preventative measures to avoid absentism

The world is changing today and so is the way to deal with the problems. Hence we need to adopt new methods to curb absenteeism and take it positively. Leaving aside surveillance, interrogation and other more draconian approaches, which no doubt some employers favor, there are preventative measures which employers could take. For example

Ø family friendly policies, from flexible hours to workplace crèches to help employees cope with childcare problems

Ø providing more varied/interesting/responsible work to combat "low morale/boring job" syndrome

Ø compressed working week options to cater positively for those who may need longer weekends

Ø mentoring, counseling, fitness programmes, on-site massage etc to help people through stress, emotional problems or personal problems, plus careful monitoring of workloads.

Ø The Industrial Society suggests other steps organizations could take:

Ø having a clear policy on absence monitoring

Ø training managers to manage attendance

Ø training employees to recognize and manage signs of stress

Ø improving employee motivation through training and development opportunities

Ø Using return-to-work interviews after illness and informal procedures to keep individuals informed and to resolve problems by consensus.

Ø These approaches tackle absenteeism by seeking to reduce the number of absences.

Handling the absenteeism in this way will not only reduce it but also strengthen the employee employer relationship. As the workers will then have sense of belongingness towards the company, the production will increase and the company will see a growth like never before.