Absenteeism

What is absenteeism?

Absenteeism describes the situation where employees do not show up for scheduled shifts or miss scheduled events such as meetings and appointments. The term is also sometime applied to late arrivals, early departures, and unauthorized breaks.

What are common employee attendance issues?

• Arriving late
• Frequently calling in sick
• Failing to attend meetings
• Missing appointments
• Longer-than-authorized breaks
• Leaving work before the shift ends
• Failing to perform job duties while at work

What are some causes of absenteeism?

• Childcare and eldercare
• Disengagement
• Illness
• Depression
• Workplace bullying or harassment
• Burnout and low morale
• Stress
• Injuries
• Job Hunting

What are negative effects of absenteeism?

• Decreased morale
• Lower productivity
• Bad customer experience
• Reduced team cohesiveness
• Cultural impact

How can absenteeism be tracked and improved?

1. Create a compliant, progressive attendance policy
2. Track attendance to understand the situation
3. Treat all employees equally under the policy

How can scheduling and timekeeping effect absenteeism?

Preventing schedule confusion reduces unintentional tardies and absences. Post schedules several weeks in advance and track arrival, departure, and breaks. This is one of the easiest ways to reduce absenteeism.

See also

• Time and Attendance

Additional resources

Destructive Employee Absenteeism Improve Your Attendance Tracking