Absenteeism in the Workforce
ABSENTEEISM IN THE WORKFORCE April 24, 2009
INTRODUCTION Absenteeism is a major problem for companies worldwide. Employees are utilizing many lame excuses to avoid their workplace. Companies are trying to combat the problem, by implementing new procedures. I. WORLDWIDE PROBLEM *Absenteeism is a problem which* costs companies millions, if not billions of dollars. According to a 2001 report by Sari *Huhtala*, A labor force survey conducted in 1997 by Statistics Canada revealed that averages of 7.4 days were* missed by each full-time employee* during a one-year period. This average translates into an annual loss of $1400 per employee, based on a company of 1000 employees with an average salary of $190 per day. Incidental absenteeism accumulates to a total loss of $1.4 million per year for a company this size. (1) (6) * Approximately one million people miss work each day in the United States, according to The American Institute of Stress and absenteeism is estimated* to cost American companies $602.00 per worker each year at a cost of about $3.5 million annually for large companies. (2) In Author Brian Amble’s article, written for Management Issues, United Kingdom workers took off work 7 days per year. "There is a culture of absenteeism in some workplace that must be addressed," said Susan Anderson, CBI Director of Human Resources Policy. (3) These results of my research are just the tip of the iceberg, as to the worldwide problem. Not all the reasons people use for missing work are credible. Take for instance, the South African male who stole a doctor’s excuse meant for a pregnant woman with morning sickness. (5) Employees are blaming their GPS navigators for giving them the wrong directions to their workplace. Their reasons for taking a day off seem to change with the new technology. More women than men tend to miss work. Mondays, Fridays, and holiday times are popular call-in days. CNN/com/living has
INTRODUCTION Absenteeism is a major problem for companies worldwide. Employees are utilizing many lame excuses to avoid their workplace. Companies are trying to combat the problem, by implementing new procedures. I. WORLDWIDE PROBLEM *Absenteeism is a problem which* costs companies millions, if not billions of dollars. According to a 2001 report by Sari *Huhtala*, A labor force survey conducted in 1997 by Statistics Canada revealed that averages of 7.4 days were* missed by each full-time employee* during a one-year period. This average translates into an annual loss of $1400 per employee, based on a company of 1000 employees with an average salary of $190 per day. Incidental absenteeism accumulates to a total loss of $1.4 million per year for a company this size. (1) (6) * Approximately one million people miss work each day in the United States, according to The American Institute of Stress and absenteeism is estimated* to cost American companies $602.00 per worker each year at a cost of about $3.5 million annually for large companies. (2) In Author Brian Amble’s article, written for Management Issues, United Kingdom workers took off work 7 days per year. "There is a culture of absenteeism in some workplace that must be addressed," said Susan Anderson, CBI Director of Human Resources Policy. (3) These results of my research are just the tip of the iceberg, as to the worldwide problem. Not all the reasons people use for missing work are credible. Take for instance, the South African male who stole a doctor’s excuse meant for a pregnant woman with morning sickness. (5) Employees are blaming their GPS navigators for giving them the wrong directions to their workplace. Their reasons for taking a day off seem to change with the new technology. More women than men tend to miss work. Mondays, Fridays, and holiday times are popular call-in days. CNN/com/living has