Absenteeism Essay

1222 Words3 Pages

Absenteeism is a problem that cost companies money, time, and energy (Prater &
Smith, 2011) - so it’s no wonder they try to avoid it as much as they can. It has been defined as a “habitual failure to appear, especially for work or other regular duty” (dictionary.com).
Absenteeism is an indicator of many problems in an organization, amongst which low job satisfaction, absence of commitment, and work-related stress (Hoxsey, 2010). The latter is what is of interest in this paper.
Work-related stress has many downfalls - the least consequential of them being absenteeism. Still, absenteeism is a very serious threat to companies, while work-related stress a very costly reason on the health front, career front, and personal front for the employees. One of the causes of work related stress englobes financial distress, as per stated by Kim et al. (2006). Other causes include working scared, long hours, competition, trying to separate work and life, etc... A side note is that women have an extra burden and a harder time than men; they struggle more to prove themselves, for they already start off by being paid less than men for providing the same amount of work and filling in the same position. This is by itself an added cause of stress for ambitious and driven women who are trying to build a career (Blau & Kahn, 2000).
Psychosocial risks - factors that may interfere with an employee’s psychological state of mind in the workplace and at home - is also a symptom of absenteeism, can affect stress levels negatively, and are physically threatening, as well as emotionally draining.
Most of the issues pertaining to psychosocial risks and hazards, and some related to workrelated stress, regard the way the managers deal with their employees and cond...

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...would present my work perfectly and in a timely manner) resulted in uncontrolled levels of stress and anxiety. I would’ve still been able to deal with all of these had the partners of the firm respected my privacy and not cross the boundaries of my private life: they’d call me for personal favors at any time of the day, before work, during work, after work, at night, and so on. They’d ask me to meet up with their nieces and help them with their college projects, go to their homes to get them a change of clothes, go to the supermarket and run their errands for them, etc...
I really liked my job, I liked what I was doing, and the stress would’ve been managed had they been the kind of people that would understand when I’d talk to them. Maybe I’d still be there if they had been a little more understanding. In my case, the implementation of an
RMA would’ve be pointless.

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