Stopping Excessive Employee Absenteeism

How much can absenteeism cost your company? In short, a fortune! Just take a look at the following list of occupations and the corresponding costs of lost productivity due to absenteeism, per year.

  • Professional (excluding nurses, physicians & Teachers) -- $24.2 Billion
  • Managers/Executives -- $15.7 Billion
  • Service Workers -- $8.5 BillionOutOfOffice
  • Clerical/Office -- $8.1 Billion
  • Sales -- $6.8 Billion
  • K-12 Teachers -- $5.6 Billion
  • Nurses -- $3.6 Billion
  • Transportation -- $3.5 Billion
  • Manufacturing/Production -- $2.8 Billion
  • Business Owners -- $2.0 Billion
  • Installation/Repair -- $1.5 Billion
  • Construction/Mining -- $1.3 Billion
  • Physicians -- $250 Million
  • Farmers/Foresters/Fishers -- $160 Million

In addition to costing companies billions in lost productivity, understaffed organizations are typically forced to increase the workloads of present employees. This leads to burnout and low morale. Being understaffed and working alongside a burned out team also creates more problems. Most notably, there is a rise in on-the-job injuries which leads to even more absences, further perpetuating the vicious cycle of absenteeism

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HOW TO COMBAT EMPLOYEE ABSENTEEISM

 

Employees who don’t feel motivated to commit to their jobs or their organizations are simply more likely to miss work, not because they are unable, but because they feel unappreciated, undervalued and disengaged. So, it should come as no surprise that one of the most effective means of combatting employee absenteeism is to ensure that your employees are actively engaged.

Gallup revealed just how big a role employee engagement plays in absenteeism when they released their 2017 State of the American Workplace report. The numbers are staggering. When compared with companies with low engagement metrics, those in the top quartile experienced 41% lower absenteeism. That's because engaged employees are committed to their job, their fellow team members, and their organization.

When your organization champions a Culture of Engagement, reduced absenteeism isn’t the only benefit you’ll experience. A few other examples include:  

  • 21% Higher Profitability
  • 28% Less Shrinkage
  • 20% Higher Sales
  • 70% Fewer Safety Incidents
  • Many More

Want to learn more about how you can create a Culture of Engagement? You may want to subscribe to our weekly blog, where we cover all things related to employee engagement and recognition. From the latest OSHA® standards to tips & tricks on engaging your whole team, we have you covered.

If you’re looking for even more information on how you can reduce absenteeism while increasing profits, or you just want to say hi, feel free to reach out. We’d love to hear from you and share ideas about how C.A. Short Company can help your business!

More Resources to Combat Absenteeism

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