Employers expect their employees to use their leave when necessary. For example, if an employee is ill, they should use their sick leave. Failing to do so can prolong illness and affect other employees. Employees should also use their leave to maintain a proper work/life balance and to address personal needs. Employees who never take leave often suffer a loss in productivity as a result.
However, employees who abuse their leave present a host of other problems. Employers may have an absenteeism issue if they notice any of the following:
- Employees arriving late or leaving early
- Employees taking prolonged or frequent breaks
- Unapproved absences
- Frequent absences at the start or end of the weekend
- Overuse of leave resulting in leave without pay
Absence Management Challenges
Even if an employer addresses absenteeism issue, they may continue to encounter problems. Some issues employers may face include:
- Oscillating attendance. Most employees amend their attendance when employers first address the issue. However, some may return to their poor attendance habits after a short period of improvement. To combat this, employers can implement an improvement plan for habitual offenders to monitor the employee’s progress.
- Shifting conduct. Another problem employers may encounter is when an employee addresses one attendance problem, but starts up a new one in its stead. For example, an employee may stop abusing their leave, but start taking excessive breaks or arrive late for work on a regular basis. Employers can avoid this by ensuring their attendance policy addresses all forms of attendance infractions.
- Some employees may feel pressured to come into work even when they are sick if management updates the attendance policy or begins strict policy enforcement. Employers may encounter resistance when trying to convince an employee to take a sick day. Instead, the employer can require a doctor’s note clearing the employee to return to work or allow the employee to work from home instead.
Absence management is a delicate issue. Actec can help businesses put an absence reporting system into place to help simplify the leave process for both employees and Human Resources. Contact Actec to find out more about our custom absence management solutions.