Effective Communication

Monday morning blues, and Friday afternoon "highs"...Almost everyone who is cursed with the need to work for a living - yet blessed enough to do so only five days a week - is familiar with these two phenomena at the opposite ends of the spectrum.

This being so, one could almost take for granted that the two most common days for workers to take - or fake - leave of absence from their jobs on account of sickness would be Monday and Friday.

In fact, research has once again confirmed this to be the case. At least, the study was conducted in the United Kingdom, but it's probably safe to assume that the same applies in most other countries with a similar working week.

According to the researchers, 90% of British employers say that employees sneak extra days off work on either side of the weekend. Two thirds claimed that Monday was by far the worst day of the week for workers reporting sick, while almost a quarter said that Friday was the day they were affected most. Many of those who suddenly take ill at these times hardly ever absent themselves from work on other days of the week.

In general, workplace absence is said to have cost the British economy a whopping 12.2bn pounds sterling in 2004, and of that figure, some 1.7bn is estimated to be due to employees faking illness rather than to absence for genuine reasons.

All sorts of innovative plans have been devised in an attempt to stem the severe drain on the economy. One large company now requires all workers, to contact a trained nurse, in the employ of the company, on the first day they fall ill.

All this may help. But I believe another aspect of workplace dynamics may also have a significant bearing on this topic. Employers ignore it at their peril.

Indeed, another piece of research also conducted in Britain this year bears out my contention.

Not that the results were any great revelation, but the investigators concluded that workers take fewer days off sick if their company makes an effort to look after their home as well as their workplace life. Flexible working hours, being generous on compassionate leave and giving staff the option to work from home all help to cut down on absenteeism.

Interestingly, the surveyors felt that even though finding replacements for people absent from work is usually a bigger problem for smaller companies, precisely these organizations, because of their close-knit environment, are often better at dealing with this issue than their larger, less personal counterparts.

Of course, a small minority of workers will always take advantage of any leniency. But it's certainly no surprise that employers who realize their staff with respect and go out of their way to accommodate them on personal issues, will, in the end, get the most value from their workers.

Labels: the workplace

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