Decreasing Absenteeism

February 16th, 2012Absenteeism, Medical Leave, Sick Leave0 comments

Which is worse? Is it worse to have people call in sick who really aren’t all that ill? Or is it worse to have sick employees come to work and infect the rest of the populace? The problem of absenteeism or “sick leave” has gotten worse over the years, particularly around holiday times. The cost to companies is in the billions of dollars and that cost rises when you consider losses from absent government and public sector employees.

Who pays for sick leave? In some countries it is paid by the employee himself. In other places, it is more acceptable to have the company pay for the losses from absenteeism. Some companies are paying less and less of sick pay in order to offset the increased costs of health insurance the corporation must pay.

For companies, absenteeism delays the work process and projects do not finish on time. Other workers are put under greater stress having to make up for the lack of work being done by the sick employee. The cost of overtime goes up.

In certain countries smaller companies may not even pay for sick leave. The employee must decide to stay home and not get paid or to go to work sick and get paid. This phenomenon increases the transfer of infectious diseases from one employee to another and this can really affect overall productivity.

Not every employee uses sick leave the way it needs to be used. Absenteeism is highest when there are sicker employees and there are some work cultures in which sick leave is blatantly abused. Reasons for these things include mental illness or a real physical illness, living a lifestyle that is so unhealthy you aren’t well enough to work on any given day. Some employees need to take time off to take care of sick family members. Some employees can’t handle the stress and call in “sick” whenever the stress has overcome them. If there is conflict at work, some employees will handle it by calling in sick. Some employees just don’t understand that you have to be “sick” in order to use sick leave. There are some employees that just don’t appreciate their job and take every opportunity possible to take time off.

Companies will benefit from stopping the trend of overuse of sick leave. They need to create an atmosphere in which employees experience job satisfaction and don’t want to leave work all the time. They need to feel needed at work so they strive to be present at all times. Companies can offer monetary awards for cases of zero absenteeism. When people are hired, they should be instructed on the proper ways to make use of sick leave. Research ways to reduce overall job stress so employees want to come to work every day.

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