Workplace Absence - Physical or Psychological PDF Nov-14

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Do we really engageemployee?

Companies celebrate birthdays, butignore how the manager is treatingto employees.They organize funactivities, but ignore the feedback onthe performance of an employee. Anarticle by Vinod Bidwaik.

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On the right side of PMS

This article is an attempt of sharingthe views on how the concept ofPMS is received and practiced in onepart of the industry and what are thefew changes one might expect tohappen in PMS methodology thatlooks promising both for theindividual employee and theOrganization associated with. Anarticle by Kasi SP

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Why Teams work Less?

People in a team commonly feel thatother team members decrease theirchances for "personal success." This isespecially true with high performerswho may frown on teams. An articleby Madhu

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Dr. Vinayshil Gautam

Role of EmployeeDevelopment Plan inManaging PerformanceIn today's business environment,designing an effective EmployeeDevelopment Plan has become a significant part ofHR manager's portfolio. Not justthis, a well-crafted EDP helpsemployees find clear direction andopens up avenues for them onhow to improve their skills andmove ahead in their careers. Anarticle by Shraddha Awasthi

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Passion to deliver,passion to move aheadFor any leader, manager or supervisorwho wants to make themselves andtheir workforce sustainable has toensure that passion is instilled in thevery thread of the organizationculture. So creating a passionate anddedicated workforce is the first stepto building a passionateorganization. An article by AmitabhAkhauri

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Social Media forCorporates - Do's andDon'ts

In the social media space, thereare many things a person in aposition of power has tounderstand before they embarkon a digital journey.The threemain things that one shouldthink about are communication,reputation, and business results.An article by Avneet Kohli

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Dignity of Identity

By Simran Oberoi

Rewards & Recognition

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Incentive Pay -Short and LongTerm

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What is your source of stress?All stress is not work-life balancerelated, the moot question is howcan a person deal with stress andmove across the continuum fromdistress to eustress? An article byLatha Nambisan

37Quality educationneeds more thaninfrastructure!Shortage of quality facultymembers represent an enormousstumbling block in thetransformation of higherEducation in India.An article byDr. Nidhi Maheshwari 36

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AbsenceWorkplace

Absence

Need to re-think our work ethics - D.V. Nandakumar

Managing Workplace Absence - Dr .Deepak Sharma

Why employees absent from work? - Surendranath.A

Socio-Psychological reasons and remedies -Vinay Kumar Singh

Absence-Physical or Psychological ? -Smita Dash Sahoo

Impact & Coping Strategies - Thomas Mathew

The NINL way of managing absence -C.K. Podder & Rohit Gupta

D.V. Nandakumar

Dr .Deepak Sharma

Surendranath.A

Vinay Kumar Singh Smita Dash SahooThomas MathewC.K. Podder

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Readers are invited to comment on articles published in BM through email at : [email protected]

InspiringThis refers to your cover story on CSR. Very contemporary and informative withenough substance. All authors seem to have command ion the subject. Accept mycongratulations for taking up such a most talked about issue in corporate corridors. Iam of the view that CSR policy should be at the core of company’s daily operationsthat guides future progress. Company Benefits from these efforts in a number of ways.The true value co. can receive from meaningful CSR initiatives are that of social good will .Settinga good example is the greatest benefit in that Co. Such activities also inspire other organizationsand individuals to initiate effectively when it comes to social and environmental responsibility,which in turn encourages further inspiration in the community leading to a more enlightenedperspective on how to run ones business or lead one’s life in society.

-Hemant MukheejaAttitude matters!I have gone through all the articles of your cover story. My take is that CSR can be a

value creator for the organization.. While the understanding of CSR as a significanttool for building brands, improving risk management and stakeholder relationshipsetc. generally increases, I think that the ideas of how much this really increases overallcompetitiveness still differs within organizations. It can be a point of internal debate.

When it comes to CSR as a significant tool forincreasing efficiency, I think we will see aconsiderable shift among practitioners the years tocome, from negative impact on efficiency to mainlypositive. What you need to do is adopt an out of boxthinking attitude.

-Lakulesh Sharma

Not concernedI think with new law on CSR in companies Act, a newchapter has opened as far as social obligations ofthe corporate sector are concerned as provisionsabout contributions to be made by companies forCorporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities havebecome mandatory. Of course, there are those whoconsider these CSR provisions as a step back in

history. But are the companies in India ready for voluntary compliance of any CSRguidelines? I believe that except for a few corporate houses, most companies aresimply not concerned with social obligations. In fact many from businessmencommunity would prefer to pay some additional tax in lieu of mandatory CSR spending.However, the very objective of CSR provisions would just be defeated by handing over CSRcontributions to some authority of the govt. by way of some tax.

