Reducing Absenteeism in the Workplace: Employee Engagement Programs and Strategies

This report discusses the problem of absenteeism in the workplace and explores strategies to reduce it, including employee engagement programs such as work/life balance, recognition and appreciation, and offering vacation and paid time off. The report also examines the benefits of work from home, rewards, and discipline.

ABSENTEEISM

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................3
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................4

INTRODUCTION
Absenteeism is the problem that arises when an employee started to being irregular continuously
without any reason to take a leave, the major factor that cause absenteeism of employees is
leisure. Many organisations have a plan to reduce excessive absent rates this study report will
discuss about development of employee engagement programmes, reducing the absenteeism and
the choice whether the supported idea to reduce absenteeism is favourable or not.
MAIN BODY
Steps to reduce the absenteeism in the work place
Absenteeism can never be seen as the problem in starting of employment it happens after some
time when the employee becomes vulnerable to the environment of work place, some ways to
reduce absenteeism in the work place:-
 Exploring flexibility schedule :- absenteeism looks like a smaller problem when the firm
gives the employee a suitable schedule or deadlines that they have to complete without
saying no to them. Providing work from home to the employees can be the better way to
reduce the absenteeism as mostly times the leave is not for sick purpose or something else
they are because of personal issues or laziness work from make it easier for the
employees to attend the office online and complete the work on time, the main benefits of
work from home are as follows:- reduced stress and improved output.
 Providing rewards :- giving appreciation towards the great can may motivate the
employee but not more than a extent every manager should reward the employees as an
appreciation of efforts towards the work. So that it motivate other employees to work for
firm and it will directly reduce the absenteeism of employees (Duncombe, D.C., 2019).
 Setting up discipline :- an organization should take disciplinary action regarding the
employees who are non-regular every time as it will be set as an example for others so
that none can repeat the same thing, the punching mechanism should be established at the
work place so that the timing of employees should also be counted. Discipline is much
necessary in the organisation to complete the work efficiently. Disciplinary actions are
mandatory to follow so that the organisation can work smoothly as possible.

Employee engagement programmes
The engagement program to reduce non-regularization of employees is driven through two main
key factors these are as follows :- work/life balances, recognition and appreciation, improve
workplace morale, offering vacation and paid time off (Mekonnen, Lamessa, and Wami, S.D.,
2019).
 Work/life balance :- the first main factor that affect absenteeism is maintaining balance
between the work and life. As everyone knows that the work is important pillar of life.
When a person clock into work and left to work, the person sees that the work has take
almost more than 50% of time of his day. Which directly says that the time for his
personal things is not left. Some major policies that the organization has to follow to
promote the better balance between work and life : three days weekends, flexibility on
start and end time, offering the option of work from home, ROWE. All of these policies
have a goal to help employees by maintaining work environment according to them and
completing the task of firm on time (.Naderi, and Shams, 2020).
DOES THE WORK/LIFE BALANCE LOWERS DOWN THE ABSENTEEISM
Yes it will help the firm in lowering down the absenteeism at the work place, as it helps the
employees to be like as he wishes.
 Recognition and appreciation :- this is said to be the most crucial component of employee
engagement is recognition and appreciation, showing gratitude and respect towards
employees is the biggest gift for employees in the modern times' workplace. Praising
employees of unique skills motivates others too, employee got recognized by manager is
seen as the biggest gift to employee rather than monetary value (JA, C.M., 2018).
DOES THE RECOGNITION AND APPRECIATION LOWERS DOWN THE
ABSENTEEISM
Yes at some extent it can be possible to reduce the absenteeism by the use of recognition and
appreciation at the work place.
 Improvement in the morale of workplace :- if the employees of the firm are not excited to
come at office to work and engage with the co-workers this may contribute to the
absenteeism in the employees. The firm could build the morale through the help of human
resource department by involving the motivating or social culture programmes in the
office (Salih, 2018),

DOES THE IMPROVEMENT IN MORALE OF WORKPLACE REDUCE THE
ABSENTEEISM
yes it can be said as the better way to reduce absenteeism but it includes huge costing
 Offering vacations and paid time off :- times of nine to five have known gone away, with
the help of modernization the office culture is also changing the absenteeism is a result of
burnout or when the employee thinks that they must need off. To avoid this the firm
should give vacation to it's middle or top level management so that they can have some
fun time in their life also the firm should give some numbers of paid leaves to the
employees so that they doesn't get exhausted of work. Maintaining a fun loving culture in
the workplace is seem to be better factor that may stop the absenteeism by 42%.
work culture is all about the absenteeism, the much better the workplace is the less the problem,
absenteeism is, the culture having flexibility, people of same age, employee gathering, functions
doesn't face the problem of absenteeism in major
Use of the absence management can also be the best way to control the problem of unregular
people
CONCLUSION
This study report had discussed about the problem of absenteeism that is caused by many factors
like work/life balanc, laziness, sickness, boredom of work etc. It has studied about the factor to
resolve absenteeism and the employee engagement programme, also the reviews telling whether
the factors will be useful or not.

REFERENCES
Books and journal
. Staff absenteeism: The case of wa municipal education office of the Ghana education
service.Open Journal of Social Sciences,6(8), pp.1-14.
Physical activity as a tool to reduce disease-related work absenteeism in sedentary employees: A
systematic review.Revista Espanola de Salud Publica,92.
. Job Satisfaction as a Mediating Variable between Workplace Factors and Absenteeism: A
Proposed Conceptual Framework.Management,3(2), pp.27-39.
. Sickness-related absenteeism and risk factors associated among flower farm industry workers in
Bishoftu town, Southeast Ethiopia, 2018: a cross-sectional study.BMC research
notes,12(1), pp.1-7.
. Factors Influencing Voluntary Absenteeism among Healthcare Workers in The
Bahamas.Nursing Economic$. 37(2).