What Is absenteeism?

Absenteeism is defined as the habitual or intentional failure to attend work. Several factors,
including illness, family obligations, vacation, personal problems, or job dissatisfaction, can
cause it. Absenteeism can harm the individual and the company, leading to lower productivity
and increased labor costs.

There are a few ways to reduce absenteeism in the workplace, such as crafting a company
culture that values attendance, offering flexible work arrangements, and providing support to
struggling employees. By reducing absenteeism, companies can create a more positive work
environment and improve employee morale.

Must Read: What is Unauthorised Absence? A Guide For Employers

Types of absenteeism in the workplace

Approved absences

Employees who request and receive permission to leave work are considered to have left on
approved leave. It is possible to take this type of leave for legitimate reasons, including earned
vacations, holidays, long-term medical leaves, jury duty, and anything that cannot be scheduled
outside work hours.

Occasional employee absences

An employee can require time off without being approved beforehand in addition to approved
time off. Some things can only sometimes be planned for in advance, and life happens. A few
examples of occasional absences from work are sick days, childcare issues, bereavement for a
family member or friend, legal issues, and car trouble. These are truly occasional in that
employees do not abuse the availability of these times off and use them only as necessary. The
company should prepare for workers' unplanned absences on occasion.

Chronic absenteeism

Chronic absenteeism is when employees regularly miss work without their employer's
permission. While chronic absenteeism can be managed (most of the time) from an employer's
perspective, the other two can be quite difficult because they disrupt the business's daily
operations. It is a headache for corporations and their employees to have workers who are
constantly MIA.

It's time for your company to deal with chronic absenteeism if you've disengaged employees,
employees who call in sick all the time, who show up late, leave early, or who take extra long
lunch breaks.

Useful Read: No-Call No-Show: How To Deal With Employees Who Don’t Show Up For
Work
How to measure absenteeism?
A simple formula can be used to determine absenteeism. Calculate your unexcused absences
over time and divide them by the total. You can calculate absenteeism over a month, a year, or a
semester by multiplying it by 100.

The absenteeism rate formula

(absenteeism excepted/total period) x 100 = % of absences)

In terms of absenteeism, no set number or percentage indicates excessive absenteeism. If you

work for a company with several employees, a score of zero would be ideal, but some of it is
acceptable.

To determine whether an absence is excused or justified, you must differentiate unexcused from
justified absences. While both affect productivity, unjustified absences impact your business the
most. You need to be able to prevent and control those more easily to control them more
effectively.

It is possible to control absences with the help of absence management software. It is a great tool
for digitizing HR tasks. Despite these negatives, digitization can mitigate them.

What are the business impacts of absenteeism?

The impact of unauthorized absences on a business can often be devastating, especially if shift
work is involved. A huge financial impact is caused by the need to pay for time off, find
replacement employees quickly, and incur administrative costs because of the resources required
to change shifts, communicate with customers, and hire workers to fill vacant positions.

Absenteeism also significantly reduces productivity. The right person with the right skills can be
difficult to find when an employee with a unique skill set is absent. It may result in a delay in
completing the project and lower quality. An organization's customer experience is at the core of
its success, and all of these factors can negatively affect it.

Employee absenteeism can also profoundly affect other employees, who are often forced to take
on more and increase their workload to compensate. It can cause them to feel overwhelmed and
overburdened, hindering their productivity and delaying project completion.

In addition to having a long-term impact on the profitability and revenue of the organization,
each of these elements greatly impacts the work environment, customer experience, and overall
productivity.

What are the causes of absenteeism?

Several factors can contribute to employees' absence from work or reduced engagement and
productivity at work - some of which are easier to identify. Several studies and surveys have
found that the most common reasons employees miss work are:

Workplace stress and burnout

Employees who feel overworked or overwhelmed may become less productive at work or even
decide to take a vacation. Employees' stress can also cause absenteeism since they are more
likely to get sick and experience anxiety and depression. The workplace is often a stressful and
exhausting environment for top employees. To reduce this problem, you should regularly
evaluate company practices, make sure the workload is distributed fairly, and teach employees
how to manage stress.

