A Case Study on Impact of Staff Absenteeism on Service Users

This case study investigates the impact of staff absenteeism on service users at Charlotte House, a care home in Middlesex. The research employs a mixed-methods approach, gathering data from patient families and management through surveys and interviews. Findings indicate that staff shortages lead to deteriorated patient health, compromised safety, and cognitive decline. The study concludes with recommendations for Charlotte House to address absenteeism issues, such as improving compensation packages and employee support systems, to enhance the quality of care and service user experience. The research also highlights the need for further investigation into the long-term effects of absenteeism and the development of proactive strategies to mitigate its impact.

Running head: RESEARCH PAPER
The impact of staff absenteeism on service users: The case of Charlotte House
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisors, Prof. …, who supported me
through this research with their patience, knowledge, and understanding. I could not
have wished for better, highly qualified and approachable supervisor. He is so
patient and supportive throughout our session, particularly his one-to-one support.
I would like to thank my family, my wife in particular. They were always supporting
me and encouraging me with their best wishes.
I would also like to thank my lecturers, non-academic staffs and my distinguished
classmates for their kind support and appreciation toward me throughout this
program.
God bless you all.

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ABSTRACT
This research project had examined the impact of staff absenteeism on service
users. The research had highlighted the problem of habitual absenteeism among
care giving organization. Charlotte House had been chosen as the case for analysis.
The house had been facing issues with staff absenteeism due to various issues such
as low compensation package.
The research had been conducted from the perspective of the pragmatism where
mixed method analysis had been conducted. The study had collected data from
patients’ families and management level employees of the organization. This
consisted of 40 respondents for the survey and 3 respondents for the interview.
The data had been analysed using respondents survey response and coding. The
results had shown that the patients’ health conditions deteriorate due to the lack of
staffs and it compromises safety of the patients. Moreover, patients became more
aggressive and are not able to make decisions which affected their cognitive ability.
The research had provided significant conclusion and recommendations which could
help Charlotte house in dealing with their current issues.

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Table of Contents
Acknowledgement........................................................................................................1
Abstract.........................................................................................................................2
Glossary of terms..........................................................................................................6
Glossary of Abbreviation..............................................................................................6
Chapter One.................................................................................................................7
Introduction...................................................................................................................7
1.1 Project Overview.....................................................................................................7
1.2 Background of the study.........................................................................................7
1.2.1 Problem Statement and Organizational Significance..........................................8
1.2.2 Study purpose......................................................................................................8
1.3 Aims and Objectives...............................................................................................8
1.4 Research Questions...............................................................................................8
1.5 Rationale.................................................................................................................8
1.6 Scope and Limitations............................................................................................9
1.7 Summary................................................................................................................9
Chapter Two...............................................................................................................10
Literature review.........................................................................................................10
2.1 Introduction...........................................................................................................10
2.2 Definition...............................................................................................................10
2.3 Concept of staff absenteeism in healthcare.........................................................11
2.4 Problems of Staff absenteeism on patients..........................................................11
2.5 Conceptual framework..........................................................................................13
2.6 Literature gap........................................................................................................13
2.7 Summary..............................................................................................................14
Chapter Three.............................................................................................................15
Research methodology...............................................................................................15

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3.1 Introduction...........................................................................................................15
3.2 Research Paradigms............................................................................................15
3.3 Research approach and strategy.........................................................................15
3.4 Data collection......................................................................................................16
3.5 Ethical Consideration............................................................................................17
3.6 Summary..............................................................................................................17
Chapter Four...............................................................................................................18
Data Analysis and Findings........................................................................................18
4.1 Introduction...........................................................................................................18
4.2 Quantitative analysis............................................................................................18
4.2.1 Demographic Questions....................................................................................18
4.2.2 Questions on staff absenteeism and service users...........................................19
4.3 Qualitative analysis...............................................................................................25
4.3.1 Coded data........................................................................................................25
4.4.2 Generalizations..................................................................................................27
4.5 Summary..............................................................................................................27
Chapter Five...............................................................................................................28
Conclusion and Recommendations............................................................................28
5.1 Introduction...........................................................................................................28
5.2 Key findings and Conclusion................................................................................28
5.3 Recommendations................................................................................................28
5.4 Future research directions....................................................................................28
5.5 Reflection on own learning...................................................................................29
5.6 Summary..............................................................................................................29
References.................................................................................................................30
Appendices.................................................................................................................34
Appendix 1..................................................................................................................34

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Appendix 2..................................................................................................................36
Appendix 3..................................................................................................................37

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GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Alzheimer- Alzheimer's is a type of dementia that causes problems with
memory, thinking and behaviour
GLOSSARY OF ABBREVIATION
CCG - Clinical Commissioning Group
SPSS - Statistical Package for the Social Sciences

