NFIB

Kinder, Gentler Tactics for Reducing Unscheduled Employee Absences
03/ 28/ 2002

By Kelle Campbell

When your employees play hooky, you pay in terms of late work, lost productivity and, in the end, lower profits. But eliminating workplace absenteeism is an unrealistic goal since employees do need time off for helping family members, running personal errands, or simply taking "stress breaks." Relying on disciplinary action to deal with absent employees often lowers morale and leaves the problem unsolved.

Although you can't eliminate employee absences, you can do the next best thing by encouraging workers to schedule their time off. Scheduling lets you to plan your business operations so that you aren't adversely affected by "down time." And some scheduling methods show workers that you trust them to handle their time and get their work done, a tactic that raises morale.

Flexible Work Schedules

Flextime (flexible work schedules) allows employees to either vary their arrival and departure times or the length of their work days/work weeks. The number of actual hours worked remains constant (a 40-hour week for a full-time employee), and workers agree to be present in the workplace for certain specified times.

Flextime works for employees who need a work schedule other than the typical 9-to-5 routine. If your business can run the same whether or not employees are there at set times, flextime is a good way to attract and retain good workers. As long as the work hours are conducive to employee efficiency, this arrangement can benefit both employer and employee.

Compressed Work Weeks

Some employers prefer to offer workers a compressed work week. This is a fixed schedule that differs from the typical routine because of the number of days worked. One of the most typical compressed work weeks consists of four 10-hour workdays. Another is a biweekly arrangement where employees work nine hours for eight days, eight hours for one day, and then receive one day off.

Benefits

Another option for reducing unscheduled absences is including paid leave for personal days or "mental health" days in your benefits package. That way, employees can alert you about upcoming absences instead of calling in "sick" at the last minute.

Paid Leave Banks

In this paid leave program, employees have a number of paid leave hours that they can use in any way that they wish. This has the added benefit of sparing employers from having to keep track of sick days versus personal days and so on.

Incentive Programs

Another way to try to reduce workplace truancy without resorting to heavy-handed tactics is to use incentive plans. Examples are programs that pay employees for unused time off or provide rewards for perfect attendance within a given time period. Other incentive programs include converting unused sick leave to paid vacation time or to cash or insurance when employees retire. The most important thing to do with an incentive program is ensure that it does not violate the Family and Medical Leave Act, which requires employers to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in each 12-month period.

Telecommuting

If an employee needs to be at home for a significant number of days, you could try the option of telecommuting. Your workers can come into the office on specific days for meetings or other agreed-upon times, and work from home the rest of the time. This works best for salaried employees because they can keep their own schedules. Hourly workers will have to work out a system of tracking their hours if they agree to this arrangement. Also you'll have to consider details such as whether the software on your employee's computer is compatible with your office and so on.

Experts consider the practices described above effective methods for controlling unscheduled absenteeism. A 2001 survey by CCH Incorporated, a company providing employment law and human resources information, reveals that human resource professionals give particularly favorable marks to flexible scheduling, telecommuting, compressed work weeks and paid leave banks.

However, what will work for your small business and your employees depends on your particular requirements and office culture. Take time to consider the benefits and costs of each option before making a choice.

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