klootwijk, L., Zeyrek, E., Njuguna, F., Ket, J.C.F., Mostert, S. and Kaspers, G.J.L. (2025). Absenteeism of Healthcare Workers in Primary Healthcare in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Scoping Review. Health Planning & Management, 40(2): 474-493. https://doi.org/10.1002/hpm.3890
Knotter, A. (2017). Justice for Janitors Goes Dutch. Precarious Labour and Trade Union Response in the Cleaning Industry (1988–2012): A Transnational History. International Review of Social History. 62(1): 1-35. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020859016000651
Kocakulah, M.C., Kelley, A., Mitchell, K.M. and Ruggieri, M.P. (2016). Absenteeism Problems and Costs: Causes, Effects and Cures. International Business & Economics Research Journal, 15(3): 89–96. https://doi.org/10.19030/iber.v15i3.9673
Mokomane, Z. (2021). Balancing Care and Work Roles among Women Working in the Informal Sector in South Africa. International Journal of Care and Caring, 5(1): 129-147. https://doi.org/10.1332/239788220X15984634358661
Motatsa, K., and Mokwena O.H. (2014). Transport and Rural Development: An Overview of the North West Province. The Case of Ngaka-Modiri Molema District. Proceedings of the 33rd Southern African Transport Conference (SATC 2014).
Moyo, L. and Smallwood, J. (2024). H&S Factors Linked to Absenteeism in Small and Medium-Sized Contractors. Journal of Contemporary Management, 21(1): 298–323. https://doi.org/10.35683/jcman1065.257
National Contract Cleaners Association. (2025). The Contract Cleaning Industry in South Africa 2025. Available: https://ncca.co.za/
Ntlokwana, Z. (2016). Restructuring in Higher Education Institutions: A Case Study of Centralised Cleaning Services at Rhodes University. Unpublished MA Dissertation. Rhodes University. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/3738
Ntsie, A. (2020). Invisible Workforce: The Experiences of Female Cleaning Service Employees within The Department of Public Works in Pretoria Region. Unpublished MA Dissertation. University of the Witwatersrand. https://hdl.handle.net/10539/30706
Perri, B. (2023). Maintaining Value: How University Janitors Gain Status on the Job. Humanity & Society, 47(1): 29–48. https://doi.org/10.1177/01605976221111815
Petro, L. (2014). Invaluable and Outsourced: Experiences of Private Company Cleaners Working in the Public Hospital Sector in Cape Town. Unpublished MA Dissertation, University of Cape Town. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/6829
Rabelo, V.C. (2017). Cleaning the Ivory Tower: (De)Constructing Neoliberal Discourse and Dignity in “Dirty” Work. Doctoral dissertation. University of Michigan. https://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/137098
Restrepo, C. and Salgado, E. (2013). Types of Contracts and Worker Absenteeism in Colombia. Journal of Business Research, 66(3): 401–408. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2012.04.006
Rodríguez-Nieto, M.C., Jiménez-Sánchez, O., Peña-Moreno, J.A. and Ibarra-González, V.H., (2018). Quality of Life at Work of Janitors Workers. Journal of Social Science Research, 13: 2831–2836. https://doi.org/10.24297/jssr.v13i0.7978
Runciman, C. (2022). Why formal employment is not a guaranteed path to social equality. The Conversation, 18 February. Available at: https://doi.org/10.64628/AAJ.njjeyrs4y
Sectoral Determination 1 (SD1). Available: https://www.gov.za/documents/basic-conditions-employment-act-sectoral-determination-1-contract-cleaning-sector-0
SweepSouth. (2025). Available: https://sweepsouth.com/blog/8th-annual-sweepsouth-report-on-domestic-worker-pay-and-working-conditions/
Vidal, M. (2016). Fordism and the Golden Age of Atlantic Capitalism. In Edgell, S., Gottfried, H., and Granter, E. (Eds.). The Sage Handbook of the Sociology of Work and Employment. London: Sage Publications. https://www.scribd.com/document/726660514/Stephen-e-Gottfried-h-Granter-e-2016-the-Sage-Handbook-of-the-Sociology-of-Work-and-Employment
Warren, T. (2016). Work and Social Theory. In Edgell, S., Gottfried, H., and Granter, E. (Eds.). The Sage Handbook of the Sociology of Work and Employment. London: Sage Publications. https://www.scribd.com/document/726660514/Stephen-e-Gottfried-h-Granter-e-2016-the-Sage-Handbook-of-the-Sociology-of-Work-and-Employment
Wildbret S, Stuck L, Luchen CC, et al. (2023). Drivers of informal sector and non-prescription medication use in pediatric populations in a low- and middle-income setting: a prospective cohort study in Zambia. PLOS Global Public Health, 3(7), Article e0002072. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0002072
Yuliani, M. and Suryani, E. (2025). The Effect of Recognition and Appreciation on Employee Motivation and Performance. Economics and Digital Business Review, 6(1): 1-12. https://doi.org/10.37531/ecotal.v6i1.1890
Zulfiqar, G., and Prasad, A. (2022). How is Social Inequality Maintained in the Global South? Critiquing the Concept of Dirty Work. Human Relations, 75(11): 2160–2186. https://doi.org/10.1177/00187267221097937
Article Sidebar
Published
Dec 31, 2025
Article Details
How to Cite
Absenteeism and Labour Precarity: A Quantitative Analysis of a South African Cleaning Services Company. (2025). Clinical Sociology Review, 20(2), 44-67. https://doi.org/10.36615/vy2zn259
Issue
Section
Articles
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Licensing information
Creative Commons CC Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Public License
© Author(s)
Author Biographies
David du Toit, University of Johannesburg
David du Toit is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Johannesburg and an NRF Y2-Rated scholar. He teaches third-year Social Science Research Methodology and SPSS for the Advanced Social Research course for MA students. His research mainly focuses on outsourcing, domestic work and the gig economy. David is also on the editorial board of The Sociological Review and serves on the executive board of Clinical Sociology RC46.
Gerrit Koorsen, University of Johannesburg
Dr. Koorsen’s research interests span several key areas: Computational Biology, Drug Discovery, and Educational Technology. Of particular interest is the intersection between high-throughput biological data analysis and machine learning techniques, aiming to uncover new biological insights with potential applications in agriculture, biotechnology and medicine. In the educational sphere, Dr. Koorsen is passionate about leveraging cutting-edge technologies to create more engaging and effective learning environments in higher education.
How to Cite
Absenteeism and Labour Precarity: A Quantitative Analysis of a South African Cleaning Services Company. (2025). Clinical Sociology Review, 20(2), 44-67. https://doi.org/10.36615/vy2zn259
