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© Copyright 2000 Rogers Media. The following article first appeared in the April 2001 edition of
BENEFITS CANADA magazine.
Lessons in absenteeism management
Absenteeism relates directly to an organization's culture. A health-conscious environment and
support for work-life balance are two rules for prevention.
By Dave Ericson
Who can relate to this scene? Ms. Grimshaw is at the front of the grade four class performing the roll call.
"Stuart?" Someone nudges Stuey and he bolts upright from a peaceful slumber. Ms. Grimshaw gives him a glare.
"Bobby?" Silence. "Bobby, are you present?" Again, silence.
Being absent, or quasi-absent as in Stuey's case, wasn't acceptable in grade school--nor is it in the
workplace, where it costs Canadian companies about $10 billion a year, according to Statistics Canada.
Over the past few years, productivity-focused plan sponsors have attempted to tackle this issue using
various tracking systems and solutions. But for many organizations, absenteeism management remains a
daunting task. The biggest reason that companies aren't addressing this issue is that they often don't know
where to start.
By its very nature, absenteeism challenges most employers' values and cultures. The traditional employer
believes that people are simply happy to have a job, but absence abuse offends this idea.
To truly get at the heart of an absenteeism problem, employers need to develop a culture that recognizes
that individuals want to have a challenging, safe, friendly and rewarding workplace. This is a significant
shift in thinking for companies deeply entrenched in traditional workplace culture. It means that the
organization must acknowledge the importance of individuals as not only workers, but individuals who have
lives outside of work.
If all of this sounds a little too new age, keep in mind that this is indeed the new age--the 21st
century--where, despite an economic slowdown, there remains stiff competition for skilled workers in many
sectors. Organizations striving to become employers of choice are realizing that they need to rethink their
company culture to attract and retain these employees.
Plan sponsors dedicate a great deal of time and resources to improving productivity and reducing costs. But
they are also tired of service providers trying to sell them on some new program. Absenteeism management
isn't just a program though, it's a philosophy about getting the most out of your employees. Making sure
people are healthy enough to work--and are motivated to come to work--is the cornerstone of any business
success.
ABSENTEEISM 101
It's helpful to break the absenteeism problem into smaller, more manageable segments that can be addressed
individually without losing sight of what needs to be accomplished.
The term absenteeism defines two situations: the employee is not physically at work, or he or she is
present, but not working at full capacity. In the latter instance, the employee is quasi-absent.
Absenteeism is generally caused by four factors: legitimate disabilities and/or illnesses; family issues;
lifestyle choices; and job dissatisfaction.
1. DISABILITIES/ILLNESSES
There are a number of reasons why an employee may become disabled or ill. Employers are able to influence
some of the reasons for absence, but others are beyond their control.
It's important to focus on what the organization can do. Here's where workplace culture fits into the
picture.
If an employee has the flu but feels that he can drag himself in to work, should he? Some managers would
say 'Yes! If you're still breathing, get your sniffling body in!' But there are costs associated with this
approach. If the employee comes to work and infects three other people, they could then end up taking five
sick days each.
"In any absenteeism management program, employees need to know that they can be absent when they need to
be," says Joan McDonald, human resources consultant with the University of Calgary.
Areas such as ergonomics, health and safety and stress management are good places to start addressing
absenteeism. For instance, if your employees are faced with heavy physical requirements, make sure they are
taught proper techniques for lifting and handling large loads. If any of your employees feel stressed
out--and 64% are, according to the 2000 Canadian Consumer Survey on Healthcare--the organization
needs to consider what it can do about the situation.
Legitimate illnesses and disabilities can result in higher benefits and retraining costs, product returns,
decreased customer satisfaction and overtime. But perhaps the biggest expense, although hidden, is the fact
that the remaining employees have to shoulder the burden, which can lead to more illness, disability and of
course, absenteeism.
Unfortunately, up-front costs for preventative measures such as flu shots, ergonomic assessments and
employee assistance programs (EAP) often discourage an organization from implementing an absenteeism
management program. But a good business case can be made for these initiatives. Flu shots are about $10 to
$15 per person (now covered by the provincial health plan in Ontario) and can reduce flu-related
absenteeism by up to 43%. In addition, many companies are enjoying a return on investment of between 15% to
20% from their EAP dollars.
