1. Why is your present absenteeism policy ineffective?.
Absenteeism policies vary in effectiveness. Most ineffective policies have a common denominator: They allow "excused" absences, whereas those that do work, have an effective policy and operate with a "no fault" approach, which defines the standard of attendance that is consistent for all employees throughout the company and applies regardless of the circumstances for absences. This rigidity makes it more clear-cut and objective, but it is inflexible and does not accommodate any special circumstances.
2. Where and when is excessive absenteeism occurring?.
Numerous studies have concluded that under trained supervisors is one of the main causes of absenteeism. Therefore, any company experiencing absenteeism of greater than 3% should consider supervisors as a potential contributor to the problem.
Given that this may be the case, first should check the percentage of employee absenteeism by supervisor to see if it is concentrated around one or two supervisors. If it is, you've begun to uncover the obvious "under-trained supervisors. If, however, your research reveals that the rate of absenteeism is almost equally distributed throughout your factory, you will need to investigate other possible causes.
3. A What are the real causes for absenteeism?.
People-oriented companies are very sensitive to employee opinions. They often engage in formal mini-studies to solicit anonymous employee opinions on topics of mutual interest, these confidential worker surveys commonly ask for employee opinion regarding higher-than-normal absenteeism. The responses have revealed rather surprising results: low pay, poor benefits and high workloads were not major causes, nor was actual sickness. Instead, absenteeism generally was found to be a symptom of low job satisfaction, sub-standard working conditions and consistent negative and unfair treatment received by first-line supervisors.
