(I Ink when I think) Employee Absenteeism and Late coming to work -How can we handle this ?

Often as a HR I have observed one thing challenging manager’s and HR is Employee absence and late comers to workplace. Employee absences are a normal part of work life. They can even be healthy when it means people are taking time off to rest and recover. But unexcused or frequent absences can become problematic.

Unaddressed absenteeism can “take its toll on a company and its employees,”?“Others have to take on the extra work, and with teams running as lean as they already are, it can result in missed deadlines.”

The key is knowing not just when people are missing work, but why. If the issue is addressed, it can potentially be fixed

Few ways that I have experienced and worked for me:

1. Discover the Reasons and stay proactive:When an employee has an unexcused absence or arrives to work late for a couple of days, don’t assume the worst. Watch for problems that can lead to absenteeism. Some of the top reasons that people miss work include burnout and stress, childcare challenges, lack of engagement, illness and even harassment at work. A good way to uncover these root causes is to regularly seek feedback from employees. (Surveys can help based on the size of the organization) but the most effective way is to have the personal conversation to understand details.Consider reasonable accommodations, such as changing work schedules. I remember an employee who was always a late comer to office, having noticed this several times, I had discussions to understand what the reason but then I realized “it was utter laziness that delayed the employee coming to work on time, but with course of time (tracking over 30 days) we were able to correct the behavior and reward the good behaviors”
2. Be Flexible:Rigid or unrealistic attendance policies, set leaders up for failure. Employees want to be treated fairly, when they have more autonomy over their work locations or schedules, they have a greater sense of control and they’re more satisfied with work.But again, I have learnt to keep a control here, “Too much freedom given is misused as well”, so good to have good mechanisms to track flexibility.
3. Recognize Employees’ Efforts, Align to a purpose and have career path programs:Don’t underestimate the power of a well-placed thank you. Companies that recognize and appreciate their workers’ efforts have higher employee engagement, productivity and performance, according to a recent study.Recognition can be simple—such as buying an employee lunch for their birthday or giving them a gift to mark a work anniversary.?Helping employees realize their purpose is also key. Organization also started mentorship and career path programs to give employees a sense of their futures at the company.

How it has affected the disciplined employees?

Often I have heard Shyam, we have been at our workplace on time, we stick to the company policies and we are loaded with work pressure due to the absence of others or delayed responses of such employees. This is really a big pain for teams and organization’s health. Manager’s need to watch and act or may have to give critical feedback if it is really affecting work and deliverables and should take actions to correct such behaviors gradually.

My say to the good performers who abide to organization laws, “Trust your performance, it will propel your career higher, if other’s performance or absence impacts, report to your line manager and let’s sort it together".

Eventually what matters is the performance of individual and synchronization with the team to achieve great results.

-Shyam Gopinath C

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