Absenteeism

And the impact it has on you, your colleagues, and the organisation

Absenteeism is a stressful situation for all involved. Whether an employee is away from work for a day or a week, their absence has a ripple effect that impacts their workload, the team, and management. Absenteeism means failing to report to work, either due to planned (annual leave/sick leave) or unplanned circumstances. In this context, we will be discussing absenteeism from the context of intentional unplanned, repeated, and unexcused absences from work.

There may be several reasons why employees may frequently be absent from work:

• Mental health (burnout, stress, anxiety, depression)
• Physical health (chronic illness)
• Workplace environment/situation (unhappiness at work, workplace bullying, managerial issues, job satisfaction)
• Travelling (travelling distance, cost of travelling, challenges with public transport)
• Financial (high cost of living and travelling)

Tshela Healthcare actively works on creating a positive working environment and encourages all employees to be transparent in reporting any challenges they may experience that may cause them to be absent from work. Reach out to a Senior staff member, your manager or team leader, or HR for support.

According to statistics released in 2016 by Occupational Care South Africa (OCSA) and Statistics South Africa demonstrate that absenteeism costs employers and organisations between R12 billion and R16 billion a year. Thus, having a direct negative impact on the organisation and the national economy.

How absenteeism impacts the workplace:

• It can have a negative impact on the workplace culture and morale. Setting a negative precedent for other employees to follow suite
• Decrease in work productivity. As a result of employees not physically completing the work. If you’ve ever been down a team member during a busy shift or had to cover tasks from an absent co-worker, you’re familiar with the stress and pressure placed on your to get your own work done.
• Quality of work. As a result of other employees having to step up and take over in the absent employee
• Increase labour costs, when having to find alternative replacements or missing important deadlines
• Loss of time. Time taken to manage the situation of absenteeism. And the time taken to train other employees or temporary staff to cover the work of the absent employee
• Employee burnout. Managing and dealing with an employee with chronic absenteeism can become stressful and overwhelming. In addition, other employees who must stand-in and pick up the work missed may cause work overload and stress.

To avoid misunderstanding or confusion, consult HR and or the company policy regarding absenteeism. If an employee’s absenteeism becomes an issue, the organisation may have it within their right to initiate disciplinary action.

A successful organisation relies on several things, to name a few; trust, teamwork, and accountability. If you are experiencing personal or professional challenges that is contributing to you being absent from more frequent than what is permitted, have an open and honest conversation with your manager/team leader.