What You Can Do About Employee Absenteeism
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For your business to carry on running smoothly and growing, it needs to have everyone pulling in the same direction. If this is not happening, then it will limit the success of the business and cause productivity to drop. Employee absenteeism is one of the biggest problems associated with this, and here’s what you should do about it.
Make the Policies Clear
Your business should have clear policies in place to deal with absenteeism. If you want people to follow the rules, they need to know exactly what those rules are. So, hold a team meeting and discuss the rules so that everyone understands what they are. You should also make it clear what happens if those rules are broken by any of the employees.
Allow Absent Employees to Give a Genuine Reason
Before you jump to any rash conclusions about why an employee has been absent, give them a chance to explain. It’s usually the case that people have a perfectly good reason for not turning up for work. It might be related to something that is happening in their private life, for example. You need to be understanding and listen to what they have to say before you take any further action.
Motivate Employees to Come to Work
If you don’t want people to be absent from work, then you should give them more reasons to come. It might be the case that your workplace is demoralised and depressed. This is not the kind of environment that people enjoy working in. So, motivate them or change the way the office functions to increase employees satisfaction. Satisfied employees are absent less than dissatisfied employees.
Investigate Persistent Absenteeism
When an employee is taking lots of time off work, you should investigate what is going on. If your requests for answers are not getting you anywhere, then it might be time to take things further. You could even hire a private detective to help you get to the bottom of the problem if you’re really concerned. This will help to find out what is happening and why it’s happening.
Show That This Has Consequences
After the investigation has been completed, you should act. That means disciplining the person who has been absent without a proper reason. You don’t necessarily have to fire them if this is their first offence. But you should make an example of them by giving them a written warning. And then, if they did the same thing again, they would either be sacked or given a final warning.
Lead by Example
One thing you should do is lead by example. If you are the kind of boss who turns up late and is rarely in the office, then this will encourage employees to try and get away with the same. Of course, you won’t be able to be there all the time, but it’s a good idea to make your presence felt. You can’t expect other people to want to spend time in your office if you don’t enjoy being there.