-Narendra M apte

Stepping up effortsFor CSR management, it is important to be aware of what stakeholders are interestedin, to be sensitive to the changes in their interests and to respond to them. Organisations should,intend to step up efforts to reflect in their daily business activities the many suggestions theyreceive from internal as well as external stakeholders.

-Venkatesh

NGO’s RoleNew CSR law making co. to spend requisite amount on society is attracting theattention of NGOs that have emerged to scrutinise CSR reports and compare themwith actual corporate behaviour. NGOs use CSR policies and reports as leverage withwhich to expose and influence companies’ that violate their own codes of conduct,but this work can be challenging, because it is not in the interest of companies torender their functioning entirely transparent, and because the accurate and detailedmonitoring and follow-up of CSR claims is very time and resource consuming. Forthese reasons, some NGOs accept funding indirectly through business house trusts.There is also the scientific challenge of assessing the interactions and causalitiesbetween corporate CSR performance and financial performance. Whether a robustCSR policy improves business performance is highly questionable.

-Yogindra Jaiswal


Questions by readers on variety ofproblems they face at work and answeredby Anil Kaushik Chief Editor. Look at it.These may also be of some help to you.39

60-64

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Latest from theCourtsLatest verdicts from different High Courts and SupremeCourt effecting employer employee relations.41

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55

EVENT Reports

By Dr. Pravin Durai

The consequenceof faulty job design 58

Consumer Behaviour - Author : Rajneesh Krishna

Labour Problems & Remedies-Author : H.L. Kumar

Innovation Management-Authors : Vinnie Jauhari, Sudhanshu Bhushan

For loss of 5 paisa, casecontested for 41 years byspending Rs. 9 lakhHere is a startling case of a poor DTC busconductor who was compelled to fight hiscase for more than four decades. And forwhat? it was the dishonesty of the busconductor for the princely amount of 5 NayaPaisa. An article by H.L. Kumar


57Impact of recent PFamendmentsIn respect of persons who are enrolled as PFmembers after 01/09/2014 and who aredrawing a salary of more than Rs. 15000/-per month, the entire contribution ( theemployee's and the employer's totaling to24% ) will be deposited in the PF account.Anarticle by K. Varadan

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Employees’ absence from workplace is a menace and silent killer in Indianindustry.Apart from leaves,weekly offs and holidays, it is unplanned absence ofemployee which hurts the organization in many ways . The problem is muchserious but sadly, has not been viewed and addressed with equal gravity.Thoughthe facility of leaves are much valued by employees when it comes to theirsatisfaction level in terms of employer branding yet very costly to industry whenit is coupled with abrupt absence thus leaving the organization in lurch.

Many studies have indicated that about ten percent of payroll costs are linked tounplanned absence globally. In India it is about 15 to 20 %. Cost leakage due toworkforce mismanagement is three times higher than that of globally.The reasonsof absence have been repeatedly identified but what is not done is how to tamethis problem in constructive way because many feel that negative reinforcementthrough punishment may not bring desired results.

Is it is question of mindset or of work culture orof work ethics which does not allow employeeto treat his unplanned absence a sin or guiltcommitted towards self development andnational growth? When an employee afterhaving 52 weekly offs, about 10 holidays andabout 30 leaves which comes to about threemonths off the work in a year in private sector,absents from work in a unscheduled way, thenthe issue has to be taken up seriously by theorganizations to identify the underlyingreasons as it lowers the morale of other sincereworkforce. In Govt. and PSUs leaves are much

more. Does it also indicate our mindset towards work ?

In many Indian organizations managers don’t appreciate the magnitude of thisproblem. Actually this problem has been more or less accepted as if beyond theircontrol and they have learnt to live with that. It needs greater focus because notonly it impacts the financials of the company but also help deteriorating the workculture and discipline of the workplace.

What is required for the managements to take up this issue on priority, invest in trainingof frontline managers to manage absence carefully and effectively, initiateproactive measures to identify habitual absentees, do their case studies, analyzethe issue and enforce constructive discipline. Reforms are difficult thanelimination of such persons though may require at some point of time if do notshow sign of improvement.

The month’s cover story is on this untouched and unaddressed issue, which has beenmore or less away from limelight of the Corp Inc. and specifically HR for a longtime. Experts and seasoned management professionals address bigger, morechallenging and more pressings questions to show the ray of light in dark tunnelranging from methodical to psychological to legal sparkles.

If you like it let us know. If not, well, let us know that too.

Happy Reading!

Silent killer

Chief Editor ANIL KAUSHIK

Associate Editor Anjana Anil

Hon'y Editorial Board Dr. T.V. RaoDr. Rajen MehrotraDr. V.P. SinghH. L. Kumar

Hon’y Research LeadIndranil [email protected]

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Other factors for absenteeisminclude responsibility of elders,Personal fitness etc.

