More employees throwing creative sickies, employers need to monitor the cost of absenteeism

Almost three in 10 workers have "chucked a sickie" at least once this year, according to CareerBuilder’s annual survey on workplace absenteeism. More than a quarter of employers attribute the bogus sick days to increasing job stress and burnout.

Of the employers who checked up on an employee, 70 percent asked the employee to provide a doctor’s note upon return to work, half called the “sick” employee at home, and 18 percent had someone else make the phone call. Interestingly, 15 percent of bosses admitted that they actually drove by the employee’s house or apartment.

Chucking that sickie however could lead to further stress with sixteen percent of bosses advising that they have fired staff for missing a day on the job without a proven excuse.

Some of the more creative excuses that bosses have heard include; an employee’s mother was attacked by a chicken, a finger was stuck in a bowling ball, and a foot was caught in a garbage disposal.

CareerBuilder surveyed 3,100 workers and 2,400 employers for the purposes of the report. Read the full article in Chicago Breaking Business.

Last year in the UK alone, absenteeism cost the economy an estimated £13.2 billion. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) concluded that ‘a key element in managing absence effectively is accurate measurement and monitoring,’ as ‘monitoring absence allows the employer to identify trends and to explore underlying causes’.

Apparently, ‘in the latest CIPD absence survey fewer than half of employers monitor the cost of absence, just under half of organisations have set a target for reducing absence and just over one third of organisations benchmark themselves against other employers’.

The Mitrefinch Time Management System (TMS) is a proven tool for the recording, monitoring and reduction of absenteeism in the workplace. Amongst other tools at the user’s disposal is the Bradford Factor report. The ‘Bradford Factor’ is a widely-recognised Human Resources mechanism for measuring employee absence. In short, a computerised time and attendance system is a must-have for companies looking to minimise costs and crack down on absenteeism throughout the hard years ahead.

To find out more about how Mitrefinch can help reduce absenteeism in your organisation visit Mitrefinch Online, email sales@mitrefinch.com.au or call 1300 884831