Determining the biggest cause of absenteeism in your workplace, calculating the direct and indirect costs, and coming up with ways to curb unplanned absenteeism can be an incredibly valuable exercise.
For most workplaces, tackling unplanned absenteeism will be the most cost-effective route because, ironically, they are the most predictable and preventable. Another bonus is that, by reducing unplanned absenteeism, you can propel your business forward without neglecting or minimizing employee health and safety concerns.
Causes of Unplanned Workplace Absenteeism
Minor Illness
Minor illnesses such as a cold are very common and costly sources of absenteeism. Sending sick employees home can help prevent the spread of these minor illnesses which can become more costly if allowed to spread throughout your workforce.
On the other hand, 60% of the cost of ill workers is due to presenteeism. Workers coming into work despite being sick is costing employers $150-$250 billion annually according to the Harvard Business Review. Additionally, chronic diseases, a rapidly-aging workforce, and factors like stress, fatigue, and depression all affect employers’ revenue.
Mental Health
Stress and mental ill-health are major causes of employee absenteeism, according to the CIPD. Workers with mental health issues experience emotional and physical symptoms that contribute to absenteeism. This results in higher costs for employers. For example, workers with depression miss about 27 days of work per year compared to their peers without depression. The per capita cost of absenteeism due to depression is $4,426.59, according to Sapien Labs.
Mind, a mental health charity, found that one in six workers is currently facing mental health problems.
According to the KFF, many adults are reporting the following negative impacts on their mental health and well-being due to stress:
- difficulty sleeping (36%)
- difficulty eating (32%)
- increases in alcohol consumption or substance use (12%)
- worsening chronic conditions (12%)
Such symptoms are not only costly in their contribution to mental health absenteeism, but also potentially disastrous when brought into safety-critical workplaces, many of which are essential and non-remote.
Musculoskeletal Issues
According to OSHA, employers spend more on musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) than on any other condition or chronic disease. The direct costs of musculoskeletal disorders amount to $20 billion each year and include medical claims for diagnostic imaging, physical therapy, and both surgical and non-surgical interventions. (Northeast Business Group)
Other factors such as mental health issues could contribute to increased safety risk and accidents within safety-sensitive workplaces. Further, worker shortages could contribute to overuse and straining of muscles which are risk factors in musculoskeletal issues.
See the table below from CCOHS for a list of the most common disorders associated with musculoskeletal issues.
|
Identified disorders, occupational risk factors and symptoms |
||
|
Disorders |
Occupational risk factors |
Symptoms |
|
Tendonitis/tenosynovitis |
Repetitive wrist motions Repetitive shoulder motions Sustained hyper extension of arms Prolonged load on shoulders |
Pain, weakness, swelling, burning sensation or dull ache over affected area |
|
Epicondylitis (elbow tendonitis) |
Repeated or forceful rotation of the forearm and bending of the wrist at the same time |
Same symptoms as tendonitis |
|
Carpal tunnel syndrome |
Repetitive wrist motions |
Pain, numbness, tingling, burning sensations, wasting of muscles at base of thumb, dry palm |
|
DeQuervain's disease |
Repetitive hand twisting and forceful gripping |
Pain at the base of thumb |
|
Thoracic outlet syndrome |
Prolonged shoulder flexion Extending arms above shoulder height Carrying loads on the shoulder |
Pain, numbness, swelling of the hands |
|
Tension neck syndrome |
Prolonged restricted posture |
Pain |
Non-Work-Related Injuries and Accidents
Not much you can do about non-work related injuries besides finding a way to allow for remote work or assigning the worker to a task they're able to perform safely.
Home & Family Responsibilities
Home and family responsibilities are among the top 10 causes of long-term absenteeism and the top 5 causes of short-term absenteeism.
"The combined total costs for incidental and extended absenteeism— the kinds of absenteeism employers try to minimize — add up to 9.2% of payroll. This figure is more than half the cost of healthcare, measured at 15.4% percentage of payroll in Mercer’s 2007 National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans. Employers tend to focus their energies on controlling healthcare costs, since the dollars are easily measured, but this new survey suggests that large opportunities exist for managing absenteeism, if employers could reasonably quantify them." (Mercer)
Costs of Planned and Unplanned Absenteeism
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that productivity losses linked to absenteeism cost employers $225.8 billion annually in the United States. Unplanned absenteeism, such as calling in sick, results in double the productivity loss than a planned absence, such as PTO or vacation.
Additional Costs of Absenteeism in Shift Work
According to Circadian, an average US shift worker costs $2660 more each year in direct absenteeism costs compared to a day worker. For a company with 500 hourly shift workers, this translates to $1.3 million in absenteeism costs each year.
|
# of Shift Workers |
Extra Absenteeism Costs |
|
50 |
$266,000 |
|
100 |
$1,300,000 |
|
500 |
$133,000 |
|
1,000 |
$2,600,000 |
Sources of Unplanned Absenteeism Costs
Unplanned absenteeism is typically more costly than planned absenteeism because they result in a slew of other indirect costs such as:
- Increased workload
- Increased stress
- Disruption of the work of others
- Reduced morale
- Reduced productivity
- Increased mandatory overtime
- Increased training
- Negative impact on team performance and cohesion
Other negative consequences of absenteeism:
- Increased # of safety issues
- Increased employee health problems
- Overtime fatigue or understaffing
- Increased tension with unions
- Higher turnover rates
- Reduced ability to meet demand
- Reduced quality of goods and services
Solutions to Unplanned Absenteeism
How can you reduce unplanned absenteeism, reduce costs and improve productivity?
