First and foremost, the employer-employee relationship is based on mutual respect and reciprocation. Companies and organizations have been investing in their employees to improve productivity and recompense for all the hard work.
Whether intentional, habitual or beyond help, employee absenteeism costs significant amounts of money to organizations across the world. A certain amount of absenteeism around the year is considered as an entailment. However, the effects of excess employee absenteeism can permeate the finances and operations of the organization and the morale of the other employees. Just like dynamic and variable salaries can cause problems in the workforce, certain employees being absent all the time can adversely affect productivity.
A majority of large and medium-sized companies offer health insurance to their employees. However, employee absenteeism statistics suggest that only a very small portion of the workers avail the benefits of health insurance. The corporate world evolves without pause and thus, warrants progressive solutions.
FITCORP is a corporate fitness solution based on the principle of prevention rather than cure. It is better to cater to the majority of the employees who would rather workout and stay healthy instead of a handful of employees who avail the insurance after they have already gotten medical assistance. FITCORP gives access to thousands of gyms across India at the convenience of their employees. They can participate in healthy activities as it suits their schedule; they can book and attend workout sessions on Yoga, Zumba, Pilates, Aerobics, Gym Workout, MMA, Kickboxing, Swimming and many more whenever and wherever.
Excessive Workload – the stress of meetings and presentations put together with unappreciated work might cause employees to avoid turning up whenever possible. Heavy workloads and personal issues outside of work can also lead to absenteeism in employees.
Illness – medical problems are one of the leading reported reasons for being absent. As it turns out, it is not always the actual reason. Apart from that, seasonal diseases like cold and flu lead to a spike in the employee absenteeism rate.
Bullying and harassment – these problems are more rampant than expected and employees are quite likely to call in sick to avoid these situations. They may be bullied or harassed by their bosses or colleagues.
Personal responsibilities – employees usually need to take leave to take care of their children or elders. These problems are largely unavoidable.
Depression – a growing epidemic among the youth as well as aged employees and is becoming - even though widely unrecognized - one of the leading reasons for absenteeism. While it may not be a direct reason, depression drives people towards substance abuse, which can not only increase absenteeism but decrease productivity as well.
Detachment - certain employees are simply not committed to their jobs and are unlikely to have the motivation to go to work. Job-hunting might be another reason for disengagement. Employees often call in sick to attend job interviews.
Lack of Flexibility – work schedules do not always work for all employees and the lack of flexibility can lead to a rebellious attitude. It has been witnessed that employees work properly if they are provided with the required flexibility. If not, these employees start extending their breaks or start coming in late on purpose.
Regular absenteeism primarily affects deadlines of important assignments. Projects are left incomplete and this leads to problems among the other employees. Taking an example of an agency – if the content team doesn’t complete the work on time, the development team will also face problems accordingly.
Unscheduled absenteeism costs a lot of money to organizations. Wages are still paid in addition to the overtime pay for other workers. In case excessive absenteeism leads to termination of the employee, the replacement employee usually seeks a higher CTC. Moreover, there are additional administrative costs of managing absenteeism.
Often, absent employees cause other staff members to resent them because the work is then distributed among them. It also leads to poor working relations in other projects. These problems might also create problems between the management and the other employees.
Chronic absenteeism affects the growth prospects of the employee, co-workers, and companies as a whole. While the employees won’t grow professionally, the company loses out on the bigger and more important projects.
All employees must be initiated with the attendance policy; the protocol for reporting an absence, collateral procedures in case of absence, and the absence recording policy. It should include the repercussions and follow-ups of unexplained and repeated absence. The policy must be signed by all employees to ensure compliance, which will encourage them to be consistent and follow the rules.
It is an inevitable responsibility of the management to create a stress-free environment for the employees. All the facilities, without which employees might feel stressed, should be properly provided. All broken equipment should be fixed as soon as possible. Promote activities that keep the employees motivated in addition to programs that encourage health and well-being.
In case an employee is absent due to personal reasons such as health issues or bereavement, provide support to them upon return. Such an initiative will improve their spirits and prevent repeated absenteeism in the future. In case of family emergencies or mental health issues, it would be prudent to follow discretion and allow time off or flexible working hours. This will improve their work-life balance and increase trust in the company.
Employees should be given regular feedback, which can be effectively implemented. Good work should be especially appreciated. Employees might feel underappreciated if the feedback is seldom provided. It might give out the message that their efforts are not appreciated. Negative feedback should be given positively to avoid demoralizing the employee(s).
While the management should avoid any conflict with the employees, you should make an active effort to resolve any conflict among the employees. Any bullying and harassment should be dealt with immediately and effectively.
Employees with good attendance throughout the year must be rewarded well for their perseverance. This will encourage them to continue working hard while others will get the inspiration to do better. However, it must be planned carefully so that employees absent for genuine reasons like long-term illnesses are not demoralized.
