When an employee is unexpectedly absent from work, there are hidden costs that can’t be found in the P&L report. The financial cost exists, but it’s not always obvious, and can be more difficult to calculate. This is particularly the case when you are relying on highly experienced, mature executives to help you get the job done, and someone goes down with a health issue.  Fortunately, there are now a number of well accepted mathematical formulas that can help you get close to that financial calculation.

Furthermore, we know that absenteeism can have a significant impact on customer service, productivity and staff engagement across the business. Think about it as a domino effect: an absent employee means an additional unexpected workload for someone else, and potentially the productivity of an entire team is impacted.  The resulting stress can be even more impactful and long lasting, depending on the situation.

Recent studies show that stress, long hours, and sedentary work can have a huge impact on health, performance and business productivity.  It can be difficult to avoid stressful situations at work, and this can contribute to poor lifestyle choices outside of work, creating an unhealthy cycle.  The ‘always on’ digital environment means the once very clear boundaries between work and home, are now often blurred, exacerbating the problem.  

We all understand there is only so much a workplace can do to promote healthy choices.  Your business has already put in place preventative safety initiatives and emergency response preparations.  The next frontier for businesses that rely on large teams to deliver value and profitability, is to empower greater self-awareness and self-management in your staff members.  

These solutions are often delivered as short digital or blended training courses, with supporting materials and checklists they can take to their doctor.  These programs can help organisations help their staff to reduce their own level of stress and associated health issues, ultimately improving productivity and reducing the impact of absenteeism on the business.

If you want to have a better understanding of how absenteeism is impacting your business and what you can do to reduce it, download our Measuring Employee Absenteeism Checklist now.

Facts and Stats

1.  Since 2010, the rate of absenteeism across the country has risen by 7%, while as much as 5% of the Australian workforce calls in sick on any given day – Heads up.
   
   
2.  An unexpected employee absence costs a business approximately $578 per employee per absent day, with the annual cost of absenteeism to the Australian economy an estimated $44 billion per year – Third Sector.
   
   
3.  On average, Australian employees take 8.8 unscheduled days off per year - AIG Absenteeism & Presenteeism Survey Report 2015.
   
   
4.  As many as 3 out of 5 organisations don’t record absences properly and up to 25% of absences are going unreported - Australian HR Institute (AHRI).