Individual lifestyle alsocontributes to the absence fromworkplace. Rising trends of nightparties, consumption of alcoholare inversely proportional toworkplace attendance.At grassroot levels poverty andilliteracy also contribute toworkplace absence. These peoplecan't discriminate between thegood and bad for themselves andthe organisation.Lack of monitoring of attendanceon the part of organisation andlack of responsibility on the partof employees increasesorganisation absenteeism.Organisation which does not havea disciplinary procedure forcurbing absenteeism suffer fromemployee absenteeism. Since thereis no deterrent to curbabsenteeism an erring employeefeels that he can get away with itthus he forms a habit.

In order to increase the workplaceattendance of the employees thusimproving productivity and qualityof goods and services followinginitiatives need to be taken by theorganisation :

People need to be continuouslymotivated to achieve desired goalsby making them feel important,they need to be appreciated fortheir work. Provision of incentiveschemes along with clearlydefined attendance policy statingthe disciplinary procedure to befollowed in case of incorrigibleemployees.Improving the working conditionsby providing the employees withopportunities for growth,development of their skills , Jobrotation to avoid boredom in aparticular Job. Provide theemployees having personalproblems with the option of flexitimings suited to the needs of theOrganisation and the employee.All these activities are sure to

increase the employee morale thusreducing the employee absence at thework . This will in turn will alsomake the employee inculcating afeeling to be more responsibletowards the Organisation.

People in any organisation occupy job roles to perform as per expectationsto meet the organisational goals. All the other resources are driven by thepeople, and hence, their 'Physical Presence' behind themachines/processes is absolutely necessary. Though, occasional absencefrom workplace is inevitable as people have to attend to their health,

personal work and recreational needs, it is the unplanned and habitual absencewhich poses the greatest challenge.

Causes of Absenteeism1) Bullying and harassment

2) Burnout, stress, depression and low morale

A good Leave Policycan help controlabsenteeism onlywith the support of asound Disciplinaryprocedure andproactivecommunicationprocess.

Absence-Physicalor Psychological ?

Smita Dash Sahoo

Chief Human Resource Officer, S.K. Bajoria Group, Kolkata

BM



Cover Feature

Absence-Physical or Psychological ?

3) Childcare and eldercare

4) Disengagement/ Lack of motivation

5) Illness/Injuries

6) Job hunting

7) Partial shifts - Arriving late, leavingearly and taking longer breaks

Thus, the broad two causal factors are:

1) Individual Factors like addictions, inter-personal issues, personal problems,marital discord etc

2) Organisational Factors like unhealthywork culture, cumbersomeprocesses/procedures, working patterns,job design, employment relations etc.

Visible Effects of Absenteeism1) Wages/Salary to absent employee

2) Replacement cost/Low employee moraledue to shouldering additional work

3) Administrative cost and time loss inmanaging absenteeism

4) Low productivity- of the substitute oroverloaded co-worker

5) Effect to the company bottom-line

6) Invisible effects

Attendance PolicyTo ensure good work and leave culture

within the organisation and its people,Companies lay down leave rules for 'AbsenceManagement'. The Design depends on:

1) Macro Factors - The social, economic,psychological and professional factors inthe country/State/ location/Company/individual, company culture, company'sHR philosophy, The kind of work force andits mix, The economic activity of theCompany, The CSR engagement levels ofthe company, maturity of the work force,stipulations of labour laws and otherfactors.

2) Micro factors - like Limits on the days,Restrictions on availing period, Allowingfor certain purposes only, Lapse ofunavailed leave, Accumulation up tospecified period/limit, Encashment ofcertain kinds of leave at a particular time,Conversion of leave to a special category ofleave, Extension of Special leave forcertain special purposes and other factors.

Importance of Disciplinary &Communication Process

When we keep the rules fairly simple,management too becomes simple. Complexprocedures and numerous kinds of leaveresult in:

1) Management complexities

2) Interpersonal issues

3) Intra-personal issues

4) Disciplinary issues

5) Labour Conflicts

6) Difficulties in establishing andmanaging organisation/ work culture

A good Leave Policy can help controlabsenteeism only with the support of a soundDisciplinary procedure and proactivecommunication process. Disciplinary actionhelps reform the errant employees and,motivate the conforming ones. Goodcommunication process helps proper flow ofinformation, thereby prevents frictions.Grievance handling procedure could also playa vital role in managing absenteeismeffectively.

