ABSENTEEISM

A RELTIONSHIP BASED APPROACH

The Relationship Based

The approach Will: - Build awareness; -Provides recognition; and -Assists employee to achieve regular and consistent attendance

Learning Objectives

Understand the types and causes of absenteeism and the associated costs from not directly tackling absenteeism Identify whether an organization has absenteeism problem Describe how to measure absence

What is Absenteeism?
Failure of employees to report for work when they are scheduled to work
or Absence of workers from the regular without prior permission, notice or sanction

Why we analyze data?

Analysing absence data is important for two reason:

1.The process enables an orginsation to determine whether or not it has an absence problem 2.It can help the orginsation to understand what is driving absence

Absenteeism rate

The rate of absenteeism is expressed as the percentage of mandays lost through absence to the total number of mandays scheduled in given period Absenteeism =
Number of manday lost through absence Number of manday scheduled to work 100

Absenteeism

Types of absences - Non-culpable (non-blameworthy) - Culpable (blameworthy)

Types of absenteeism

Non-culpable (nonblameworthy) - Legitimate -Employee has no control

Culpable (blameworthy) - Employee has control - Is not entitled to time off Examples - Late - Slept in - No shows -Fraudulent use of sick leave

Examples -illness -Injury -Emergency family responsibilities

Causes of absenteeism

1. Nature of work 2.Poor working condition1 3.Absence of regular leave arrangement 4. Accidents. 5. Poor controls 6.Irregular transport. 7.Lack of interest 8.Attraction to village life 9.Alcoholism and gambling

Effect of absenteeism

Labour absenteeism is harmful to both the employers and the worker as follow : 1. Normal work-flow in the factory is disturbed. 2. Overall production in the factory goes down 3. Difficulty is faced in executing the order in time 4.Causal workers may have to be employed to meet production schedules. Such workers are not trained properly 5.Over time allowance bill increase considerably because of higher absenteeism

consider

6. When a number of workers absent themselves, there extra pressure of work on there colleagues who are present 7. workers loses wages for the unauthorised absence from work.

Measures to controls

1.Proper selection 2.Proper orientation 3.Better working condition 4.Provision of transport and housing facilities 5.Incentive bonus to regular employees 6.Disciplinary action 7.Preventive of accidents 8.Effective supervision 9.Employees counselling

Cost of Absenteeism

Productivity

Administrative

Financial

Decrease in Productivity

Absent staff place an extra burden on the whole organization Time lost in the sourcing and training of new or replacement staff Morale and motivation issues can greatly decrease the productivity of staff

Administrative Costs

supervisory and administrative costs in the monitoring and management of absenteeism programme Increased costs associated with securing replacement staff Increased

Financial Costs

Salary costs for new or replacement staff Overtime payments

Medical and insurance costs may increase

How to manage absenteeism

Program to avoid long term leaves Put policy in place Track statistics and trends Be proactive focus on wellness to avoid absenteeism

Ergonomics awareness (to avoid injury) Wellness sessions (ex: blood pressure clinics) Ensure healthy work-life balance Encourage use of sick days dont show up to work sick Ensure return to work program or early intervention

Assesings the nature of Absenteeism

Two other metrics are important in understanding the nature of absenteeism Incidence or frequency Duration

Absence incident

An absence incident is any continuous absence from commencement until return to work e.g. a 1 day absence is 1 incident. Like wise, a consequence 12-day absence is also one incident Absense incidence is related to: Psychosocial factors Job satisfaction Work place factors Organization factors Health risk factor

Absense duration

Absense durations the total number of days absent from work per absence incident. Generally, duration is considered to be a measure of severity, i.e. the longer the absence the more severe the health issue Absence duration is related to: - Timely reporting and follow up -Quality medical care - Responsive, modified work accommodation - Sick leave and disability plan designs

Commitment To Employees

Although regular attendance is essential, circumstances do occur which prevent an employee from attending work due to an illness or inquiry By being committed to health and well being of employees you will assist employees to meet their obligation of regular attendance

