The chronic problem of employees’ absenteeism from work confronts the industrial and commercial organizations not only in Pakistan, but also in advanced countries. Of all the expenses related to absence, unscheduled time-off has the biggest impact on the productivity, profitability and the morale.

There may be several reasons for absenteeism, but the one quoted most frequently is employees’ absence due to sickness. Whether it is real or perceived, sickness makes no difference as the employee does not go to work in both the cases. Even in the case of perceived sickness, the employee may genuinely feel that he is sick and unable to attend to work. Nevertheless, the employer may initiate disciplinary proceedings against an employee, who is a habitual malingerer.

When companies start to track the cost of absenteeism, they are shocked by how much they are spending. Although, no such statistics are available in Pakistan, companies in the US spend 15 per cent of the payroll on absenteeism, according to a recent study (Workforce magazine, September 2003). I understand the ratio of cost on this account, will not be less in Pakistani companies. What are the solutions? Since the nature of problem is similar, they are not different from those adopted by the American companies.These are:

a) Maintain an on-site clinic. Most of the employers pay monthly contribution to the Employees Social Security Institution for providing medical facilities to their employees. The institution maintains hospitals in industrial estates for providing medical treatment to the employees working in factories in those estates. Instead of operating such hospitals, the institution may establish its clinics within the premises of factories employing large workforce, say 500 or more, exclusively for their use. Setting up of these clinics, will not require the employees to leave the factory to get medical treatment. This will significantly reduce the time for which the employee leaves his work place on this account.

b) Employers may arrange detailed medical examination of every employee at least once a year and make it compulsory. The cost of prevention is much lower than that of cure. This facility will not only reduce the chances of high-risk employees getting some serious ailment but also save the cost involved in their prolonged absence from work.

c) Employers may introduce programmes to reward employees, who avail lesser number of due leaves. Such incentives have proved to be effective in curtailing absenteeism in companies.

The absence management programmes proposed above, will help companies in eliminating the indirect costs of hiring temporary employees, paying someone else to work overtime or lost productivity.

Parvez Rahim

Karachi