How to Reduce Absenteeism in the Workplace | TeamSense

Jan 03, 2024

How to Reduce Absenteeism in the Workplace

Learn how to reduce absenteeism in the workplace with these simple, practical steps and avoid empty shifts, low productivity, and revenue loss.

Sheila Stafford CEO & Co-Founder, TeamSense

Fix the root cause of No-Call No-Show with help from TeamSense

Table of Contents

Absenteeism in the workplace can be a huge problem. It’s the elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about. But here’s the thing with excessive absenteeism—ignoring the issue won’t make it go away. If your company doesn’t address it and get to the root of the problem, it could lead to a big-time loss of productivity, engagement, and profitability.

So what can you do to reduce absenteeism in your workplace? The answers might surprise you - for example, giving your employees a clear way to call in when they need to can reduce absenteeism and no call no shows by up to 40%. Seems odd right, you're trying to reduce absenteeism not facilitate calling off for a shift .. but we've seen it in action, and it works! While some of the solutions are straightforward, they often are temporary.

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How Absenteeism Affects The Workplace

Before we dive into the nitty gritty, let's take a look at the bigger picture, at how an absence really impacts every part of a company's operations. The effects of absenteeism are widespread and can have long-term effects that impact your business—not just today, but in the future as well. Here are a few ways absenteeism hits the working environment like a sack of bricks.

Shift Changes and Productivity

It’s no secret that absenteeism impacts the entire organization, but this is especially true when it comes to frontline workers and hourly employees. Not only does an absent employee cause a need for a replacement to cover the shift, but production is severely affected during the time it takes to fill that shift too.

Revenue Loss

Of course, employee absenteeism doesn’t scale well for your company’s bottom line either. Absenteeism costs U.S. employers $22.8 billion a year—or $1,685 per employee. 1 Ouch. While regular absences due to PTO and sick leave shouldn’t be a surprise, excessive absenteeism can be a problem that can eat away at your profits pretty quickly and hurt your long-term goals.

Employee Morale

It takes a village to keep your business running smoothly. And when one member is out, your whole team feels its weight. If a vital member of your organization is constantly absent, chances are the rest of your team will feel burdened and bogged down by picking up all the extra slack. They may even act out toward your absent team member when they return to work.

How to Measure Absenteeism
Sure, you could look at the calendar and compare it to how many days a specific team member has been absent for the month. But did you know there is actually a formula to measure absenteeism? All you have to do is get the number of absences during a specific period of time, divide it by the total time period, and multiply that answer by 100.

Clear as mud, right? We promise it’s not as hard as it seems. Here’s the simple formula for how to measure absenteeism:

Total number of absences

__________________________________________ x 100
Total period of time

For example, if an employee has been absent six times during the last 15 days, they’ve been absent 40% of the time.

If using the above formula isn't your cup of tea, there are several attendance management solutions that can help HR work it out without taking it pen to paper.

What causes employee absenteeism?

Every team member’s situation is different. Remember, some absences can’t be helped and are legitimate (like calling in sick). But other absences are motivated by something else.

For some employees, unscheduled absences can be caused by these things:

Of course, the list goes on and on, and while you can't make every employee happy if you notice that you're seeing a trend of excessive absenteeism all around, it might be time to dig in and figure out what the issue truly is.

How to Reduce Absenteeism in The Workplace

It’s important to remember that what helps in reducing unplanned absenteeism in the workplace isn’t a one-and-done kind of approach. Instead, you need a game plan focusing on multiple areas to address the issue of absenteeism head-on. Let these eight tips for reducing absenteeism help take the headache out of absence management.

1. Have a Clear Attendance Policy

This one might sound like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how many companies leave this one overlooked (or are just plain vague). If you’re looking to reduce the absenteeism rate, then your attendance expectations need to be clear.

2. Take Action Against Absenteeism Quickly

If your attendance policy says that a team member gets three unexcused absences before you start docking their pay, be sure to follow through on that immediately. Don’t let things linger for a month before you address them. That won’t help you navigate reducing excessive unplanned absences in the workplace. If anything, the longer it goes on, the more chance you take that the team member will continue to rack up more absences.

3. Reward Good Employee Attendance

Here’s the fun part—incentivizing employees not to miss a day of work not only helps morale but it increases employee satisfaction.

4. Review Your PTO/Sick Leave Amount

If you notice your team continues to go over their PTO and sick leave limits, then it may be time to take a second look at the amount of time off you’re giving them.

5. Build Open Communication And Trust

Maintaining an open dialogue between managers and employees is essential to building trust within your team.

6. Offer Competitive Health and Wellness Programs

If you want your team to take fewer sick days, encourage them to take care of their health, including mental health.

7. Foster Employee Engagement

You might not think of this one right away, but creating a culture of employee engagement and openness is key when it comes to how to reduce absenteeism in the workplace.

8. Track Employee Absences & Give Them A Call-Out Method They'll Use

When you’re trying to figure out how to reduce absenteeism in the workplace, it’s essential that you have a solid absence management system to rely on.

Final Thoughts

Let’s be honest here, tracking employee absences is important, but staying on top of absence management shouldn’t eat up your entire workday. TeamSense has your back when it comes to dealing with absenteeism in the workplace.

About the Author

Sheila Stafford, CEO & Co-Founder, TeamSense | Former Manufacturing Leader at GM, Whirlpool, and Fluke

Sheila Stafford is CEO and co-founder of TeamSense.