Malingering & Absenteeism –due to employee morale

Malingering & Absenteeism –due to employee morale

What is absenteeism?

Absenteeism is the term generally used to refer to unscheduled employee absences from the workplace.
In a business sense, absenteeism is the rate at which an employee or employees miss work.  Employees may miss full or partial days of work for various reasons Often, with little or no notice to the employer. If such absences become excessive, it is because of mainly low morale of employees.

• sickness
• occasions
• School adimissions
• family sickness
• personal issues
• appointments .etc

When an employee calls in ill, it is not that he is truly ill to work.  Low Morale also influences the reasons people call in sick at the last minute. Organizations reporting Poor/Fair morale were more likely to experience unscheduled absenteeism due to

1. stress,
2. rumors and gossip
3. lack of incentive programs
4. Attitudes
5. Lack of growth opportunity
6. Their relationship with manager/supervisor.etc

To Overcome Absenteeism:

Develop an Attendance Policy:

Every company should have an attendance policy. An attendance policy allows a manager to intervene with an employee who is frequently absent. Besides stress as a primary reason for employee absenteeism, other causes relate to alcoholism, domestic violence, and family problems

Morale affects how motivated your employees are to work for you, suggests how much they will do while on shift, and will influence how long they will stay on staff.  As a manager, much of the mood within the organization is in your hands.  Make sure you do your part to keep morale levels high.The morale of your employees can directly affect the quality of the service and customer care you provide. Because of this, it’s vital to ensure that your staff feels appreciated

After all if employees are dissatisfied with their work environment what on earth is going to compel them to want to go there each day?

Absenteeism due to low morale or job dissatisfaction usually begins with a psychological withdrawal this means that although the employee may be there physically, their mind is somewhere else. Psychological withdrawal can take many forms. An employee may display very low levels of job involvement. At this point the employee has disengaged and no longer considers their work important

Employee absenteeism is directly related to low employee morale presenteeism, a situation where employees come to work even though they are ill and pose potential problems of contagion and lower productivity — continues to be an emerging area of concern. Once again, morale had an impact. Despite higher rates of unscheduled absenteeism overall, companies with low morale have more ill workers showing up for work. Some employees, because of financial commitments or the lack of alternative employment stay in jobs where they are unhappy, further pulling down the morale of the company, and at worst case scenario, filing legal suit against their employers.

Ways to Improve Morale of Employees- 30 Tips to Managers

Improving employee morale would reduce the absenteeism rate. In order to improve employee morale, one must

1. Lack of inclusion
2. Effective communications
3. Care about your employees
4. Training
5. Employers will need to offer the right incentives even in difficult times
6. Train staff to retain their talent continuous feedback
7. Focus on motivating
8. Be a best leader. 
9. Give more recognition for a job well done
10. Give employees more constructive feedback
11. Share information with employees
12. Clearly communicate the work to be done
13. Give feedback on a regular basis
14. Suggestion box
15. Plan work effectively
16. Treat employees with respect
17. Ask employees for input before making decisions that affect their work
18. Consult employees before implementing policies that will affect them
19. Ensure your people clearly understand their role
20. Demonstrate a positive attitude to serve as an example of optimism and achievement
21. Set a high standard and show commitment
22. Share news that affects the organization to employees
23. Show interest in employees personal life
24. Challenge your workforce with new opportunities to use and develop their skills
25. Acknowledge and appreciate staff
26. Be fair
27. Interact with staff  frequently; and
28. Display a positive demeanor whenever possible
29. Succession plan
30. Open door policy for listening to employee's comments

If an organization follows the above ways, it can easily overcome absenteeism of its employees. The mood of your employees will dramatically affect your business so change their moods which will in turn reduce their absenteeism.