Workplace absenteeism is defined as absence or abandonment of the workplace during working hours, whether justified or unjustified. Every day, one million people are absent from work, resulting in losses of €8 billion for both companies and social security.
Types of absenteeism
- Justified absenteeism. This is usually caused by sick leave, in which case the company has been notified of the worker’s absence.
- Unjustified absenteeism. The employee is absent without prior notice or authorization, which is considered the most damaging to the company.
- Virtual absenteeism. When the employee, despite being at their workplace, spends part of their time in the office on unrelated tasks, such as checking their social media, reading the online news, running personal errands, etc.
How to reduce absenteeism
In many cases, absenteeism is caused by a lack of resources in terms of balancing school schedules, public agencies, medical appointments, etc., which makes it difficult at times to organize oneself so as not to lose working hours. Stress, lack of motivation, and inflexible work environments are also very common causes of absenteeism.
However, companies can implement measures to significantly reduce this problem:
- Introduce flexible working hours, continuous working days, or shift policies that are adapted to the situation of each company and its employees, as far as possible.
- Offer the possibility of teleworking whenever it is not necessary to be physically present in the office.
- Promote healthy lifestyle habits.
- Encourage teamwork to balance the workload and promote empathy and closeness among employees.
- Reward programs for employees with the fewest absences
- Training for employees, so they feel like an important part of the company, which invests in them so they can develop their professional careers
- Compensation and social benefits programs
- Facilitate communication channels between employees, managers, and departments
- Establish fair and equal remuneration policies
- Provide tools to encourage employee participation with suggestions and ideas
- Recognition of employees’ personal achievements
The establishment of these types of policies and the modernization and adaptation of companies to new trends and lifestyles can lead to a significant improvement in cases of absenteeism.
Employee care is an increasingly widespread trend, not just a passing fad, but an effective work philosophy in which the people who make up a company are its most important assets and are given the importance they deserve. At Frutality, with our quality fresh fruit service in the office, we bring not only health, color, and flavor to offices and workplaces, but we also do our bit to motivate employees, who perceive these types of measures as a message from their company, a message that says, “we want to take care of you and we want you to know it.”
