Now that school is back in session, companies may face a surge in employee absenteeism. By being proactive, businesses can create effective absentee management strategies that keep employees from calling out of work.
Back to School Confusion
After a few months off, employees and their families have to adjust to the new routine of getting to the bus stop on time. And if parents transport their children, the first few days can be hectic at the school drop off location. Getting organized takes time and sometimes missteps happen. Children miss their bus, forget their lunch or a traffic jam occurs in the school carpool lane.
Businesses may want to change their attendance policy to allow more time for employees to appear for work before counting against the person as a whole day. Managers may also want to talk to employees with families about changing their schedules for the first two weeks of school to help parents establish the new back to school routine.
An Increase In Illness
Back to school can also mean an increase in illnesses being passed around a family. This is especially true for young children who are going to school for the first time. Preschoolers need time to build up their immune system as they are exposed to more children and more germs.
In today’s households, both parents often work and there are many single parent families with no back up childcare. Daycares don’t allow parents to drop off children who are ill, so many employees end up having to call in to care for their sick child.
One way to help offset employees who stay home to care for children is to allow them to switch shifts with other employees. This way they can wait for the other parent to come home before leaving for work. And depending on the employee’s position, they may be able to do some of their work from home, which allow them to stay productive.
When companies enact creative absentee management strategies, employees will see the business considers them a valuable asset. When people are valued, they will make an effort to make sure that they are able to balance work and life obligations in order to reduce absences. Working together, companies and parents can survive the back to school confusion while staying productive and effective. To learn more about absentee management and how we can help your business, contact us.