As Australians, who doesn’t love those 4 day long weekends, however, when it falls in the middle of the week, having to turn up to work on the Friday, post-public holiday, can prove to be most upsetting for the estimated 11.9 million plus employees who must show up to work (ABS, 2016). Not least, for the organisations who will have to also face the backlash and torment from employees!
Organisations must be pragmatic and proactive around absenteeism coming into the new year of 2017, putting it at the top of the agenda and making it a priority. How can we as employers alleviate absenteeism during these post-public holidays and in general in the workplace?
- Know your employees – watch out for signs that employees are lacking motivation and develop a retention strategy to increase employee commitment and job satisfaction
- Provide more flexibility in working hours and conditions – be open to employees working from home, starting later or finishing earlier
- Ensure employees are furnished with a leave policy – distribute this both at the beginning of the year and half way through the year to ensure new employees are completely aware of the policy and expectations
- Applying for leave – employees wishing to take leave need to do so within a given timeframe. For those that miss out, alternative strategies around opportunities for leave could be discussed
- Encourage supportive and caring teams – teams who are able to feel happy for their team mates and able to carry the load when they are away will be far more effective and satisfied than those who lack empathy and care for their team mates
- Health and wellness – through the promotion of a healthy work environment, access to facilities to avail of exercise and advise about health and wellness will demonstrate to employees that you have their best interests at heart and care for them, leaving them with a positive feeling about their workplace
Take these steps today and we as organisations can reduce absenteeism and be more equipped to deal with backlash from employees as we approach those Public Holidays!