2.1 ABSENTEEISM 2.1.1 Meaning of absenteeism Absenteeism is a habitual pattern of absence from a duty or obligations. 2.1.

2 Definition of absenteeism Absenteeism is usually addressed through progressively stricter disciplinary measure that can result in the termination of the individuals employment. Employee absenteeism is not just an employee issue it is an organizational problem and therefore becomes everyones responsibility. Any failure of an employee to report for or to remain as scheduled, regardless of reason. 2.1.3 Employee absenteeism policy The absenteeism policy which addresses chronic absence from work. Guidelines for absenteeism policy Allowable absences Payment for work including payment for days missed before and after a holding. Types of excused and unexcused absences. Days/hours worked on a normal wok scheduled before payment. Days/hours worked on a normal work scheduled before payment of overtime hours occurs within a pay period. Policy about calling in absences. Supervisor management of absenteeism via paying attention to selected patterns of absences and tardiest. 2.1.4 Reducing employee absenteeism Productivity is one of the keys to your success. However, productivity may be impacted as your employees cop with life events that keep them from the

workplace and keep your business from being its most efficient Mass mutual has produced and services that can help your employees prepare for life events. Helping you to reduce the rate of employee absenteeism. 2.1.5 How to deal with employee absenteeism: The four strategies are used to deal with employee absenteeism. The four strategies is not only used reduce absenteeism you will reduce employee burnout, poor morale and workplace negativism. 2.1.5.1 Four strategies are * Change management style. * Change working conditions. * Provide incentives. * Develop an attendance policy. * Change management style Management styles that are too authoritarian tend to promote high levels of absenteeism among employees. Authoritarian style is providing management trading, reducing turnover, job burnout, and employee health problems such as backaches and headaches. * Changing working condition The working conditions I am referring to relate to coworker relationship. The relationship is stress occur the between the employee and manager, but it also exist between employees. * Provide incentives Giving employees incentives for absenteeism is not the same as rewarding

or giving employees bonus for reduced absenteeism. An incentive provides an employee with a boost to their motivation to avoid unnecessary absenteeism. * Develop an attendance policy An attendance policy allows a manager to intervene with an employee who is frequently absent. Stress as a primary reason for employee absenteeism, other causes relate to alcoholism, domestic violence, and family problems. 2.1.6 Major absenteeism Unsuitable working conditions. Absent of adequate welfare facilities. Heavy workload. Employer relation. Health problem. Family function & personnel problem. 2.1.7 Causes of absenteeism The causes of absenteeism are; o Stress. o Workload. o Poor physical fitness. o Inadequate nutrition. o Lack of job satisfaction. o Bourdon on the job. o Low morale.

o Poor working condition. o Personal problem. o The existence of income protection plan. 2.1.8 Poor attendance The problem of poor attendance includes absenteeism and/or tardiness. Poor attendance can become or serious problem that leads to discharge for just causes. If poor attendance is not managed properly, employee productivity can decline and group morale can forced to increased their efforts to compensate for people who shick their responsibilities. 2.1.9 Trends in absenteeism The higher the rate of pay and the greater the length of service of the employee, the fever the absences. As an organization grows, there is a tendency towards higher rates of absenteeism. Women are absent more frequently than men. Singly employees are absent more frequently than married employees. Younger employees are absent more frequently than older employees but the latter are absent for larger period of time. Unionized organizations have higher absenteeism rates than non-union organization. 2.2 MORALE 2.2.1 Meaning Morale is a crucial component in the overall success of any company or organization. When the work environment is void of motivation, the employees have no energy or inspiration from which to build. The skills and experience to change the attitudes of your employees by building excitement and anticipation. This change will be seen in increased productivity levels of the entire structures. 2.2.2 Definition of employee morale

Davis define moral is A mental condition of groups and individual which determines their attitude. Theo Harman defineMorale is the state of mind and emotions affecting the attitude and willingness to work, which in true affects individual and organizational objectives. Flippo define morale isA mental condition or attitude of individuals and groups which determines their willingness to co-operate with others to meet organization al objectives. M.S. Viteles defines Morale as an attitude or a desire to continue in and willingness of strive for, the goals of a particular group of organization. Milton Blum definesMorale as the possession of feeling of being accepted by and the belonging to a common goal and confidence in the desirability of these goals. 2.2.3 Employee morale assessment Employee relationship How you, your co-workers, and management get along. Company communication: How well management keeps you informed. Appreciation & recognition: How appreciation you feel on a daily basis. Employee input: How you company values your creative ideas Fulfillment: How meaningful your job is to you. Personal & professional growth: Opportunities to develop both your career and your personal qualities. Employee spirit:

