Employees should know what is expected of them and what they can expect from management. Maintaining a vigorous and stable workforce depends upon management recognition and correction of unsatisfactory conditions. While absences may occur for legitimate reasons such as sickness or important personal problems, false or unrealistic excuses should be discovered, evaluated, and handled quickly. Left alone, a high rate of absenteeism leads to low morale, tardiness, slowdowns, inferior work, accidents, and eventual labor turnover. Absenteeism is costly to employers in loss of production, forced substitution of untrained workers, re-scheduling, and increased insurance rates and recordkeeping.
Some employers equate every one percent of absenteeism to one percent of lost profits.
The best time to stress the importance of attendance and punctuality is during the new employee s orientation process. Employees who will be late or absent should be expected to call as far in advance of starting time as possible, to state why they will be absent and when they will return to work. The employee is responsible for notifying the supervisor personally except in extreme emergency. When an employee returns to work, the supervisor should acknowledge the absence. Excessive absence, excused or unexcused, is grounds for dismissal if it disrupts business or results in unreliable job performance.