Resources for Absenteeism

Absent employees can hurt your business and put a strain on other workers. By the same token, when workers come in even when they’re sick, they can spread their illness to other employees and become more ill themselves. This scenario can ultimately lead to a greater number of absences than if the worker had simply taken one or two days off. It’s important to develop an absence policy that is sympathetic yet firm and encourages attendance without prompting people to come to work when they really should stay home. A good absence policy:

1. Sets clear standards for regarding tardiness, notifying superiors, and early departures.
2. Addresses abuses, such as repeatedly taking days off around weekends and holidays.
3. Is firm yet flexible.

Assess your attendance

To devise a policy that suits your needs, you need to know how common absences are in your work force and to detect individual abuses.

Know your legal limits

You may need to track absences differently for certain workers.

Create procedures

Develop systematic procedures for managing absences so that you detect early signs of discipline or health problems.

Customize your policy

Adapt the policy to fit the particular needs of your company and your workers.