How much positive energy and enthusiasm is generated at your workplace. 2.2.4 Poor employee morale The most important things that can be done to improve upon a businesss chances for success is to beat poor employee morale in the workplace and motivate team members at their jobs. By failing to prevent of employee burnout and overall dissatisfaction. Morale in the workplace is among the end results of the different elements the makeup the entire working environment. Examples of there elements includes salary, worker satisfaction, responsibilities, supervisory contributions, overall working conditions, status. Poor employee morale be watched for very carefully among all employees. Such symptoms can include frequent absences, increases in the number of errors, decreased productivity, decreased quality of work, frequent tardiness, apathy, sulking and moping, backstabbing, and increased in accidents or injuries. 2.2.5 Causes of poor employee morale Unstable financial health of the company. Overwork or a consistently health workload. Feeling unappreciated or underappreciated for the work done. Conditions of the workplace. Demanding, rigid supervision that too involved in the work being done. Unsupportive, work supervision that does not offer enough input or guidance. 2.2.6 Improving employee moral o Improving employee morale benefits everyone involved in a work place.

o Improve employee morale by showing your appreciation in simple ways, such as rewarding an employee by saying, job well done, or thank you for the good work. o Employee morale is by being friendly and interested in your employees. o Encouraging social interaction between employees and immediately resolving conflict o Social interaction positively influences co-operation and a general enthusiasm about coming to work everyday. o Improve employee morale is by offering reward incentives. o A very important factor in improving employee morale is the work environment. 2.2.7 Factors of employee morale 1. leadership 2. co-workers 3. nature of work 4. Work environment 5. Management body of the organization 6. Nature of supervision. 7. Job security 8. Job enrichment 9. Organization structure 10. Grievance handling. 2.2.8 Measurement of morale Morale can be measured by assessing attitudes and job satisfaction. There

are several techniques to measure employee attitudes: inference, prediction from behavioral data, interviews and questionnaires and scales of there techniques interviews have been frequently used to measure attitudes. questionnaires and scales have been used interviews or independently, to get increased reliability and objectively. There are two basic methods for selecting and scaling items: 1. likert method of summated rating The likert method is much simpler and therefore more suitable. In this method each statement in a series is usually followed by a five-step scale: strongly agree, agree undecided, disagree and strongly disagree. Statement which have the more discriminating power and selected on the basis of scale value difference analysis. Based on this method several techniques have been devised to measure employee attitudes and morale. 2. Guttmann method of scale analysis To measure job attitudes, the job description index (JDI), this techniques has been developed the scale provides the worker with a set of adjectives as possible descriptions of five dimensions of the job increasing working conditions, pay, promotion, supervision and co-workers. The worker is required give yes, no or dont know response, for each adjective. The scale provides a satisfaction score for the five job areas as well as an overalls score. 2.2.9 Morale and productivity Morale and productivity had a circular causal relationship (i.e. better morale led to better productivity Morale had four dimensions: job satisfaction, satisfaction with wages and

promotional opportunities, identification with the company, and pride in work group. They formed that only the last dimension was significantly correlated to productivity. Two dozen studies on the effects of morale on productivity. In 54 percent of the studies, high morale was related to high productivity: in 35 percent, morale and productivity were not related to low productivity. Morale improves productivity under certain conditions, specifically where creativity or craftsmanship influences the product. Morale is related to low productivity under conditions in which a frozen group develops for restricting productivity as a price of membership. 2.2.10 Morale as a responsibility of management Morale as a responsibility of management of management is following ways: A. Peoples ability to withstand stress The history of management employee relations, morale is also influenced by the ability of people to withstand stress at work when people habitually consider their work environment as benevolent, or at least as not specifically threatening, they may perceive job stress as a nuisance rather then a calamity. B. Controlling fluctuations in morale The basic factor which cause fluctuations in morale include perceived psychological advantage and existent of adequate grievance channels. The management must help employees to protect their psychological advantage by providing adequate grievance channels. The most powerful factor which the