Absenteeism policies
Traditional absenteeism policy - That distinguish between excused and unexcused absences - Employees are provide with a set number of sick day and set number of vacation days - Also called personal No fault system - Permits each employee a specified number of absences annually and does not consider the reason for the employees absence

People Get Sick & May Need Time Off Work

The goal of a relationship based approach to managing absences includes:

-1. Manage attendance positively, pro-activity and consistently, by recognizing good attendance and assisting those that have difficulty achieving an acceptable attendance level; -2. Encourage accountability for work attendance; -3. Work with individual employees who are having difficulty maintaining regular work attendance; -4. Search for solution to maintain regular attendance and reduce absence; and -5. Assist in protecting the employee relationship Trough valuating and supporting employees you reduce both human and financial costs

Absences Contribute To

Lost productivity A reduction in your ability to provide the best working environment A reduction in your ability to provide the best customer service A reduction in employee morale Human costs Increased administrative costs; and Increased labour costs

Absenteeism Management
The approach applies to non-culpable (non-blameworthy) absences Culpable absences are unacceptable and disciplinary action may be warranted Where it is felt a culpable absence has occurred, the supervisor and/or manager must: - deal with the situation and - where appropriate contact Human Resources

Absenteeism Management

Consider You hire people because you need them Without employees you cannot provide the best service for the community and each other

Absenteeism Management

The direct supervisor or manager is in the best position to successfully address attendance issues because they: -Have an established relationship with the employee; -Are responsible for the employees performance; and -Are directly impacted by the absence

Supervisor/Manager Responsibilities

Acknowledging employees with improved attendance Encouraging these employees to continue their good attendance Being a leader and a positive attendance model Implementing regular attendance reviews with employees Investigating barriers to regular attendance Providing a safe and healthy workplace; and Adhering to the adopted approach

Employee Responsibilities
Employees must be able to fulfill the requirements of their jobs on a regular basis It is each employees responsibility to: - Understand their obligation to attend work and perform the duties for which they were hired -Be at work on time -Attend to personal/private business outside of working hours -Attend medical/dental appointments outside of working hours (whenever possible)

Reporting Absences

Where a definite return date is not provided the employee is required to call on a daily basis The supervisor or manager receiving the call must be sensitive to the employees right of privacy While it is reasonable to have the general reasons and prognosis for the absence, the employee is not required to provide a detailed diagnosis of their illness Particular sensitivity must be exercised as serious health issues or gender-sensitive problems could be involved The supervisor/manager has a Casual Return to Work Conversation when the employee returns

Employee Responsibilities

Take measures to maintain good health and well-being Follow the Citys procedures for reporting illnesses and injuries Personally keep supervisors and/or managers informed of their recovery when they are off work due to an illness or injury Report to their supervisor and/or manager upon their return to work Provide any required documentation that supports their absence Be aware of their own attendance record details

Benchmark by profession
Type of Industry Construction Manufacturing Transportation and warehousing Finance, insurance, real estate Education services Health care and social assistance Accommodation and food services Public administration Number of sick days per year 9.4 10.2 12.2 8.9 10.6 14.3 8.1 12.2

Source: Statistics Canada, Days Lost per Worker by Industry, 2007

Benchmark
Average Employee Absence Due to Illness or Disability, by Province
14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0
10.2 10.1 10.5 9 10.8 9.3 12 10.5 8.4 12 9.8

QU E

SK M B

NB

BC

PE I

AB

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Ca na da

ON

NF

FLOWCHART

Employee working at regular job

Employee goes off work due to injury or illness

Employee calls in Support and assistance is offered to Employee as required Employee Provides clear reason for absence and expected return to work date
Employee provides clear reason for absence and no return to work date

Employee returns to work

Employee is required to contact their supervisor/manager as directed until they provide a return to work
Supervisor/manager maintains contact with employ

Supervisor/manager informally communicates with employee upon their return to work

Thank you