1. Absenteeism Group 2 Lindsay Fontaine Cara Prell Hillary Kitay
Gytis Tuminas
Christopher King
Emily Gore

2. Introduction
Work Absenteeism: “Absenteeism is understood as the failure of employees to be at their place of work for a directly or indirectly avoidable reason, such as illness, regardless of its duration or nature -common, professional, accident related or otherwise- including medical visits, as well as unjustified absences for all or part of the work day, and circumstantial leave during work hours.”

3. Introduction
The first step to managing absence effectively is to ensure that you have a clear policy in place that supports your organization's business objectives and culture.
Effective absence policies must spell out employees' rights and obligations when taking time off from work due to sickness.

4. Hierarchy of Absenteeism

5. Statistics of Absenteeism
Typical employee is absent 8 days per year
15% of the work-force causes 90% of absenteeism
Emotional factors account for 61% of time lost through absenteeism
35% of survey respondents admitted to calling in sick when they felt well at least once during the last year
20% of workers say they called into work because they just didn't feel like going into the office that day
1/4 workers report they feel sick days are equivalent to extra vacation days and treat them as such

6. Statistics of Reasons

7. Statistics of Absenteeism Costs
Companies spend 5.6% of their payroll on absenteeism.
Absenteeism costs the employer 1.75% of an absent employee's wages
Absenteeism cost companies near $800 per employee

8. Motivation Personality Extraverted Individuals Introverted Individuals
Much more satisfied in the workplace
Introverted Individuals
Less satisfied in the workplace due to too much stimulation
Are tempted to skip work to avoid the extra stimulation, and would rather be by themselves

9. Motivation
Confidential worker surveys are showing rather surprising results:
Absenteeism generally was found to be caused by:
Low job satisfaction
Substandard working conditions
Consistent negative and unfair treatment received by first-line supervisors.
Not the typical:
Low pay
Poor benefits
High workloads
Actual Sickness

10. Motivation Low Job Satisfaction Poor Working Conditions
Unfair Treatment by Supervisors
Stress
Alcohol Abuse
Domestic Violence
Family Problems

11. Absenteeism effects the company by having:
lost productivity of the absent employee
Overtime for employees who have to fill in
Decreased overall productivity for missing employees
Temporary health costs
Possible loss of business or unsatisfied customers
Problems with employee morale

12. What Kind of Absence Policy?
Traditional Policy
Excused absence
Unexcused absence
Usually must have proof
Unexcused absence can require discipline
“No fault” Policy
Specifies number of absences
Days
Occurrences
Must keep track to inform employees when absences are almost gone

13. Traditional Policy
This type of policy distinguishes between sick leave, vacation, etc.
If sick days are used up, can take from vacation time
Also distinguishes between excused and unexcused absences
Unexcused can lead to disciplinary action

14. “No Fault” Policy “No questions asked” policy
Don’t inquire as to the reason for absence
Absences are just tracked for total occurrences
Multiple days missed can be one “occurrence”
Must specify what will happen if allowed absences are used up

15. Implementing Your Absence Policy
Determine the number of absences allowed
Use counseling when limit exceeded
Use interview when employees return to establish legitimacy (is documented proof required?)
Determine requirements for medical certificates
Provide incentives and show deterrents to promote attendance
Maintain healthy work environment and have good HR department management

16. Family and Medical Leave Act
Requires that a covered employer provide up to 12 weeks of leave per year
Employee must have worked for the company for 12 months and has worked 1,250 hours in this time
Reasons for leave can be
Birth or adoption of a child
A serious medical condition
To care for a family member with a serious medical condition
The leave does not have to be paid, but the employee can use accrued vacation and sick leave
Causes problems if companies use no-fault attendance policies

17. Resolving Absenteeism
1. Eliminate stress in workplace
2. Create a positive work environment
3. Emphasize motivations
4. Policy awareness
5. Implement rewards/discipline

18. Reducing Absenteeism
We think a good absenteeism policy should include the following:
-Give employees flexibility and control at the same time
-Acknowledge that employees have lives outside of work
-An effective policy is one that empowers both the employer and the employee
-Employees must be knowledgeable about the attendance policy for it to be effective!!!

19. Sources

20. Questions