Absence Management in IndiaCertain companies, especially MNCs and

private companies, keep it simple byextending a certain fixed amount of leave, say30 days per annum, for all purposes, whichlapses at the end of the period, if unavailed.In India, we generally find the following kindsof leave:

1) Casual leave- to meet unexpectedexigencies

2) Privilege Leave- supposed to be planned

3) Sick Leave

4) Leave without pay- approved in genuinecases

5) Others- Sports/Quarantine/Special leavesetc (generally found in public sectors)

The leave policies of Companies lie inbetween the two extremes. Some of thecomplexities prevailing in India, whichmandates broader and tolerant rules, are:

1) There are too many people to 'care' for.

2) There is too much to the word 'Caring'.

3) The breaking up of the joint familysystem.

4) Lots of social get-togethers, ceremonies,religious functions and rituals.

5) Adjustment issues due to differingweathers and cultures within the IndianUnion

6) Inadequate/defunct infrastructure andfacilities.

7) Inefficient support system.

News a few days back was that, there aremore women homemakers in urban areasthan Rural. One reason could be that, inurban areas, due to defunct infrastructureand inefficient support systems, one familymember stays at home, without taking upemployment, to effectively connect theirdependants with facilities, while the othermember tries making up for the 'success oftwo' at workplace. This arrangement breaksdown somewhere or other, and boomerangsperiodically affecting the organisations in theform of low productivity and/or absenteeism.

One of the commonongoing efforts ofevery organisation isto move theemployee from astate of Attendanceto Engagement.



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Psychological Presence & AbsenceIn earlier times, most of the jobs required 100% physical

presence at workplace with varying degrees ofpsychological presence depending upon the job. In recenttimes, advanced technology has made it possible for jobs like'Work from Home'/'Remote Control'/'Multi-location'- jobswith broader perspective. Thus, we also find employees whomay be '100% Physically-Absent' but '100% Psychologically-Present', connected through technology. This brought us toan interesting insight and we consciously startedidentifying employees who were physically present butpsychologically absent at workplace- the non-engaged anddisengaged employees. Thus, came the importance ofEmployee Engagement Surveys and Satisfaction Surveyswhich got inter-linked to Engagement activities, EmployeeValue Proposition, Brand Building, Brand Value etc. One ofthe common ongoing efforts of every organisation is tomove the employees from a state of Attendance toEngagement.

Measures to minimize Absenteeism1) Adopt the right Policy framework

2) Define the attendance Policy clearly

3) Preserve the individual attendance record.

4) A proper communication channel.

5) Uniform/equitable, continuous and consistentapplication of rules.

6) Fair practices and a good work culture.

7) Responsible process owners.

8) Leaders to be a fair example.

9) Effective management.

10) Flexibility to accommodate special situations anduniformity in such flexibility.

11) Provide internal & External support to reformthrough Counselling, Coaching & mentoring.

12) Have an effective Grievance handling procedure.

13) Discipline rule-breakers/respond in time.

14) Measure absence and address employee engagementissues in time.

ConclusionFinally, the manager's role in motivating the employees is

very important. If a good attendance culture is encouraged,it will improve the psychological presence and minimiseabsenteeism in real terms, and none will need to use lie-detectors. While managers measure absence, they also needto connect with the employees a little beyond the workplace.Organisations need to be careful while rewarding employeesfor near-100% attendance score, as it could undermine thevigilance aspect, advocate work-life imbalance, createworkaholics, and discourage employable workforce fromtaking up employment, especially The women of India, theybeing the process-owners of their respective homes. Toadhere to vigilance aspect, certain companies practicedisconnecting the employees from all their systems duringleaves, and certain others have a policy of annualmandatory authorised absence.

Organisations need to strike a BALANCE between a caringand a disciplined organisation, and between a People-Orientedand Productivity-Oriented organisation. This will not onlyhelp IMPROVE work-life balance without affectingproductivity, but also the Indian work culture, Indian economicclimate and the happiness quotient at each unit. BM

An organization's profitability depends on itsemployees being healthy, present andproductive on the job. While most organizationsin India have a clearly defined Leave/Absencepolicy, hardly any of them monitor the cost of

absence. Even a small percentage of the companies who domonitor absence, there is still a lot that can be done todecrease absence levels and promote the health and wellbeing of the employees.

Leave policies are defined by organizations to encourageemployees to plan and avail leaves at times of personalrequirements thus encouraging work-life balance. Whileplanned leaves are not much of an issue, it's the unplannedor extended absences usually due to sickness, short-termdisability, persistent repeat short term absences forpersonal issues, extended maternity etc. that is a matter orserious concern. Achieving 100 per cent attendance is notnecessarily desirable if this results in people being at workwhen they actually should not be. They may end upspreading their medical condition to others and worsen theproblem.

Workplace absence

Impact & CopingStrategies

Thomas Mathew

Head- HR, Centum Learning Limited, New Delhi

Documents

Workplace Absence - Physical or Psychological PDF Nov-14