A Report on the issue of absenteeism within business organizations - Research Paper Example

? Absenteeism A Report on the Issue of Absenteeism within Business Organizations s Table of Contents Absenteeism 1 A Report on the Issue of Absenteeism within Business Organizations 1 Executive summary 3 1.0 Introduction 3 2.1 Absenteeism 4 2.2 Cause of absenteeism 6 2.3 Impact of absenteeism on business organizations 8 2.3.1 Impact of absenteeism on the operations of business organizations 8 2.3.2 Impact of absenteeism on the bottom line of business organizations 10 2.3.3 Impact of absenteeism on the stakeholders of business organizations 11 2.3.3 Impact of absenteeism on organization behaviour 12 3.0 Conclusion 12 4.0 Recommendations 13 References 13 Hacket, R. (1989).Work attitudes and employee absenteeism: A synthesis of the literature. Journal of Occupational Psychology. Volume 62, (3), pages 235–248, 14 Johnson, C. (2011). The impact of employees' perceptions of the leadership characteristics of immediate supervisors on job-related absenteeism. ProQuest, UMI Dissertation Publishing 14 Kehinde, O. (2011). Impact of Job Satisfaction on Absenteeism: A Correlative Study. European Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences. Vol 1, (1) 2220-9425 14 Executive summary 3 1.0 Introduction 3 2.1 Absenteeism 4 2.2 Cause of absenteeism 6 2.3 Impact of absenteeism on business organizations 8 2.3.1 Impact of absenteeism on the operations of business organizations 8 2.3.2 Impact of absenteeism on the bottom line of business organizations 10 2.3.3 Impact of absenteeism on the stakeholders of business organizations 11 2.3.3 Impact of absenteeism on organization behaviour 12 3.0 Conclusion 12 4.0 Recommendations 13 References 15 Executive summary This present paper is a report on the issue absenteeism and it will analyze this issue in regards to various case examples within different business organizations. The report will begin with a critical review of the issue of absenteeism, and then it will highlight on the causes of absenteeism. In last section of the findings, the report will state the implications of absenteeism on the operations of business organizations, their bottom line, the stakeholders, and organizational behaviour. After concluding, the report will present recommendations that can be used to eliminate or control the issue of absenteeism within business organizations. 1.0 Introduction This present report is based on the issue of absenteeism and in particular, the report will critically analyze this issue in regards to different case examples from different business organizations, According to the studies by Mullins (2007), absenteeism is described as the act of failing to report to the workstation or school without prior knowledge of the work supervisor or the schoolteacher or in other circumstances with prior knowledge to the work supervisor or the schoolteacher. Therefore, absenteeism can be scheduled or unscheduled or it can occur intentionally or unintentionally. Absenteeism is a common issue at the workplace and it occurs in almost all industries, however, De Paola (2008) stated that in the disciplined forces such as the Army or the navy, the issue of absenteeism is not quite prevalent because of stringent rules and regulations in the disciplined forces that prohibit against unscheduled and intentional absenteeism. Numerous studies have focused on the issue of absenteeism because of the overall impact that it has on work operations and the subsequent impact on the bottom line of a business organisation. Mullins (2007) noted that given the fact that employees perform various roles or duties while on their workstation, it means that during their absence, certain functions will not take place or the output from their respective positions will be considerably low. This is because the employees who will be replacing them or acting on their position will not have similar or matching skills and qualifications. It is however, important to note that the impact of absenteeism on a company’s operations or the bottom line of a company largely depends on the position or the roles played by the absentee party. That is to say, if the absentee person usually plays a critical function within the organization then his or her absence will cause a significant impact on the operations as well as the bottom line of the company. Besides the operations in the workplace and on the bottom line of the organization, this report will also look at the impact of absenteeism on the organizational behaviour, and even on the organization’s stakeholders. 