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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 PROJECT OVERVIEW
This research project has aimed to examine the impact of staff absenteeism
on service users. Researches have been conducted in the past on improving the
health care facilities in various hospitals and health care centres. Structure, process
and outcomes are key indicators of care quality (Oliveira et al. 2015). These
elements can be further divided into factors such as working conditions and human
resources which indicate the care structure. On the other hand, the patient
satisfaction is an indicator of outcome. Staff absenteeism is one of the key
components of human resource management and it affects the quality of service
provided to the patients. Studies conducted in the past three decades have been
able to develop critical standards that needs to be followed in each of these care
giving organizations. Absenteeism refers to intentional or international habit of not
turning up to work. In this given research, Charlotte House has been chosen as the
organization for analysis.
1.2 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Charlotte House is a modern and purpose-built care home located at
Isleworth in Middlesex. The care home is known for their specialised service in
respite care and nursing for aged people. The care only provides service to aged
individuals having any form of dementia. The House also provides compassionate
end of life care. The organization provides customized services tailored and carefully
planned according to the needs of each of the patients (Careuk.com 2019). The
facility consists of 56 residential rooms consisting of equal number of rooms in each
of the floors. The ground floor is reserved for the privately funded patients. On the
other hand, 22 rooms are reserved for the patients being referred from Hounslow
CCG and remaining rooms are available for other Authorities in London (Careuk.com
2019). This care home has excellent facility and consists of several hierarchies for
monitoring the activities. The processes of the organization are managed by
business manager, unit managers, deputy managers and home managers. The
staffs consist of 8 registered nurses, 34 care workers, 2 lifestyle coordinators and 1
receptionist for controlling the operational activities (Careuk.com 2019). There are
various activities every day to keep the residents busy and provide them
independence at their old life.
Absenteeism at care giving organizations is one of the key issues faced by
Health care sector. Habitual evasion from work is one of the key issues faced by
various industries in United Kingdom. This effect the productivity of the employees
and shortage of staffs leads to ineffectiveness in the organizational processes.
Moreover, there is significant rise in the human resource cost and increases the

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complexity for the management as they have to arrange for replacements within a
short notice.
1.2.1 PROBLEM STATEMENT AND ORGANIZATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE
The research has aimed to highlight the problem of habitual absenteeism
among care giving organization. Charlotte House has been chosen as the case for
analysis. The house has been facing issues with staff absenteeism due to various
issues such as low compensation package. The staffs tend to leave the job without
further notice as soon as they find another job with better compensation packages.
The management has tried to cover up the shortcomings by appealing to different
specialized agencies. However, these staffs face immense stress during their work
as they are inexperienced and does not have the necessary skills to meet the daily
staff requirements. There has been significant increase in absenteeism issues in
different care giving organizations and the case study has examined the case of
Charlotte House to provide suitable recommendations for improving the experience
of the service users.
1.2.2 STUDY PURPOSE
This research investigated the impact of staff absenteeism on the service
users in Charlotte House. The research has collected data on the effect on the
service users due to the absenteeism of staffs by conducting a mixed method
analysis. Primary data has been collected from the managers working in the
organizations and patient families to understand the nature of the effect. Suitable
recommendations have been provided based on the impact identified on the
organization. Various misconceptions regarding the impact of staff absenteeism has
been addressed to highlight the real issues.
1.3 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
 To identify and examine the impact of the staff absenteeism on service users
in Charlotte House
 To review existing studies related to staff absenteeism and service users
within UK Health and Social Care industry.
 To suggest the recommendations that can improve the performance of staff
members in Charlotte House
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
 What are the major effects of the staff absenteeism on service users in
Charlotte House?
1.5 RATIONALE
The research has chosen this particular topic as staff absenteeism is a major
issue in care giving organizations in United Kingdom and Charlotte House is one of
the best examples of this issue. The day to day operation of the organization is
getting hampered which has negative impact on the service quality. The impact of

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these phenomenon is not limited to the service users but also the other staffs. The
on-duty carers have to take up more responsibility which results in increase in stress,
dissatisfaction and mistakes. Moreover, the amount of time to be given to each of the
users are reduced significantly and the required duties are not fulfilled. This has
increased the number of complaints from the patient families to the CQC and other
authorities. This project is aimed at creating awareness among the management at
Charlotte House so that they can take immediate actions based on the
inconvenience, and issues identified and the recommendations. Absenteeism affects
productivity of the employees and the overall process efficiency.
This research provided the opportunity to develop analytical and problem-
solving skills which is required for working in the sector of Health and Social Care.
The independent learnings and experiences gained has provided knowledge for
future issues in the sector.
1.6 SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS
The main focus on the study is identify and highlight the key impacts of staff
absenteeism on patients in Charlotte House. The issues examined has been solely
based on the given case and any other issue in the Social and Health care sector is
out of scope. The major limitation of the research is the fact that direct interview with
the patients is not possible so feedback from the patient families have been taken.
Moreover, as the sample size of the study is relatively small, the sampling error is
high.
1.7 SUMMARY
This chapter has provided a detailed introduction on the problem statement,
the objective and aim of the research. This chapter has provided a brief outline of the
overall research and contribution of each into the research. The rationale, scope and
limitation of the research has been presented effectively for understanding the
aspects that has not and cannot be covered. The next chapter provide a detail
critical analysis on staff absenteeism and its impact on the service users.

