Companies combat absenteeism

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On a typical day, between two and four percent of Americans fail to show up for work. That may not seem like a high absence rate, but the U.S. Department of Labor estimates that absenteeism costs American business between $30-40 billion each year.

Why are they out? Other than illness, "mental health days," baby-sitter problems, sick children, dental and doctor appointments and a variety of personal activities top the list.

In the article "Absenteeism: Why Do We Miss Work?" (from Dartnell's bulletin called "Working Together") author Lutz says that some employees feel sick days are employee benefits that they are entitled to. He says they rationalize by saying, "I only get one week of vacation, so they expect me to use my sick days."

Lutz also points out that some employees aren't even aware that their absenteeism causes problems. "The work will be there tomorrow," they tell themselves.

Because absenteeism is so costly to American business, many new studies have been commissioned to examine the problem and recommend solutions that will keep people at work.

Psychologist Gary Johns reports in "Psychology Today" that a company's strong "absence culture" has a great deal to do with it. He studied a Canadian manufacturing plant with two identical plants in different parts of the country.

The absence rates in one plant were near zero, while the other had a rate of about 20 percent. In the first plant, the absence culture was very strong; people came to work even if they were sick. In the other, people exerted little restraint on absences; workers stayed home if they didn't feel like coming to work for psychological, medical or economic reasons. John's conclusion was that the cultural norm against absenteeism is a powerful deterrent.

A recent study published in the Pryor Report (January 1988) confirmed what you might expect; that people who placed a high value on their leisure time usually were absent more than those who valued it less.

So, what is the answer? Flextime makes sense to me.

By giving employees flexibility regarding when they come to work, they can work a full shift and still take off the part of the day most valuable to them, early morning or late afternoon.

In fact, more than 75 percent of all studies of flextime indicate reductions in absenteeism. In one federal agency, annual leave dropped 12 percent and sick leave 25 percent among 500 employees, saving the agency more than $200,000 in the nine months after using alternate work schedules.

Flextime particularly reduced absenteeism for married women and mothers, as well as single parent and dual-career families.

A study of insurance companies compared the effect of three kinds of flextime on absences. One group could adjust their schedules daily, one group could change every two weeks, and the third group could change only four times a year.

What do you suppose they found? Do you think the group with the most flexible schedule was the group with the lowest attendance? Nope. The group that could change only quarterly had the best attendance. It seems that choosing a schedule and then sticking to it over an extended period of time causes the best commitment to good attendance. Perhaps it shows that the company is concerned both about them and about their work.

But what about those doctor's appointments and Jenny's school play? Compensatory time (Comp Time) policies are a good answer.

Comp Time works like this. If an employee has a doctor's appointment, for example (or some other personal situation that can’t be handled after work), the employee arranges to take off a portion of the day. The time is made up within a certain period-usually the same week.

This system gives adults the flexibility they need to balance home and work, while still giving 100 percent to their jobs. It also helps the supervisor because time away from the job can be planned rather than having the person out for the entire day.

Incentive plans also make sense. We need to reward people who come to work as well as manage those who don't. For instance, the state allows employees to cash in on unused sick time after retirement. Milwaukee Public Schools grant a free incentive day off for those who take four or fewer sick days a year. Retiring Milwaukee County workers too can take up to 30 days of unused sick time in cash.

Programs like this work.

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