ABSENTEEISM

Absenteeism is expensive, as seen in estimates that absenteeism nationally costs $505 per employee per year. Being absent from work may seem like a small matter to an employee. But if a manager needs 12 people in a unit to get the work done, and 4 of the 12 are absent most of the time, the unit’s work will probably not get done, or additional workers will have to be hired. Nationally, 7.2 days per employee are lost to absenteeism each year.

1. TYPES OF ABSENTEEISM

Employees can be absent from work for several reasons. Figure depicts the reasons for unscheduled absences. Clearly, some absenteeism is unavoidable. People do get sick and have family issues such as sick children that make it impossible for them to attend work. This is usually referred to as involuntary absenteeism. However, much absenteeism is avoidable; it is called voluntary absenteeism. Often, a relatively small number of individuals in the workplace are responsible for a disproportionate share of the total absenteeism in an organization.

Because illness, death in the family, and other personal reasons for absences are unavoidable and understandable, many employers have sick-leave policies that allow employees a certain number of paid absent days per year. Absenteeism tends to be highest in governmental agencies, utilities, and manufacturing firms.

Absenteeism is lowest in retail/wholesale firms, possibly because those industries use a large percentage of part-time workers.

Reasons for Unscheduled Absences

2. MEASURING ABSENTEEISM

Controlling or reducing absenteeism must begin with continuous monitoring of the absenteeism statistics in work units. Such monitoring helps managers pinpoint employees who are frequently absent and the departments that have excessive absenteeism.

Various methods of measuring or computing absenteeism exist. One formula for computing absenteeism rates, suggested by the U.S. Department of Labor, is as follows:

3. CONTROLLING ABSENTEEISM

Controlling voluntary absenteeism is easier if managers understand its causes more clearly. However, there are a variety of thoughts on reducing voluntary absenteeism. Organizational policies on absenteeism should be stated clearly in an employee handbook and stressed by supervisors and managers. The policies and rules an organization uses to govern absenteeism may provide a clue to the effectiveness of its control. Studies indicate that absence rates are highly related to the policies used to control absenteeism.

Absenteeism control options fall into three categories: (1) discipline, (2) positive reinforcement, and (3) a combination of both. A brief look at each follows.

·     Disciplinary approach: Many employers use a disciplinary approach. People who are absent the first time receive an oral warning, but subsequent absences bring written warnings, suspension, and finally dismissal.

·     Positive reinforcement: Positive reinforcement includes such methods as giving employees cash, recognition, time off, or other rewards for meeting attendance standards. Offering rewards for good attendance, giving bonuses for missing fewer than a certain number of days, and “buying back” unused sick leave are all positive methods of reducing absenteeism.

·     Combination approach: Combination approaches ideally reward desired behaviors and punish undesired behaviors. One of the most effective absenteeism control methods is to provide paid sick-leave banks for employees to use up to some level. Once that level is exhausted, then the employees may face the loss of some pay if they miss additional work unless they have major illnesses in which long-term disability insurance coverage would begin.

Another method is known as a “no-fault” absenteeism policy. Here, the reasons for absences do not matter, but the employees must manage their time rather than having managers make decisions about excused and unexcused absences.

Once absenteeism exceeds normal limits, then disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment can occur.

Some firms have extended their policies to provide a paid time-off (PTO) program in which vacation time, holidays, and sick leave for each employee are combined into a PTO account. Employees use days from their accounts at their discretion for illness, personal time, or vacation. If employees run out of days in their accounts, then they are not paid for any additional days missed. The PTO programs generally have reduced absenteeism, particularly one-day absences, but overall, time away from work often increases because employees use all of “their” time off by taking unused days as vacation days.

JOB SATISFACTION AND ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT

In its most basic sense, job satisfaction is a positive emotional state resulting from evaluating one’s job experiences. Job dissatisfaction occurs when these expectations are not met. For example, if an employee expects clean and safe working conditions on the job, then the employee is likely to be dissatisfied if the workplace is dirty and dangerous.

Job satisfaction = A positive emotional state resulting from evaluating one’s job experiences.

Job satisfaction has many dimensions. Commonly noted facets are satisfaction with the work itself, wages, recognition, rapport with supervisors and coworkers, and chance for advancement. Each dimension contributes to an individual’s overall feeling of satisfaction with the job itself, but the “job” is defined differently by different people.

The number of people who are dissatisfied with their jobs nationally varies with the unemployment rate. Higher unemployment rates usually mean more dissatisfied workers because it is more difficult to change jobs, and people stay longer on jobs they do not like. Those workers who are mostly satisfied with their jobs vary from 60 to 85 percent of the total. These numbers are similar to those found in Europe when employees are asked about satisfaction with their jobs.

Individual managers seem to have a greater impact on employee satisfaction than the company itself.

There is no simple formula for predicting a worker’s satisfaction. Furthermore, the relationship between productivity and job satisfaction is not entirely clear. The critical factor is what employees expect from their jobs and what they are receiving as rewards from their jobs. Although job satisfaction itself is interesting and important, perhaps the “bottom line” is the impact that job satisfaction has on organizational commitment, which affects the goals of productivity, quality, and service.

If employees are committed to an organization, they are more likely to be more productive. 

Organizational commitment is the degree to which employees believe in and accept organizational goals and desire to remain with the organization.

Organizational Commitment = The degree to which employees believe in and accept organizational goals and desire to remain with the organization.

Research has revealed that job satisfaction and organizational commitment tend to influence each other. What this finding suggests is that people who are relatively satisfied with their jobs will be somewhat more committed to the organization and also that people who are relatively committed to the organization are more likely to have greater job satisfaction.

A logical extension of organizational commitment focuses specifically on continuance commitment factors, which suggests that decisions to remain with or leave an organization ultimately are reflected in employee absenteeism and turnover statistics. Individuals who are not as satisfied with their jobs or who are not as committed to the organization are more likely to withdraw from the organization, either occasionally through absenteeism or permanently through turnover.

FORECAST HR SUPPLY

The information gathered from external environmental scanning and assessment of internal strengths and weaknesses is used to predict or forecast HR supply and demand in light of organizational objectives and strategies. Forecasting uses information from the past and present to identify expected future conditions. Projections for the future are, of course, subject to error. Changes in the conditions on which the projections are based might even completely invalidate them, which is the chance forecasters take. Usually, though, experienced people are able to forecast with enough accuracy to benefit organizational long-range planning.

Approaches to forecasting human resources range from a manager’s best guess to a rigorous and complex computer simulation. Simple assumptions may be sufficient in certain instances, but complex models may be necessary for others. It is beyond the scope of this text to discuss in detail the numerous methods of forecasting available, but a few of the more prominent ones will be highlighted.

Despite the availability of sophisticated mathematical models and techniques, forecasting is still a combination of quantitative method and subjective judgment. The facts must be evaluated and weighed by knowledgeable individuals, such as managers and HR experts, who use the mathematical models as a tool rather than relying on them blindly.