What is Absenteeism
Absenteeism consists of leaving the place of employment and the duties inherent to it. It can also be defined as the absence of a person from his job during the hours he should be present. In this article we will provide you the information how to manage absenteeism in the workplace?
Basically absenteeism occurs when an individual does not go to work and does not fulfill their responsibilities. As we will see later, there are different types of absenteeism. However, first we are going to make a brief introduction of the problems it poses for companies.
Absenteeism poses a significant dilemma for companies due to the economic costs and organizational conflicts that it entails. It could also lead to a significant reduction in productivity .
For all these reasons, the control and management of absenteeism will be tasks that the human resources departments must deal with, in order to reduce the number of absentees (people who do absenteeism) as much as possible.
Types of absenteeism
Next, we are going to describe the different types of absenteeism:
- Predictable and justified: The company has been informed, so this type of absenteeism can be controlled. We refer to cases such as paid legal leave (the company continues to pay the employee), common illnesses with temporary sick leave, work accidents with sick leave, and unpaid leave for personal matters. In the latter case, the firm may cut the employee’s salary due to his time of absence or consider that he is consuming vacation days to which he is entitled by law.
- Not foreseeable and without justification: It consists of leaving the job without the permission of the company .
- Face-to-face: The employee goes to his job, but does not perform his duties. Instead, you may be carrying out activities that are inappropriate for your occupation. Visiting web pages or checking e-mail for personal purposes are clear examples of face-to-face absenteeism.
Consequences of work absenteeism
There are negative effects, since it is reflected as a breach of the commitment made in the contract, which affects certain issues:
- A company because it reduces its productivity and if this is prolonged or generalized, it may present a loss of competitiveness .
- To colleagues, since they are forced to involuntarily increase the workload to compensate for the absence. This has a detrimental impact on the organizational climate.
- For the person, because it impacts their image with the company they work for, as well as with their colleagues. In the same way, when the absence is prolonged, the income is usually affected because the payment of the salary is not sustainable , since there is no consideration .
- People who are financially dependent on the person’s income.
- Society also suffers a cost when it comes to absenteeism being a government employee is obvious.
How to avoid work absenteeism
As we have already indicated, absenteeism is a major headache for companies. A worker who does not carry out his work entails a cost and does not report any benefit . In some cases, it can even harm the company unjustifiably. Here are some tips to avoid absenteeism:
- Surveillance of medical leave : This can be done, for example, from the supervision of the medical reports that certify the illness or health condition of the employee.
- Registration system: Establishment of an electronic marking system at the entrances to the building.
- Limit Internet Access: The network will be used exclusively for work-related purposes.
- Flexibility of the workday: Establish a workday that allows reconciling personal and family life.
- Improve health care policy: In such a way as to expedite medical care for workers and thus reduce absenteeism hours from jobs.
