How to Reduce Staff Absence in Your Company

Staff absence can cause significant issues within your business. When you experience high absenteeism in your company, the strain can be felt right across the organization.

When staff members are off sick, your remaining employees are left to pick up the slack and work harder and longer hours to compensate.

This can create a situation where your staffing costs increase, because not only are you paying the team member who is off sick, you also have to pay overtime to your other employees.

Everyone gets sick from time to time, so absence is never going to be something that you can eliminate, we are all human, after all!

However, there are a few adjustments that you can make in the workplace that could help to reduce staff absence.

 

Ease the Workload

A common complaint among employees in all industries is that their bosses expect too much from them. Feeling under pressure to meet unrealistic expectations can harm staff, leaving them feeling bogged down by a heavy workload.

Being overwhelmed by the expectation to keep on top of a large volume of work can leave your employees feeling stressed and run down.

No employer should put their staff under the pressure of unrealistic expectations, as this is not only bad for your employee but bad for your business too.

When staff morale begins to wane, the effects can be felt throughout an organization. Productivity levels may drop, more mistakes are made, and absenteeism may increase.

Instead of placing impossible demands on your staff, it is far more sensible to employ temporary staff when workloads are exceptionally high.

Using a specialist temping agency is the best way to get the perfect temporary staff for the job. If you run a business in the logistics industry, lookout for a specialist truck driver temp agency so that you have high-quality truck drivers joining your team temporarily to meet demand.

 

Create a Healthy Environment

Air conditioning shared equipment, and a lack of fresh air can cause germs to spread throughout your business premises in a short time.

To prevent your entire workforce from falling ill all at once, it is vital to increase further your hygiene levels in the work environment to offset the chances of everyone becoming ill.

To create a healthy working environment, you could increase the frequency of cleaning areas that receive high footfall, especially during flu season.

Regularly wiping down shared desks and cleaning telephones, and door handles should eliminate some of the germs. Installing hand sanitation stations in communal areas could also help control germs.

 

Increase Workplace Safety Measures

Figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show there were a total of 2.8 million workplace injuries and illnesses reported by private industry employers in 2018.

These figures show the prevalence of workplace injuries and illnesses.

To reduce staff absence and keep your employees healthy and safe, it is wise to proactively reduce the chances of accidents and injuries occurring with regular risk assessments and increased vigilance.