2.1 Absenteeism Just to recap on the meaning of absenteeism, Mullins (2007) described it as the act of a person failing to be present at a specific time in a specified location even thou he or she was scheduled to be present. Johnson (2011) in his studies described absenteeism as the act of being frequently away from work or school, especially without good reason. In the writings by Kehinde (2011), it is noted that there are various types of absenteeism that include authorized absenteeism that is described as absenteeism from work by a member of staff, which has been approved by his or her superior, and an example of such absenteeism is going for leave. The second type is unauthorized absenteeism, which is described by Johnson (2011), as absenteeism from work by a worker without seeking for authorization from his or her superior or without applying for a leave or sick off. The third type of absenteeism is termed as wilful absenteeism that bears resemblance to unauthorized absenteeism and it is described as an employee failing to report to work willingly. The fourth type of absenteeism is an absenteeism that is caused by factors beyond the employee’s control such as accidents or sickness. In reference to the writings by Hacket (1989), she presented some facts about absenteeism that includes the fact that the rate of absenteeism both at school and even at the workplace is usually high for the few days to and after a holiday or a trip. This is attributed to the fact that before a holiday or a trip one is usually planning and concentrating on the pending trip and therefore attending work or school could be impossible because of the tight schedule. Equally, after a trip/ holiday one is usually tired and still has hangovers from the holiday, which hinder or discourages the person from reporting to work. The second fact presented by Hacket (1989), about absenteeism is the fact that the prevalence rate of absenteeism among women is usually higher than among men, and this could be attributed to various factors that are even part of nature. The third fact about absenteeism is that natural calamities such as thunderstorms and heavy rains can cause extremely high rate of absenteeism that could even reach 100% especially if there is a directive issued that dissuades against travelling during such times. Fourthly, Hacket (1989), stated that workers who are below the age of 25 years and above the age of 55 years record more absenteeism than workers who are between the age of 25 to 55 years. This could be attributed to the fact that workers under the age of 25 years are usually less motivated to attend work regularly because they still do not have pressing targets and responsibilities in life that can discourage them from failing to report to work. While the high rate of absenteeism among workers above the age of 55 years could be attributed to medical reasons and fatigue resulting from many years of working. Lastly, Hacket (1989) stated that there are high cases of absenteeism among operative workers than among managers and supervisors; this could be attributed to morale issues, difficult and tiresome work procedures, and harsh relationship with the manager or supervisor. In reference to the studies conducted by De Paola (2008), the rate of absenteeism is calculated by multiplying the number of hours lost by 100 and dividing by numbers of hours scheduled to work. The frequency rate for absenteeism is calculated by multiply the numbers of times, which a worker is, absent by a 100 and then dividing the figure by total number of hours that were scheduled for work. Absenteeism rate = Number of hours lost *100                                Number of hours scheduled to work Frequency Rate = Total number of times a worker is absent * 100                              Total number of hours for work 2.2 Cause of absenteeism Porter and Steers (1973) in their studies conducted a primary research in order to establish common causes of absenteeism at work and from the responses of employees who were selected through a random sampling method it was noted that the leading causes of absenteeism at the workplace is ill health of the workers. Workers interviewed in the research stated that when they experience ill health, it is meaningless to report to work because they will be unproductive and they may even spend the whole day at the rest room or away from their workstation. Moreover, workers stated that when they are ill either they can miss work after seeking authorisation or if the illness is extreme, they will miss work without seeking any authorisation from their supervisors or managers. Kehinde (2011) is of the view that majority of workers use ill health as the main excuse to be absent from work while in real sense they are in perfect health. From the primary research carried out by Porter and Steers (1973), it was established that the second leading cause of absenteeism is lack of interest and morale for the job. Workers stated that at times they voluntary miss work or they report late because of lack of interest and morale in the work that they do and hence they fail to get the meaning or reason of waking up early to report to work. The lack of interest or morale could be attributed to poor salary or lack of motivation at work, which are the main factors that usually increases the interests of workers as well as the morale on their work. Connected to this cause if the poor relationship between workers and their managers, which also in equal measures discourages workers from reporting to work because of the fear or displeasure of meeting and working with the unfriendly or harsh supervisor. With references to the writings by Johnson (2011), it is evident that all these factors are interlinked with human resource management at the workplace and therefore, it means that poor human resource management is equally responsible for absenteeism at the workplace. Thirdly, workers stated that poor working environment is also a cause for absenteeism since it discourages workers from reporting to work especially if the poor conditions endanger the health of the