Let's start with the three causes of unplanned absenteeism that are most heavily aggravated by the virus and most within your control: illness, mental health issues, and on-the-job injuries.
Illness
Although you can't prevent a worker from contracting the virus outside of work and falling ill, you can limit the impact it will have on your entire workforce and the costs it incurs for your business. To nip it in the bud, you can:
Screen workers before they come on-site
Several apps are now available for contactless check-in and approving or rejecting worker site access based on temperature checks, health questionnaires, and saved test results. Use contact tracing:
Contact tracing has already been implemented by many businesses and has been accepted by most U.S. workers. A recent survey of 1,007 employees by SHRM found that 68% of respondents agree that employers using contact tracing would help to limit the spread of viruses in the workplace. 57% said they would feel more comfortable at work if their employer were to use contact tracing and 53% said that the benefits of the practice outweigh potential privacy concerns.
Contact tracing can also help you anticipate future absences so that you can plan and train replacement workers ahead of time and you're not caught off guard if half your team calls in sick!
Clearly communicate your attendance policy regarding sick time
It's highly likely that some of your workers are confused about your attendance policy. Such confusion may result in workers coming on-site while sick due to fears of termination, wasting their time off, or missing out on a day's wages. Incentivizing and encouraging workers to stay home when sick can help your business avoid long-term direct and indirect costs of both absenteeism and presenteeism.
Mental Health Issues
Dealing with mental health related absenteeism can get a bit more complicated. To limit the mental health burden on your workers and thus curb long-term consequences and costs, here are some good recommendations from the VA:
Be flexible
Employees under stress may seem to be doing well one day, and then regress in their focus and productivity the next day. Check in with your workers frequently to assess their progress and determine whether certain accommodations can be made to help them overcome their stress and improve their performance.
Be patient
Being patient as they progress and regress and then progress again on their path to mental health recovery will reduce conflict and help ensure a smoother transition into daily work routines.
Show support
When your workers are stressed, the simplest gesture of support and understanding can mean a lot to workers. By being supportive, you demonstrate to your workers that you value their well-being first and foremost.
Supporting and placing value in your workers pays off big time--higher morale, lower turnover, better performance.
Ask questions
Initiate and maintain conversation with your workers by asking them questions about their wellbeing. Without being intrusive, you can assess their fitness-for-work and offer appropriate countermeasures or accommodations to keep them a valuable worker in your company.
Inform
Open and transparent communication with workers can help alleviate anxiety and stress about the future, help build trust within the workforce, and prepare workers for upcoming challenges.
Tip: The AlertMeter® is a great conversation starter for workplaces. It assesses workers' mental and physical fitness-for-work in a 60-second cognitive test. Taken daily, it has helped many supervisors increase their awareness of the issues that workers face on a daily basis including mental and physical distress and preoccupation. In many instances, the AlertMeter® has helped supervisors identify and address difficult personal problems such as the loss of a family member; a sick child; and even substance abuse. Although such personal preoccupations can be disastrous within a safety-sensitive work environment, supervisors are often hesitant to intrude and find out about them. Or, they don't have the time to check in with each worker individually each day. AlertMeter® helps supervisors address these issues quickly and in a non-intrusive manner.
On the job injuries
Replacement workers, distressed workers, over-worked workers, under-supervised workers, etc. are all at greater risk of an on-the-job injury. To reduce these risks and save money, consider these suggestions:
Properly train replacement workers
Invest the time and energy to train replacement or temporary workers to perform tasks safely when they're filling in for another worker. If possible, train workers ahead of time in various roles so that they are able to fill in seamlessly in the event that a worker is out.
Ensure cognitive fitness-for-work
Workers suffering from illness, personal problems at home, or mental distress are more likely to injure themselves on the job. To reduce these indirect consequences, screen your workers before each shift with the 60-second fit-for-work test, AlertMeter®.
By identifying workers who are struggling with illness, preoccupation, fatigue, intoxication, distress, and more, the AlertMeter® has decreased accident severity by 68% and reduced the total recordable incident rate by 50%.
Conclusion
By being proactive and taking the necessary steps to prevent illness, mental distress, and on-the-job injuries, you can drastically reduce one of the most costly and destructive impacts in your business of absenteeism.
According to the Society for Human Resource Management, it is critical that companies accurately track unplanned absenteeism both to monitor costs and to counsel their employees on attendance policies when necessary.
Increasing and improving communication with your workers; reviewing workplace policies to encourage and incentivize the safest and most cost-effective solutions for the long-term; and implementing essential technologies such as the Global Virus Pass and AlertMeter to help retain a grasp on your business operations and stay ahead of daily risks are all proven strategies that have helped companies stay afloat during these challenging times.
