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Minimising Absenteeism

Recent reports have suggested that absenteeism represents a major cost for Australian businesses. A study conducted by the recruitment company Morgan and Banks found that sick leave was costing Australian businesses $2.56 billion a year.

Why does absenteeism occur?

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, sick leave and unapproved absences account for 58.7% of all leave taken (cat no. 6342.0, Aug 1997, page 31). This finding is supported by a recent Australian survey where 12.4% of respondents surveyed admitted that none of their "sickies" were genuine. Work life issues, which include stress, entitlement mentality, personal needs and family issues, were the culprits.

The Morgan and Banks survey concluded that companies needed to change the culture of not allowing time off other than for sick, and identifying genuine cases of sick leave instead.

The 451 respondents surveyed in the US suggested introducing flexible scheduling, on-site child care, leave for school functions, compressed work week, and job sharing to combat the problem.

What is the absenteeism rate for small businesses?

The most recent survey of Australian businesses called the Australian Workplace Industrial Relations Survey 1995 (AWIRS) conducted by the Department of Workplace Relations and Small Business found that an average of 2.7% of the Australian workforce was absent on unapproved leave on an average day.

Small businesses surveyed came in with the lowest absenteeism rate at 2.4%.

How can I reduce absenteeism?

There are many strategies that you can initiate that will help you to reduce absenteeism in your business:

• Promote a high performance work culture and emphasise the importance of the employee fitting into this culture
• Provide flexible work practices which meet the needs of your business and your employees
• Promote the use of carer's or domestic leave
• Try to eliminate or decrease "boring" or repetitive jobs
• Widen job responsibilities
• Increase promotional opportunities
• Recognise and reward your employees' contribution
• Improve the skills of supervisors
• Provide training and development
• Work with employees to develop strategies to reduce absenteeism
• Implement preventative occupational health and safety strategies in order to minimise worker's compensation absences
• Monitor annual leave and long service leave data to ensure your employees are taking adequate recreational breaks.