How to reduce work absenteeism?

Labor absenteeism means the absence of a worker from their job during their work day. This term includes absences whether justified or not, that are by the worker's own decision, and even presenteeism absenteeism as long as a considerable number of hours is exceeded.

According to Adecco, in 2020 the labour absenteeism rate in Spain was 7.1% and 1.7 billion work hours were lost, reaching a historical peak. It is a problem that severely affects companies, resulting in capital losses and a significant drop in productivity.

The Workers' Statute includes reasons for absences that cannot be considered as absenteeism, such as those related to exercising a legitimate right or protected situations. For example, the right to strike, maternity/paternity leave, sickness absence, work accidents, etc.

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What are the causes of labor absenteeism?

The causes of labour absenteeism are diverse, but sometimes they are related to the company's functioning and not so much to the worker's personal life. These causes can be divided into:

• Lack of supervision: if your company lacks time control devices, its organization is much more vulnerable to labour absenteeism, because the absence is not recorded.
• Job dissatisfaction: employees who are unmotivated by the company's objectives may show this through absenteeism. It is important to consider that workers also have goals within the organization, and if an environment that fosters team achievement is not created, labour absenteeism is likely to occur.
• Incorrect working conditions: taking care of workers' tools and workplace is essential to prevent labour absenteeism. It is necessary to be aware of everything they do and, if poor conditions are found, to find a solution before it starts affecting them.
• Work accidents: the worker's performance is closely related to their health status, if they perceive risks every day, their commitment and trust in the company will decrease, making it more likely for them to engage in labour absenteeism.
• Constant changes: the organization of the company is one of the main reasons why a worker may miss work. If it does not contribute to a good work environment, it can significantly affect the worker's satisfaction and motivation within the company.

Organize and apply time control with the taclia app.

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How to approach different types of labour absenteeism?

There are several types of labour absenteeism, but the consequences are always very negative for the company. The reduction of profits and productivity, increased business costs for covering the absent worker, for example, with a replacement or extra hours, or the loss of motivation of the rest of the team for having to cover the work of others.

Therefore, it is important to know each type of labour absenteeism in order to address the most prevalent in your company:

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Predictable and justified absenteeism

This is the most common form of absenteeism for companies, where the employee informs the company about the cause of their absence. Although these absences are justified, they can be grounds for termination of the contract when they become routine.

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Unpredictable and unjustified absenteeism

When it comes to unjustified absenteeism, the worker does not attend the workplace and also does not inform the company of the absence and the reason, or if they do, it is not sufficiently justified. The company may sanction the worker for not fulfilling their duties as an employee.

Also included in this category is leaving the workplace without prior notice.

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In-person absenteeism

This is the most challenging case to detect, where the worker goes to the workplace but does not perform the assigned tasks. This type of absence requires attention from the employer, as it is more difficult to prove.

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Tips for reducing work absenteeism

To have a Plan against absenteeism from work is important to continue growing as a company. These are some Tips for avoid absenteeism from work and all its consequences for your company:

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Support workers by better planning

Often, labour absenteeism is related to poor company organization. This significantly affects your team, as it can be very stressful not knowing what their next task is or dealing with a chaotic company organization with contrasting plan changes.

One of the most useful techniques to improve this organization is through the help of task and service management software, allowing you to know in real-time what services are being performed in your company and what remains to be done. This way, you can keep your team always busy and make better daily service planning so that they feel aligned with the company.

If your worker knows what to do at all times and has a daily roadmap, they will feel supported by the company and useful, increasing their job satisfaction. Also, ensure that you are available to address their service-related queries.

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Motivate your employees

The most important thing for workers in their job is to feel fulfilled, motivated, and part of the business project. Therefore, enhancing their well-being in the company is key to addressing labour absenteeism.

To invest in your workers' happiness, listen to their claims and pay attention to what we call emotional salary. You can do this as follows:

• Be flexible: allow for a flexible schedule that fits their needs, enabling work-life balance is essential to keep your team happy. Keep in mind that workers have a life outside your company, and making their life easier will increase their business commitment.
• Implement growth programs: having a way to advance within the company and keeping the worker informed will increase their daily motivation to work towards their dream position. Workers feeling stagnant or unrealized are common causes of labour absenteeism that do not help improve business productivity and, if prolonged, can lead to the end of the employment relationship.
• ‍Improve internal communication: workers should feel that they can rely on you, trust between employer and worker is always the best ally to prevent labour absenteeism. Workers feeling listened to is crucial for the company to continue growing, so make sure there are spaces of trust and respect in your company where workers can express their demands.

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Teamwork

To increase business commitment, many companies focus on enhancing teamwork, as workers build bonds that promote their sense of belonging to the company. Additionally, teamwork makes it harder to decide not to attend work, as it would harm their colleagues.

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Reward workers attendance

One way to motivate workers is to reward those who have no unjustified absences throughout the year, or in some companies, the bonus applies monthly. The reward can be a financial or non-financial incentive, for example, translating into additional vacation days.

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A tool for managing the work hours of your workers

Technology is the best tool to reduce absenteeism in your company. With task and service management software that includes time control and clock-in features, such as taclia, you can manage your workers' work hours day by day.

With taclia's time control functionality, you can start addressing labour absenteeism in your company by confirming with a click that your workers are in the assigned services, and not only that, but also manage each worker's pending hours.

Eliminating labour absenteeism not only increases your company's productivity, but now time control is mandatory by law, so if you want to avoid fines, it is essential to have a clock-in software for your employees.

Access an easy way to increase productivity and have time control of your workers from any device, but not only that. With taclia, you can also manage all other areas of your company such as tasks and services, customers, suppliers, invoices, budgets, and more.

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These are some of the main features of taclia to control labour absenteeism:

• Control the hours worked by each worker quickly and easily
• Allow workers to log their workplace entries and exits
• Add any comments to that workday under "Notes"
• Avoid errors when clocking in