Struggling with 30% Daily Employee Absenteeism: How Can I Turn This Around?

Hey guys, please help me in the area of employee absenteeism as I'm facing 30% absenteeism daily, which is huge. I'm keeping track of employees daily, but it is not improving. Each time, they reply with a reason for not attending work. This is the case with staff employees.

Suggestions to Reduce Employee Absenteeism

Please suggest any other ways to work on it and reduce it.

Regards,
Rashmi K

Understanding and Addressing Employee Absenteeism

The incidence of 30% absenteeism in a day is not suggestive of normal absenteeism. The very fact that there is no improvement in attendance despite monitoring it indicates that it is habitual among the employees to remain absent from work. Before deciding on any measure to remedy the situation, you need to ascertain the causes for such behavior. The causes may vary.

Potential Causes of Absenteeism

- It may be cultural in the sense that there is no culture that permits frequent absenteeism and does not inculcate the value of commitment and sincerity in the employees.
- It may be environmental. The work environment is depressing and not motivating, for example, office politics, a bad manager, or rigid working hours.
- It may relate to the job profile in that the work does not generate any interest in the employees.
- The absenteeism may also show some pattern. I used to observe a pattern of remaining absent on the days immediately following the day on which the salary was disbursed. Similarly, in offices with a five-day work schedule, some employees find it too lazy to get to work on Monday after two consecutive days of slothing.

Therefore, you need to diagnose the causes by talking to those employees who are remaining absent habitually. Thereafter, you can decide on the appropriate course of action.

Steps to Address Absenteeism

1. Draft a policy and procedure to deal with absenteeism.
2. First, call a meeting of the staff and put them on notice about your observations regarding absenteeism and advise them to be punctual and regular in attending the office.
3. Administer counseling to those who are habitually absent.
4. If they do not show any improvement, issue them an advisory memo and caution them that their absence without prior sanction of leave/permission will be treated as unauthorized, and they will be liable for a deduction of wages.
5. If they still persist in being absent, issue them a show-cause notice and if their explanation is not satisfactory, issue them a letter of censure or warning as per your policy.
6. The next step will be initiating disciplinary action by issuing a charge sheet, conducting an inquiry, and passing appropriate penalties as per your standing orders, rules, or policy.

Thus, you can proceed to deal with it stage by stage from the administrative point of view while simultaneously undertaking initiatives to deal with systemic causes like proper culture and environment building and employee engagement to motivate employees, etc.

Regards,
B. Saikumar
In-House HR & IR Advisor

When the effect (absenteeism) is visible, you must have identified the cause of a bad work environment in the plant. The cause may not be seen but can be felt. You can discuss it with your management and see what prudent steps can be taken to correct it.

Regards,
B. Saikumar
In-House HR & IR Advisor

The subject comes up for discussion time and again. You may check my reply to the past post. The link is as below: https://www.citehr.com/448902-absent...ml#post2020155

Do the analysis of that 30% absenteeism. Come up with your analysis and action plan to tide over the analysis. Productive suggestions can be given thereafter.

All the best!

Dinesh V Divekar

I have no information about your establishment: its size, manpower, nature of business, surroundings, environment, etc. However, friends have given you good suggestions. I may add that you might encounter some difficulties in conveying your observations regarding the causes of habitual absenteeism. This could be due to various reasons, such as your immediate boss holding a high position that makes it challenging for you to approach him/her directly, and so on.

Suggestion for Addressing Absenteeism

I have a suggestion for you: consider treating this issue as a project of your own. Collect response sheets filled in by those concerned manually, analyze the data, disseminate it, categorize it, and I am confident that you will obtain revealing results from this data, akin to a sample survey. Present the report for the consideration of your Head of Department/Chief Executive Officer along with your practical suggestions and recommendations that can be implemented effectively in the short and long run.

Alternatively, if you are constrained in terms of time, propose hiring Industrial Engineers, such as NPC, who are experts in this area, and entrust the matter to them. Often, managements are more receptive to comments and suggestions originating externally, even if they come with a cost, rather than accepting suggestions from their internal staff. Give it a try.

Best regards,

I hope you have received a lot of information on how to proceed further in controlling the absenteeism issue you have come across. All the suggestions and measures provided are absolutely correct. However, we cannot implement the same course of action for all the industries we work with. It varies from industry to industry and from employee to employee.

For example, the employees we encounter in IT industries are different from those in factories, and the actions taken with these employees should also differ. You cannot treat employees in factories the same as those in other industries.

It's great that you are following the suggestions provided by our dear friends. Ultimately, it depends on the work environment we have created for the staff. There should be a balance of fun and work to make employees feel good about working there. Implementing employee engagement activities, involving staff in knowledge-based activities, conducting team-building sessions, spending time with staff on the shop floor or in the office, recognizing and rewarding employees, and having regular meetings with staff to discuss benefits and growth opportunities are all important aspects.