Useful Read: Stress Leave from work: Implications and Best Practices
Low Morale

Employees who feel unmotivated, undervalued, or unchallenged may need to pay attention to
work or take long breaks. Also, disengaged employees might seek other employment to fix the
situation themselves, another major contributor to absenteeism. It is a multifaceted problem, but
it is easy to solve. A good internal communication system and a growth opportunities program
can help you encourage employee loyalty. You should also ensure all employees feel valued and
heard and that they can fully utilize their skills.

Childcare and Family Emergencies

The daycare center may not be available because of your child's cold, or the babysitter may not
be able to provide care. While some offices offer childcare on-site, others accept it as a standard
cost of doing business. To execute effective absenteeism management, it is important to identify
who your employees must inform about their excessive absences. Additionally, remote work can
help to maintain high morale and productivity.

Related: Building Engagement with Remote Employees: Tips and Strategies

Illness and Injury

The most common reason employees miss work is illness and injury, which include travel time
to doctors' appointments and dealing with more serious medical problems. Employers can benefit
from implementing on-site healthcare and workplace wellness programs that will keep their
workers healthy and reduce the time they spend searching for healthcare.

Job Hunting

When seeking other employment, employees might miss work to attend interviews. Additionally,
they may spend time searching for jobs online and submitting resumes at work. Employees who
miss work to job hunt have often been experiencing employee burnout or low morale for months
or even years, but these issues have gone unaddressed. Employees can grow within your
organization if you offer them more opportunities for professional development. Employees who
feel committed to their employers are less likely to look elsewhere.

Costs of lost productivity

According to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, 94,000 workers in 14 major occupations
in the US had chronic health conditions. The cost of lost productivity was $84 billion a year for
77% of those workers. In this study, it was found that the annual costs associated with
absenteeism vary significantly by industry, with professional occupations experiencing the
highest losses in terms of absenteeism.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a rise of 110% to 7.8 million illness-related work
absences in January 2022, compared to 3.7 million the year before. According to the Reserve
Bank of the United States, absenteeism in U.S. companies in 2020 cost about $3,600 per hourly
worker.

Many factors contribute to the costs, including:

 Employees' absenteeism wages

 Workers who earn high overtime wages (overtime paid for other employees as well
as temporary workers)
 Managing absenteeism of administrative cost

Absenteeism also has indirect costs and effects, including:

 A lack of staffing or overtime fatigue results in poor-quality goods/services

 Reduced productivity
 A manager's excess time (dealing with discipline and recruiting replacement employees)
 Issues involving safety (inadequately trained employees filling in for others, trying to
keep up after being replaced, etc.)
 Low morale among employees who do extra work to cover absent colleagues

It is common for employees to miss work for several reasons, but let's take a closer look at these
three categories.

Manage leave and absence with ease!

 Automatic accrual of vacation hours

 Request leave easily
  Leave registrations visible in the planning

Is absence management able to reduce absenteeism?

Absence management is an effective strategy to reduce absenteeism, as it offers the following
benefits:

 Reduce operational costs

 Improve employee welfare

When HR software is absent of data, it is easier for human resources to improve policies and
programs. An organization can reduce costs by monitoring the absence of data as a baseline.
Tracking absences can also be used by HR to discover absenteeism trends and enhance absence
management programs.

The absence management industry provides a wide range of solutions, including return-to-
work support, assessment services, and coordination and management, as well as many other
benefits if you explore HR software.

Useful Read: The Phased Return to Work Process: Balancing Employee Health and
Business Needs

It is important to prevent absenteeism from becoming habitual with the help of absence
management solutions. Costs are reduced on both an operational and secondary basis. In
addition, employees can have a better work experience and a sense of well-being.

Let's see how you can use absence management software and resources to maximize their
benefits.

When is absenteeism excessive?

Absenteeism policies vary from company to company, with some having more flexible policies
and some having strict ones. An exact definition of excessive absenteeism cannot be given due to
the lack of a set guideline.

There is a higher likelihood of absenteeism among employees in larger companies than in

smaller ones. Your company is responsible for establishing what constitutes excessive
absenteeism and communicating the rules. You can decide how often you attend work, but there
is a way to determine when your absences become excessive. This is known as the Bradford
Factor.

Managers can keep track of absences by benchmarking individual employees. A Bradford Factor
is based on the number of planned and unplanned absences that are more disruptive than long
absences. Employees with three two-day absence periods will get a better score than those with
one six-day absence period.

A method like this allows you to keep track of absences, identify areas of concern that may be
excessive absenteeism, and take action where necessary.