workers. Fourthly, workers interviewed in the research project conducted by Porter and Steers (1973), stated that they miss work because of lack of stringent procedures or systems that check whether they report to work or not and hence they take advantage of this to stay away from work, report late or leave earlier than stipulated on the timetable. Other causes that were listed by the workers who participated in the research project include alcoholism and drug abuse that affect and even impair the mobility of a person thus hindering him or her from reporting to work. Additionally, lack of transport facilities especially for companies that are located in remote areas that are not served by the public transport system causes workers to regularly fail to report to work when they cannot get personal means or transport facilities that can take them to work. It is of essence to note that the above causes of absenteeism equally contribute to the cases of absenteeism that are reported at the various organizations. 2.3 Impact of absenteeism on business organizations Kehinde (2011) stated that the impact of absenteeism in an organization could be viewed from different perspectives that include the business operations, the bottom line, the organizational behaviour, and on the stakeholders of the organization. 2.3.1 Impact of absenteeism on the operations of business organizations In the case examples of hypermarkets, it is can be stated that the hypermarkets are large meaning that they stock a wide range of products from different manufacturers. This means that the hypermarkets have a huge workforce that work during different shifts, and it is also a common fact nowadays that certain hypermarkets operate for 24 hours and seven days in a week. Therefore, it means that the lack of any single worker during a particular shift will have an impact on the operations of the hypermarkets especially during the peak hours. For example, if a sales assistant fails to report to work then it means that his or her station will not be manned and this likely to create inconveniences to customers who usually seek to make inquires before making a purchase. Such inconveniences would mean that customers will not be satisfied with the quality of service that they get and many may opt to shop elsewhere. Secondly, in the same scenario if a sales assistant fails to report to work then it would mean that another sales assistant will be forced to manage two sections and therefore, he or she would be overburdened by the numerous inquiries from customers. Moreover, if the present sales assistant is not proficient or has poor knowledge about the products on the section that is usually manned by the absent sales assistant, then there is likelihood that he or she will give inaccurate information to customers. In the case where a teller at a bank fails to report to work then it would mean that his or her station will remain closed during the banking hours and customers will be forced to make longer queues on stations where the tellers are present. Therefore, it would take longer than usual for customers to be served and this would definitely lower the ratings of customer service within such a bank. As for crucial departments such as the storage department in hospitals, the absences of the stoke manager could potentially lead to a standstill in the normal operations of the hospital and there will be no intake and dispatch of medicine from the storage unit, this is because there is nobody to sign off on the receipts. However, another doctor could stand in but it would also mean that medical procedures in the wards would also come to a standstill because of the absence of the doctor who is covering for the absent store manager. Summarily, it can be stated that absenteeism in any unit within a business organization causes a disruption to the normal operations of the organization and generally, it leads to overburdening of the present workers, slow service delivery, and reduced quality of customer care service. 2.3.2 Impact of absenteeism on the bottom line of business organizations According to the studies conducted by Kehinde (2011), the impacts of absenteeism on a business organisation reflect on its bottom line, and he further illustrated this assertion in the chart below that shows the relationship between absenteeism and a company’s bottom line. Figure 1: graph showing the relationship between absenteeism and a company’s bottom line. The chart indicates that with an increase in the cases of absenteeism in a business organisation there is equally a decrease in the profitability of the organisation. For example, in the case of hypermarkets it can be stated that the absence of a sales assistant during a particular shift would mean that another sales assistant would be overburden and customers will have to wait for him to finish with other customers before they can ask him or her questions pertaining to products within the section. This could potentially affect the bottom line since some customers will opt to go elsewhere instead of waiting for the sales assistant to finish with other customers. Equally, when the a bank teller is absent, there would be long queues on other stations where the tellers are present and customers would be discouraged by this immediately they step into the banking hall and may opt to deposit or withdraw their cash from another bank or the ATM machine where they will be served instantly. The absence of a hospital’s store manager will also affect the bottom line of the hospital because delivery of medical supplies from the supplier and even the collection of recyclables from the hospital will fail to take place and hence, there will be disruptions in the normal in the normal service delivery at the hospital. These disruptions have serious repercussions such as the death of a patient due to lack of proper and timely medical administration, which could lead to potentially expensive law suits and bad publicity that can lead to the closure of the entire hospital. 