matters need to be taken care of during work hours. And while it is not a requirement (except for conditions required by the Family and Medical Leave Act related to family and health, or for jury duty) that companies provide time off from work (paid or unpaid), most have policies that allow employees some time for excused absences.
But when these days off are too frequent, it becomes a problem and is called absenteeism . And it could be a sign that your organization and work environment need some adjustments before the activity starts to impact the availability and productivity of your workforce, along with the profitability of the company.
What is absenteeism?
Absenteeism refers to an employee's habitual non-attendance at work. Habitual non-attendance extends beyond what is considered an acceptable range of days away from the office for legitimate reasons, such as scheduled vacations, occasional illnesses, and family emergencies.
Possible causes of excessive absenteeism include job dissatisfaction, ongoing personal issues and chronic medical conditions. Regardless of the root cause, an employee who exhibits a pattern of long-term absence can tarnish their reputation, which can subsequently threaten their long-term employability; however, some forms of absence from work are legally protected and cannot constitute grounds for termination.
Types of absenteeism
The reasons for taking time off work can be varied, but generally fall into hong kong phone number data three categories: approved absences, occasional absences, and chronic absenteeism.
In 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics stated that more than 114,000 part-time and full-time employees miss work on any given workday.
And while it’s difficult to compile a comprehensive list of all the reasons employees miss work, let’s dig a little deeper into these three categories.
Approved absences
If an employee requests and is granted permission to take time off from work, this is an approved absence. Legitimate reasons for this type of absence include earned vacation, holidays, maternity or paternity leave, long-term sick leave, jury duty, and anything that needs to be taken care of during work hours that cannot be scheduled outside of work hours.
Occasional absences of employees
In addition to approved absences from work, there will be times when an employee will need time off that was not approved in advance . Life happens and not everything can be planned in advance. Examples of typical occasional absences from work may include sick days, childcare issues, bereavement of a family member or friend, legal issues involving the courts, and the age-old pattern of car trouble.
They are genuinely occasional, as employees do not abuse the availability of these days off and use them only when necessary. Companies (should) plan for workers to need unplanned time off occasionally.
Chronic absenteeism
Chronic employee absenteeism refers to times when an employee regularly leaves work without permission from their employer. While the above two categories are manageable (most of the time) from an employer’s perspective, chronic absenteeism is not, as it disrupts the company’s day-to-day operations. From corporate profits to the morale of other employees, having workers who are constantly missing creates a headache for everyone.
If you have disengaged employees who call in sick all the time, show up late more often, leave early every day, or take very long lunch breaks (to name just a few examples of chronic absenteeism), your company has a serious problem that needs to be addressed.
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