Absenteism In The Work Place

One of the easiest ways to succeed at a job is to simply show up. For some people, it is very hard to show up for work. There are many reasons, valid or not, for people not going to work. Whether it be illness, family obligations, or change of season, people will always find an excuse not to go to their job a particular day. Showing up for work when you are supposed to and on time is not only highly beneficial for your employer, but for you personally as well. However, most employees do not realize the effects of absenteeism. (Bossidy, 2001)

Illness is a big issue when it comes to employees being absent at work. It is important for all employers to allow specific sick leave for all employees, regardless of position. If an employer didn't offer sick leave, they would increase health problems and the spread of illness, thereby lowering productivity and morale. Despite the pressure for perfect attendance to improve customer service and efficiency, employees need reasonable sick leave programs for security and overall high performance.

Yet, some organizations suffer from sick leave abuse, and abuse translates into lost dollars. In order to ensure this does not happen in the work place, employers must make the rules of the policy very clear and show no 'slack' when dealing with such abusers. Also, any problems the organization has with sick leave abusers need to be addressed immediately. If other employees see that others are getting away with the abuse of the policy, they surely will abuse it as well. (http://humanresources.about.com)

Family obligations are also a large contributor to people not being on the job. A large majority of the working population have kids. Some may have child responsibilities that become even more apparent when children are off from school for the summer break. Also, these kids need care when parents are at work, and sometimes the people that are responsible for taking care of the children when they are at work cannot be available when always needed. People always need to leave work early to pick kids up, drop them off, or take care of them when someone else is not around

Not only are children parts of family obligations, but other things as well. Family is considered to be a person's most important asset in their life. When something goes wrong in the family, you are responsible for taking care of it. Usually, situations happen at the most inconvenient times and places, and people need to take time off of work in order to handle these matters properly. (Topchic, 2001)

When then weather changes, absenteeism rises. Respiratory infections such as asthma may force employees to call out of work. Ohers just see the warmer weather as an opportunity to stay home and enjoy the day. This is especially present in younger employees. They still may not have the frame of mind of taking a job seriously, so this may become a problem with that demographic. (http://www.softworks-computing.com)

There is an enormous amount of benefits, both personally and professionally to showing up for work every time that you are expected to. If you are on time, taking only the allotted days off, and work when you are needed, you will be excelling at your job; therefore, it is one less stress in your life. A lot people 'take work home' with them, and most of the time, it is negative stress. If you are excelling in the work place, you will excel everywhere else because you'll have a high morale. Also, down the road, if you move on to a different job, and have great attendance records at the job you are at now, the employer will give you a great reference. It shows that you are a dependable and responsible person and employee. Everyone wants someone with those qualities working for them. Also, taking time off of work will most likely affect the amount of money you receive as your salary. The money you are being paid is for the time and effort you put into the job and if either of those is lacking, you will most likely be lacking in money received. (Adams, 1998)

Also, professionally, it helps the company the less time you are absent. Every time an employee is not in the office, work is not getting done, and money is being lost. They are spending extra money on overtime for other employees that are not only doing their own work, but yours to keep caught up. Also, if for some reason you are out for a long period of time, they might need to hire a temp to fill in until you are back. (Delo, 2005) That's why sick leave and personal day policies are very important to have between employee and employer.

Abusing leave time,