How to deal with continuing absenteeism

1. Quotable quote

"Employee absenteeism is one of the most pervasive, persistent, and challenging problems confronting organisations… Many organisations fail to measure the real costs of absenteeism and erroneously conclude that it is just a minor annoyance. Some companies recognise the costs, but apparently are resigned to accepting high absenteeism as they do not take meaningful actions to reduce it… It is only after absenteeism is accepted as a costly and serious problem that meaningful efforts to reduce it can be initiated and implemented."

2. Here's an idea

So one of your employees has had a day or two off sick? You should always try to make a special trip to their office or work desk to welcome them back, and to ask them how they are feeling. Why? To make them feel important. Your visit shows them that they were missed, that things just didn’t keep rolling along without them. And, of course, it will also make them think twice about calling in sick just to ‘have a day off’, because they’ll know you’ll be checking up on them when they return!

3. Viewpoint

People are usually an organisation’s most valuable resource, says management trainer Ron Coleman and, for that reason, he advocates that managers keep an eye on staff absentee-ism and turnover, for they are the best indicators of job satisfaction.

Annual staff turnover percentage is calculated as people who leave in the year multiplied by 100 divided by average staff strength during the year. …