Factors that causes employee absence at the workplace include sickness, work-related stress, demotivation, and personal issues. Understanding the causes of absenteeism would allow an employer to manage absenteeism. As a preventive measure, Work absence management would keep an organisation timely in workforce management and look at employee welfare issues.
This paper outlines some causes of employee absence and practical considerations for dealing with them to improve employee engagement and productivity.
Contents
Health Absence
Chronic illnesses and long-term sickness due to injuries always keep an employee going in and out of the organisation and are just cited as causes of absenteeism. Chronic diseases, seasonal diseases, and injuries within the workplace will all, in one way or the other, lead to an absence from work for the short- or at times long-term. The company wellness programs should have at least minimal health benefits and hygiene maintenance.
The provision of healthcare services to employees must include preventive measures like immunisation and regular health check-ups. In addition, other suggestions include having flexible levels of taking sick leave so that when your employees feel unwell, they can simply stay home without infecting others, thereby avoiding other complications or chronic health conditions.
Stress and Burnout from Work
Everything from clamouring deadlines to heavy workloads carries demands, resulting in stress and burnout among the workforce in an organisation. Burned-out employees hardly call in but take unplanned leaves so that they can refresh their minds. Establishing a positive workplace greatly alleviated the disappearance of workers due to stress from work. Stress management with mental support programs along with a positive corporate culture can make life easier at workplaces. Clarifying what one expects out of a job, maintaining a reasonable limit to workloads, and offering opportunities for capacity development would, though, leave the employee feeling appreciated rather d rather than overwhelmed; hence, decreasing absenteeism.
Lower Employee Engagement
If the employee is not feeling engaged or there is no motivation for him or her, he would call in sick for recuperation from morale loss or simply take the sick leave on short notice. Bad work culture, no opportunities for career development, and lack of recognition keep demoralising the entire workforce. Engagement can be built within the organisation by recognising achievements, promoting growth opportunities, and fostering a culture of support within the workplace. Feedback sessions, team-building activities, informal settings to interact, and open lines of communication connect the employees with their organisations and counteracts belongingness trends towards absenteeism.
Family and Personal Responsibility
Time off work employees take for personal responsibilities are looking after children or elderly or other family obligations. Unplanned call-ins are typical for employees who do not have any flexible working arrangements. Flexible working arrangements such as telecommuting, flexi-time, or parental leave programs would, thus, aid in balancing work and personal responsibilities for employees, minimising avoidable absenteeism but increasing job satisfaction and retention from the perspective of the employer.
Undesirable Working and Job Conditions
Abnormal absences happen due to bad culture at the workplace resources even unsafe work conditions. This is where employees exhibit poorer attendance with an unsupported or taken-for-granted life. Improvements in health and safety, culture of inclusivity, and provision of tools and resources would help enhance work satisfaction. Open environments for communicating concerns and quick responses to employee queries within the working environment would foster productivity while reducing absenteeism.
Ineffective Work Absence Management Strategies
Difficulties in tracking the trends of absenteeism would arise in organisations which do not have incident management strategies to justify the occurrence of absenteeism. Policies that contradict each other or are poorly communicated will further worsen the growth of absenteeism. Increased attendance levels will accompany an absence management policy that is well defined, the introduction of absence status tracking systems, as well as open communication lines with employees regarding leave policy. Besides, setting up robust return-to-work interviews and supportive reintegration programs to smoothen the re-entry of employees after a prolonged absence would be important on the part of the employer.
Transportation and Commuting problems
Various transportation and commuting problems affect the employee’s ability to attend the workplace. Long-distance travel, erratic public transport, and issues with personal vehicles contribute to absenteeism. When employees are constantly tardy due to commuting challenges, they may opt for unscheduled leaves. Some of the interventions that employers can consider include providing more flexible work arrangements, such as remote work options or changed start-time schedules. Other interventions may include providing transport assistance, subsidising travel costs, or encouraging carpool initiatives, all of which promote a more reliable pathway for employees to arrive at work. Employers should also consider bike racks and shower facilities on-site to incentivise alternative commuting and reduce absenteeism owing to transport issues.
Conclusion
It should be indispensable to understand, in all forms, the reasons for employee absence in an appropriate way to ensure a lively workforce. The main causes of absenteeism lie in health, work burnout, employee engagement, and other such human issues, which an employer will be able to address from a certain point of consideration. Proactive investments in an engaged, well-minded, and productive workforce would be the way to go.
