Getting a grip on absenteeism: high or low absenteeism doesn't happen to you

As an employer, you want to create a healthy and safe work environment for your employees. You can do this with concrete solutions, such as safety measures and facilitating a well-appointed workplace, but leadership and culture also influence the work environment. For example, a good organizational culture leads to less absenteeism; conversely, an unhealthy culture leads to more absenteeism. Leadership plays an important role in this. And increasing online working also requires good leadership. What is the state of absenteeism in your organization?

Influence on leadership and culture

High or low absenteeism is not something that happens to you as an organization: you do have influence over it. Of course, absenteeism is never completely gone, even with the best absenteeism measures. Someone can always get sick. But you can influence a large part of absenteeism. An unhealthy organizational culture has a negative effect on absenteeism. Often the cause is found in poor leadership. A good manager can reduce absenteeism if he or she has insight into (the prevention of) absenteeism, and is committed to promoting the sustainable employability of employees. How can you as a manager improve the organizational culture and thus contribute to lowering absenteeism?

Employee appreciation

Appreciation motivates employees and leads to more commitment, a higher sense of responsibility and a higher absenteeism threshold. Lack of appreciation, on the other hand, leads to doubt and insecurity. And we do not mean that the employee should receive compliments all day, but it is about the employee feeling that he is seen and getting the feeling that he matters. This can be done, for example, by supporting the employee in his or her development and looking at what energizes the employee. Gearing the work to this and stimulating growth and development also show appreciation.

Direction and expectations

Give your employees clarity: share which direction the organization wants to take, what his or her role is in it, and create clear expectations. Lack of clarity often causes unrest, doubt, dissatisfaction and tension.

Attention to the employee

Another important point is the time and attention you, as a manager, give to the employee. Taking a moment to ask how things are going, whether there are any issues the employee is running into, whether he is still enjoying himself. Attention is not only positive for the employee, but also for you as a manager. It allows you to stay in touch with what is going on in the workplace and with your employees. You can also intervene in a timely manner when, for example, an employee indicates that he or she is struggling with something. For major changes and decisions, you can involve your employees or keep them broadly informed. Show that the employees' opinion matters, this ensures that the employee feels heard and can potentially provide valuable input for the proper execution of the process.

Addressing Conflicts

An overall unhealthy organizational culture can foster conflicts, think of the lack of clarity, tension, wrong expectations among themselves or too little appreciation. Employees can be irritable toward each other as a result. Work conflicts can also be a cause of absenteeism; it is not a valid reason for the employee to call in sick, but in practice it can happen. When, as a manager, you are well-connected to what is going on in the workplace, you can intervene in a timely manner when conflicts threaten to arise. A manager who does not function well misses the signals, shirks them or may even take sides, causing the conflict to spiral further out of control.

Getting started with absenteeism?

Do you notice that your organizational culture is moving in the wrong direction? Then intervene in time. The labels of paraDIGMA groep like to think with you to develop your organizational culture and reduce absenteeism, and offer (personal) leadership training and customized advice.