Employee absenteeism takes a heavy toll on revenue generation and overall productivity. Besides affecting staff performance, frequent absenteeism also weighs down on morale since the remaining workers have to handle any extra workload.

It’s essential to keep employee absenteeism in check, but at the same time, you shouldn’t make staff feel tied down or prevent them from taking days off when they are sick as this can only lead to burnout down the line. With these five effective strategies for reducing absenteeism, you should be able to prevent unnecessary days off.

It goes without saying that by providing a generous holiday allowance in the first place, your staff are going to have more time to recuperate and less likely to feel the need to take an unplanned absence. In the modern workplace, getting the best out of employees does not necessarily depend on the number of hours or days they spend in the office. Just make sure that everyone delivers what’s expected. Give the employees back any time left over to make them feel valued and cared for.

Enforce a strict but fair attendance policy in the workplace and ensuring you express your attendance demands as clearly as possible to all staff and departments. Also, outline the necessary procedures of requesting leave days, for instance, who to contact and how to delegate the extra responsibilities during this time.

Incentivise your employees to observe good attendance by rewarding those who do. Many organisations have reward packages such as bonuses at the end of every year to recognise exceptional attendance and punctuality. You can also track attendance using absence management software to select viable candidates for rewards.

Get your employees excited about coming to work by encouraging interactions and collaborations among co-workers. Inspire your team and hold occasional team-building exercises, trips and excursions. Involvement in social activities builds a satisfying workplace and boosts the staff’s morale, which in turn reduces absenteeism.

Surveys have found that organisations with well-established wellness initiatives experience less employee absenteeism. Wellness programmes help reduce mental health-related problems among staff members. The goal is to mitigate conditions such as depression, anxiety and stress resulting from their workload. This gives the workers additional incentive to report to work every day and builds their confidence and self-esteem.

Employees need to feel empowered in the workplace. Show appreciation for their talents, efforts and presence. This way you’ll never have a problem with absenteeism stemming from unjustifiable reasons. Be firm about attendance, but at the same time, don’t make compliance the only reason for reporting to work

Get in touch with us to learn more about absence management software. It’s an easy and convenient way to keep track of employee attendance, holidays and leave days.