How To Deal With Staff Absence From Work

Staff or employees will inevitably be absent from the workplace. At some point, staff members will become ill or injured and occasionally require time off to attend to personal or family matters.

However, at what point does an absence become excessive?

When unscheduled or unauthorised absences from work become routine, it can have a negative effect on the other office employees and the employers.

Companies are looking for new methods and strategies to better monitor, control, and reduce excessive absences.

What is Absenteeism?

Absenteeism entails frequent absences from work without a valid explanation and far exceeds the good time off. Numerous factors, such as chronic health conditions, stress, mental health issues, workplace harassment, and low morale, can contribute to a high absenteeism rate.

Absenteeism in the workplace is typically a symptom of a more severe or fundamental issue. According to the World Health Organization, depression and anxiety account for approximately 12 billion lost working days worldwide.

This has cost the global economy $1 trillion annually in lost productivity. This loss is alarming, and as a result, many businesses have taken measures to monitor absences from work, determine the cause of these absences, and determine whether any severe reasons must be addressed.

Here are three ways to effectively manage employee absences and encourage a more productive and engaging work environment:

Hold a Private Meeting

Suppose you are a superior/line manager/employer and notice a staff member who is consistently late or absent. In that case, it is appropriate to have a private meeting with him/her. This meeting aims to identify the cause of his/her consistent absence. The private meeting should then resolve to find ways and solutions on how this issue can be overcome.

Questions to ask the staff include "Is the commute to work difficult?" "Is it influenced by the difficulty in childcare or medical issues?" Once the root cause of the problem has been identified, a solution can be developed. The answer should consist of actionable steps that are doable for the staff and trackable by the employer/line manager. At times, the causes can come from personal problems or issues. In this case, if the employer/line manager is in no position to offer a solution, he/she can guide them towards seeking outside help.

Try to Be Accommodating

Staff turnover can be costly. In fact, it is estimated that staff turnover can range from 40-400 per cent of staff's yearly salary. In most cases, the employer will have to work on developing solutions for the missing staff instead of taking immediate and drastic action to employ someone new.

Suppose the job does not require a specific start time. The employer should consider flexible working hours if the target is achieved by a particular time or due date. This will allow them to choose when to do their work and to have better control and flexibility in managing their responsibilities and duties. This will improve the staff work/life balance, which is essential to their productivity at work.

Take Disciplinary Action

Suppose the solution agreed upon with the staff needs to be revised, and he/she is still consistently absent. In that case, the employer/manager will have no choice but to resort to disciplinary action towards the staff. The employee handbook must outline the protocol the employer/manager should follow on how the corrective action can be conducted.

Some companies use a point system where the staff will accumulate points for tardiness. Other companies use rolling attendance systems where attendance violations are recorded over a 6 or 12-month period. After the period has ended, the calculation of absence at work begins again.

Keynote

Regardless of the company's system for tracking time and handling attendance violations, it is essential to be proactive and ensure that the situation is addressed professionally, politely, and civilly. The employer or manager must treat the team with dignity and justice by holding all team members to the same attendance standards.

Remember that even the best employees might have a terrible week that affects their work performance. In this situation, the employer or manager must cultivate empathy and a deeper understanding of the staff's circumstances.

However, the company must prevent one employee from being chronically tardy, or else other staff members who are typically on time would become irritated. Instead, focus on providing solutions that facilitate the success and attendance of the team. This will encourage team members to achieve their best and increase their job output.

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