2.3.3 Impact of absenteeism on the stakeholders of business organizations The stakeholders of business organizations who will be affected by absenteeism include the employees, who are present when others fail to report to work, and they will suffer from excess workload, as they will be covering for the absent employee. The increase in workload will discourage employees especially those who rarely fail to report to work and they may opt to start missing work in order not to be overburdened by excess workload. Suppliers may also suffer inconveniences in case the store manager at the hospital fails to report to work since they will be no one present to receive their medical supplies and even initiate for their payment. The shareholders or owners of affected business organizations will also suffer from cases of absenteeism within the organizations. This is mainly because a decrease in an organizations bottom line will lead to a decrease in the return of shareholders’ equity meaning that shareholders’ earnings will significantly reduce with increase in absenteeism. 2.3.3 Impact of absenteeism on organization behaviour In reference to the writings by Kehinde (2011), it is noted that absenteeism is likely to affect the way employees interact within an organisation. For example, in the case of hypermarkets, banks and hospitals employees may show hostile attitudes and resentments towards their colleagues who usually fail to report to work and thus causing the present employees to handle an excess workload. Additionally, increased cases of absenteeism within such organizations will create an organizational behaviour whereby absenteeism is viewed as a normal thing and employees regularly fail to report to work because it is the norm. 3.0 Conclusion This present report has established that absenteeism exists into two forms that include the schedule or authorized absenteeism and the unscheduled or unauthorized absenteeism. There are varying causes of absenteeism but the leading causes are ill health of workers, lack of interest, and morale on the job, which causes workers to opt to fail to report to work, report late, or leave earlier than stipulated. The impacts of absenteeism are numerous but the most evident impacts are the disruptions of normal operations within the selected business organizations. Additionally, absenteeism has the potential of decreasing the bottom line of business organizations because of reduction in the number of customers since their customers will opt to shop elsewhere because of slow service delivery, and poor customer care service at the organizations. The reductions in the bottom line of the business organizations affect the shareholders’ earning. Lastly, the organization behaviour is also likely to change because of increased cases of absenteeism, which will make workers to resent those who regularly fail to show up at work. 4.0 Recommendations The following recommendations are aimed towards eliminating cases of absenteeism within business organizations. a) Motivating staff and offering incentives in order to increase their interests and morale on the work. b) Provision of transport facilities in order to ensure that workers do not miss work because of lack of transport c) Effective supervision that will deter employees from failing to report to work without seeking for permission d) Disciplinary actions towards employees who fail to report to work without seeking for permission e) Regular leave provision in order to enable workers attend to their private matters f) Employee counselling in order to dissuade them against bad habits such as alcoholism and drug abuse g) Proper records keeping in order to ensure that absenteeism does not span out of control and for every employee to be accountable. References De Paola, M. (2008): Absenteeism and Peer Interaction Effects: Evidence from an Italian Public Institute. Munich: Munich Personal RePEc Archive Hacket, R. (1989).Work attitudes and employee absenteeism: A synthesis of the literature. Journal of Occupational Psychology. Volume 62, (3), pages 235–248, Johnson, C. (2011). The impact of employees' perceptions of the leadership characteristics of immediate supervisors on job-related absenteeism. ProQuest, UMI Dissertation Publishing Kehinde, O. (2011). Impact of Job Satisfaction on Absenteeism: A Correlative Study. European Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences. Vol 1, (1) 2220-9425 Mullins, L. (2007). ‘Management and Organizational Behavior (8th Edition). Harlow: FT/Prentice Hall. Porter, W. and Steers, M. (1973). Organizational, work, and personal factors in employee turnover and absenteeism. Psychological Bulletin, Vol 80(2), 151-176 Read More