2. FAMILY ISSUES
Issues such as childcare and eldercare are a big factor behind rising absenteeism. Nowadays, there are more
two-income families and single-parent families. This new family structure has the potential to create more
distractions and worries for your employees, which can result in increases in both real absenteeism and
quasi-absenteeism, as well as decreased productivity.
The old school of management taught that employees had better leave their personal problems at the door on
their way in. The approach never really worked that well in the past, and it certainly doesn't work today.
Like it or not, employers need to recognize the impact that the new family structure has on the workplace
and revisit their human resources policies to accommodate these changes. The faster that employers can
recognize the changing needs of their workforce, the easier it will be to accommodate and retain employees
as productive workers.
Family leave days are a solution used by the University of Calgary. "The employer's role is to provide
support to allow employees to balance work and life issues," says McDonald. "If an employee needs to slip
out for a couple of hours to take his or her child or parent to the doctor, isn't it better for the company
to recognize this rather than force the employee to call in sick?"
If an employee has a nanny or babysitter, both the employee and the caregiver have to be healthy for the
employee to come in to work. It's a bold and expensive step, but several companies have seen the benefits
of instituting workplace daycare centres. Even more offer a daycare subsidy. EAPs can also help reduce the
need for family days as many assist employees with daycare and emergency care searches.
3. LIFESTYLE CHOICES
Lifestyle choices also influence absenteeism. Smoking is a good example. Statistics Canada reports that the
average Canadian smoker has 19 cigarettes per day, five of which are smoked during the workday. Three
cigarettes are smoked on legitimate breaks but two a day are smoked on company time. Consider the time
taken to walk to a place where smoking is permitted, 10 minutes to smoke, and then time to walk back--twice
a day. Over the course of a year this translates into three weeks more holidays for the smoker, or about a
day and a half of lost work time every month.
Is this plan sponsors' business? You bet it is. The same applies to alcohol and drugs. If it affects
employee work habits or productivity, it is very much the employer's place to become involved.
The area of lifestyle choice is probably the hardest part of absenteeism management to address, though, as
it blurs the lines between personal habits and the workplace. The best way to start is to foster a
health-conscious culture in the organization. This could begin with healthy choices in the cafeteria (if
there is one on-site), reduced rates for this fare as well as water and juice at the coffee stations.
Building on this culture, an organization can implement fitness and wellness programs that address
inactivity and poor lifestyle choices.
4. JOB DISSATISFACTION
It would be safe to say that our grade four friend Stuey didn't like school, which is probably why he spent
the majority of his formal education half asleep. Similarly, there are some employees who are dissatisfied
with their job. This can be the result of many issues, including clashes with a supervisor, boredom,
workplace safety concerns and compensation.
If an employee is dissatisfied for any one of these reasons and wakes up one Monday morning to see that it
is raining and cold outside, there's not much motivating that individual to get out of bed.
There is no end to the number of team building and company promoting workshops out there--everything from
board games to office skydiving. While these ideas have value, they will only succeed if there is a company
culture that fosters a challenging work environment, rewards fairly and helps provide resolution to
conflicts. In other words, the foundation of employee satisfaction evolves from organizational culture.
"Managers are a key determinant of job satisfaction," says McDonald. "Leadership is a focus of the
University of Calgary's people strategy. At the department/business unit level, managers create the
positive workplace culture that is essential for managing absenteesim."
If people were only absent from their jobs when they needed to be--such as for family commitments or when
they are truly ill--absenteeism wouldn't be the major problem that it is today. Like most big issues, there
isn't a single or easy solution to this workplace dilemma.
To really combat absenteeism, employers need to promote healthy living, develop policies that allow for a
balanced home and work life and provide a desirable place to work. This environment will allow employees to
prioritize their lives in a way that enables them to enjoy coming to work with less stress and fewer
distractions.
This approach doesn't mean that employers have become soft on the issue of absenteeism. To the contrary,
these people-oriented solutions will help employees balance work-life issues and deal some of the hardest
hits to your absenteeism problems.
Dave Ericson is a technical analyst with Buck Consultants in Calgary. dericson@buckconsultants.ca.
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