Excessive absenteeism has always been a problem in the business world. It is consistently ranked as one of the reasons for decreased productivity and therefore profitability. Absenteeism leads to employees having to work longer hours, resulting in a dissatisfied workforce, as well as unhappy customers. There are a number of solutions to control absence rates within organizations:
1. Allow for a Work-Life Balance
Build “personal days” into employee packages. Often individuals resort to calling in sick because they’re worried that their bosses won’t be sympathetic about problems at home. Making sure that employees are comfortable enough to be honest is extremely important for a manager. Implementing flextime rules is another effective way to encourage a work-life balance.
2. Post-absence Interviews
When employees take time off unexpectedly, it could be beneficial to follow-up with them upon their return. Discuss the reason for absence, and how it could have been prevented. Also, if the employee in question has frequent absences, it could help to reinforce how absenteeism can affect the company and their fellow co-workers.
3. Offer Incentives
Offering rewards for positive behavior is a proven motivational method. To decrease absenteeism, managers can provide monetary incentives, awards such as “Employee of the Month”, or even simple praise can be effective.
4. Punishment
Simply punishing employees for unauthorized absences or unexpectedly calling in sick is a common practice. However, it is not the most effective – managers should work instead to reward individuals who attend work, to encourage attendance.
5. Implement a Time & Attendance System
This final option reduces administrative work, by automatically tracking employee hours and absences, allowing employees to request time off easily, and calculating who is eligible to work overtime. Reports can be created and data can be analyzed, to determine who is commonly absent, and on what days/times. Having these features and this kind of information allows managers to schedule accordingly, and monitor any trends in absenteeism to ultimately combat the issue.
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