Although this may seem general, it can be effective.

All the best,

We have 40% absenteeism in our unit. The main causes are:

Cultural Factors

- Local people are lethargic. Alcohol consumption is part of their culture. During the marriage season or harvesting period, it increases tremendously.

Educational Factors

- The education level is poor, and they do not understand the consequences of unauthorized absenteeism.

Work Environment

- It is an underground coal mine, and the working conditions are tough. Little can be done to improve the working conditions due to the inherent nature of underground mining. If they are allowed to work on the surface, their attendance improves tremendously, but it will affect coal production and ultimately the industry.

Steps Taken to Control Absenteeism

1. Counseling: Every employee who is absent from duty is counseled.

2. Disciplinary Action: Disciplinary actions are taken, and penalties are imposed against absent employees.

3. Motivation: We have various reward schemes for employees with good attendance. We also have good welfare measures comparable to the best in the industry.

Please suggest any other measures to control unauthorized absenteeism in a situation like this.

I would like to reiterate that the education level of the absent employees is very low. Most of them are illiterate and may not understand the employee participation techniques. Instead, they may prefer a home gathering where alcohol is available to them. We have a suggestion committee, and suggestions do come in, but mostly from educated employees like supervisors, for whom absenteeism is not a problem. Additionally, we organize the best employee function in all categories on a quarterly basis. Therefore, traditional bookish methods may not be effective here. Individual counseling may work to some extent, but I would appreciate any other advice you may have.

Thank you.

I appreciate the reply by loginmiraclelogistics, who understands underground (UG) mining very well. We have a ventilation problem and excessive watery conditions. Workers lose energy fast and cannot continue for more than three days a week. In my opinion, this is the main reason for their absenteeism. Anyway, thanks for your suggestions.

Mr. Kumar's post has given an idea of the hardships of working in coal mines. Apart from what he suggested to reduce stress, is it possible to involve agencies that deal with alcohol problems to educate the workers and then mitigate this problem, as well as experts in family counseling to instill a sense of responsibility in the workers? Alternatively, could non-monetary incentives (as cash incentives may encourage more drinking) work to improve attendance?

Regards,
B. Saikumar
In-House HR & IR Advisor

Thanks for your posts. Having lived among them and toured many major mining companies all over India, including coal, copper, zinc, iron ore, aluminium, and uranium over three decades, the general psyche in the mining population at the phase worker level is more or less the same. The working conditions are naturally very arduous, and they exhaust before reaching the actual work phase. In some narrow mines, they have to trek over 2-4 km in underground (Ug) by foot through the slushy pedestrian path-like ways, sometimes climbing up and down. By the time they reach the spot carrying instruments, explosives, and safety equipment, they have to take a rest for at least half an hour. No beverages are served in Ug except when VVIPs visit the spot. Oxygen levels are very low compared to the surface. Immediate medical care is hardly available anywhere near. Many times they brave mishaps and grievous to fatal accidents. All these factors drive them to seek some physical relaxation in alcohol. When it becomes a routine addiction, drinking is automatic. A high percentage of absenteeism among these workers is triggered by 'hangover' due to heavy drinking overnight. Unless we improve the working conditions/environment, it's very difficult to retrieve them.

In some companies, they have the scheme of attendance bonus. It's not possible to introduce promotions because the next-to-phase workers' promotion means a grade which requires that they should pass 'Competency Exams' conducted by the Dept. of Mines Safety, and how these less literate persons could qualify these competency exams is practically not possible. As a part of 'Safety Week' celebration and competitions, which are compulsory events for all mines under Mines Regulations where themes propagating better, safe living are conducted. Hospitals attached to the mines also should play a crucial role in constantly monitoring them one to one on a daily basis. Of course, any number of counseling sessions given to them may result in temporary change, but the amount of physical strain pushes them back to good old drinking, which is also a root cause of disturbance in their family relationships.

I'm also sure drinking habits, when addicted to, are the main cause of many families on the surface as well. Unless all governments bring in total prohibition (now only Gujarat state has the prohibition policy) policy backed by very effective anti-spurious drinks/drugs substances in the form of country liquors like toddy, arrack, bong, etc., there won't be peace in our homes.

Regards,
B. Saikumar
In-House HR & IR Advisor

Talk to your manager and ask him to formally announce that no one can be absent without informing. Request him to empower you because your employees might be taking you lightly. Ask your employees to submit documented proof if they are going to be off, such as a medical prescription, exam schedule, or any other relevant documentation. Also, post the instructions regarding the attendance policy on the notice board. Those who do not comply will lose their annual leave or face a deduction in salary, as disciplinary action will be necessary. For example, three late arrivals will be considered as one absence, resulting in the deduction of leave days.

Additionally, consider issuing warning letters individually to employees who have consecutive late arrivals and absences.

Regards