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CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 INTRODUCTION
This chapter puts some lights on the role of the staff absenteeism on service
users or patients in the healthcare industry. In this regard, it can be stated that
dementia is a serious threat to the UK society and increasing at a rapid pace. Critical
symptoms like memory loss or Alzheimer is a common type of dementia. Therefore,
it requires rigorous medical treatment and close observation so that the patients can
get well positively. Based on this understanding, this chapter is trying to get a close
investigation on the impact of staff absenteeism in healthcare facilities that affects
the service users specifically the dementia patients.
Therefore, this chapter is offering an introspection into the theme of the
research and helps out the researcher to analyse a better understanding of the aims
and objective of the research related to the topic of impact of staff absenteeism on
patients or service users. In this regard, the chapter has been divided into a number
of sections in order to conduct a deep-down analysis on the empirical evidences.
Moreover, the relationship between the staff absenteeism and the condition of the
patient is also going to be discussed into the chapter in order to understand the
direct and indirect impact of the staff absenteeism on the service users.
2.2 DEFINITION
According to Baxter et al. (2015) staff absenteeism is a habitual practice that
influences the staff to take a leave in random basis. In this regard, Hallman et al.
(2014) argued that the habitual non-presence of the staff during the time of doing job
is labelled as staff absenteeism. In this regard, there are some possible factors that
are responsible to push the staff to take unexpected leave. As per the research of
Onikoyi, Awolusi and Ayodeji (2015) enough work pressure in workplace is
considered to be one of the major reasons behind staff absenteeism. It creates a
negative impression on the employee or the staff to do job enthusiastically and take
load of pressure while the financial benefit is limited. In course of this, the role of
financial benefit as a key feature for encouraging the employee to get focused.
Moreover, lack of responsibility is also referred as another important aspect that can
drive the staffs to take unexpected leave in a random manner. Lambert et al. (2015)
opined that due to the lack of understanding about the role and job position the
employees are very often took unauthorized leaves and as a result of that it
becomes a grave problem for the organization to continue a flawless production or
service. Furthermore, the unscheduled leave can also be occurred due to the clash
of shift work timing.

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2.3 CONCEPT OF STAFF ABSENTEEISM IN HEALTHCARE
Absenteeism in healthcare has become a growing practice among the
medical staffs nowadays. It is associated with huge workforce pressure and lack of
trained medical staffs. As a result of that the existing staffs are facing severe
workload in medical facilities as there is shortage in trained nurses and medical
staffs in hospitals. According to the research of Van Buynder et al. (2015) it can be
argued that the relationship between the staff absenteeism in hospitals is related to
their organizational commitment. As a matter of fact, Mercer et al. (2014) articulated
that typical classification of the staff absenteeism in healthcare facilities can be seen
in intensive care units, medical or surgical departments and specialization. There are
both the planned and unplanned absence in work and both types of work affects the
organization and the patient care differently. In this context, Johnson et al. (2018)
mentioned that planned absences in terms of scheduled leaves and vacations are
easier for the organizations to cope with because the medical organization has
already chosen an alternative to continue the healthcare practices. However, in case
of the unscheduled leaves or unplanned absenteeism of the staffs it becomes a
critical problem for the organization to keep the pace of the operational activities
(Frederick et al. 2018).
As a result of that loss in the productivity or service and poor quality are the common
feature of the staff absenteeism. Besides this, the research of Howlett et al. (2015)
confirmed that the role of the safety issue regarding the health condition of the
patients and the damaging the image of the healthcare organization are considered
to be the best possible effect that the organization has to deal with. Moreover, the
morale of the organization as well as the rest of the employees can also be affected
due to the random absence practice of the staffs (Daouk-Öyry et al. 2014). In
response to this, the organizations are trying to recruit new and contractual staffs.
However, the organizational expenses will be raised to a great extent and it can pose
serious threat for the organization (Bargas and Monteiro 2014).
2.4 PROBLEMS OF STAFF ABSENTEEISM ON PATIENTS
In this context, it is important to understand the adverse impact of staff
absenteeism over the patient conditions. There are several impacts based on the
empirical evidences formulate that the role of the staff absenteeism leads to patient
safety and lack of patient health condition. As per the research of Pieterse and
Lodge (2015) vulnerability to the safety of the patient is a significant result due to the
staff absenteeism. As the medical facilities suffer from lack of trained medical staffs
therefore it is not possible for the organization to overcome the absenteeism of the
staff within a short period of time (Duclay et al. 2015). Therefore, the patients face
severe threat as they are unattended by trained medical staffs. It turns out to be a
fatal situation for them to get proper care and medical attention.
Besides this, Oliveira et al. (2015) also pointed out that in a medical facility is
the part of the job of medical staffs to get adequate attention to each individual