Absence management – enabling HR to bring more to the business

Absenteeism in the workplace is a continuing problem that many managers and HR departments strive to deal with.

The reason is easy; when a particular employee seems to be taking opportunities with sick leave, the resulting conversations can be rather uncomfortable and challenging to approach. What if they are, in fact, genuinely experiencing a reoccurring sickness? What if, as you assume, they’re taking long periods away from work under the appearance of being sick?

Increasing concerns with such employees are challenging. It needs a mix of authority and kindness that is hard to get appropriate.

Getting it right is essential because absenteeism in the workplace can damage fertility and create severe business difficulties. Over 130 million days are lost every year to sickness in the UK alone, associating with an annual £100 billion black hole in the economy.

Although sick leave is part and parcel of business, it is likely to reduce situations where employees become conventional to taking time off under the appearance of being ill. It’s also necessary that companies identify signs of actual illness and do all they can to understand why they exist.

  1. Focus on increasing engagement
  2. Promote a safe working environment
  3. Remember that ‘presenteeism’ can be just as damaging
  4. Look for signs of bullying or harassment
  5. Consider whether your business is flexible enough

Winding-up

There are very few people who solely don’t want to come to work. Those that fall into that section won’t hang around for long, but the employees who want to be there but seem to do all they can to avoid being present need more like examination and more like maintenance.

By using the tips in this blog post, you’ll stand a great chance of recognising the most frequent reasons that lie behind continued, regular absenteeism and preventing it before it results in lost productivity and fast-declining revenue.

HRMatrix Time Management Software empowers an organisation to develop a clear understanding of employee time-keeping through comprehensive reports on Attendance, absenteeism, overtime, flexi-time, rostering and holiday leave.