management must consider is the relationship of the employee with his immediate supervisor. Morale improves a problem on its merit accessible keep to solve a problem on its merit and willing to promote the employees genuine interest. C. Expectations of people and reality Management should realize that morale also depends upon the relationship between expectation and reality. Morale improves if the employees work environment provides them the kinds of rewards they expect or at least shows that expected rewards are forthcoming. D. Morale cannot be permanent Finally, the management must understand that morale can never be permanently assured because new dissatisfactions keep arising as old ones are relieved, forgotten or replaced. 2.2.11 Indices of low morale Employee unrest. Absenteeism and tardiness. Employee turnover. Grievances. Need for discipline. Fatigue and monotony. 2.3 REVIEW OF LITERATURE FROM JOURNALS, THESIS & SEMINOR PAPER Employee Morale By Barbara A. Glanz The workplace is enveloped by the fear of downsizing, loss of job security, overwhelming changes in technology, and the stress of having to do more with less,

employee morale and job satisfaction are at the lowest point. Managers must recognize this phenomenon and do their best to counteract it if their organizations are going to survive. Employee morale By David Javitch Morale is defined as the end result of many factors present in the workplace environment. Some of these factors are the work setting itself, worker satisfaction and action, salary, supervisory input, working conditions, status, and more. Employee Absenteeism by Etienne A Gibbs Employers pay a high price for absenteeism, often more than they may realize, in terms of both financial and production losses and employee morale. Managers may view the tasks of finding a substitute employee as a short-term inconvenience; however, absenteeism frequently has more serious long-term effects. Employers can, nevertheless, ensure that employees report in regularly and remain on the job. Before employers can determine the best way to combat absenteeism, they must identify the organizational and individual factors that contribute to the problem. Employee Absenteeism By Ken Godevenos Organizations are often working with limited resources, and those that arent still have to be productive and effective. In either situation, absenteeism of staff can and often does create undue pressure. The result can impact both results and morale, and our churches are no exception. Employee morale by F.william hubbartt Many issues or problem occurring in the workplace can be resolved through better communications. Errors in the handling of customer orders or service are often due to

some sort of breakdown in communication. And, in employee attitude surveys, communication from management is almost always ranked low by employees. The problem is that most of us feel that we are good communicators it is the other guy who didnt get the message right. Employee Morale refers to an attitude of satisfaction with a desire to continue and strive for attaining the objectives of a factory. Morale is purely emotional. It is an attitude of an employee towards his job, his superior and his organization. It is not static thing, but it changes depending on working conditions, superiors, fellow workers pay and so on.

Morale may range from very high to very low. High Morale is evident from the positive feelings of employees such as enthusiasm, desire to obey orders, willingness to co-operate with coworkers. Poor or low Morale becomes obvious from the negative feelings of employees such as dissatisfaction, discouragement or dislike of the job.

Definitions: Morale is a fundamental psychological concept. It is not easy to define. Morale is the degree of enthusiasm and willingness with which the members of a group pull together to achieve group goal. It has been defined differently by different authors. Different definition of Morale can be classified into three major approaches. 1) Classical approach 2) Psychological approach 3) Social approach

1. Classical approach: According to this approach the satisfaction of basic needs is the symbol of Morale.

According to Robert M. Guion "Morale is defined as the extent to which the individual perceives that satisfaction stemming from total job satisfaction".

2. Psychological Approach: According to this approach Morale is psychological concept i.e., state of mind. According to Jurious Fillipo Morale is a mental condition or attitude of individual and groups which determines their willingness to cooperate".

3. Social Approach: According to some experts Morale is a social phenomenon. According to Davis "Morale can be defined as the attitudes of individual and groups towards their work environment and towards voluntary cooperation to the full extent of their ability in the best interest at the organization".

Importance of Employee Morale: Employee Morale plays vital role in the origination success. High Morale leads to success and low Morale brings to defeat in its wake. The plays of Morale is no less important for an industrial undertaking. The success of failure of the industry much depends up on the Morale of its employees.

Types of Morale: I. High Morale: It will lead to enthusiasm among the workers for better performance. High Morale is needed a manifestation of

the employees strength, dependability pride, confidence and devotion. Some of the advantages of high Morale such as: 1. Willing cooperation towards objectives of the organization. 2. Loyalty to the organization and its leadership. 3. Good Leadership. 4. Sound superior subordinate relations. 5. High degree of employees interest in their job and organization. 6. Pribe in the organization 7. Reduction in absenteeism and labour turnover. 8. Reduction in grievance. 9. Reduction in industrial conflict. 10. Team building. 11. Employee empowerment.

II. Low Morale: Low Morale indicates the presence of mental unrest. The mental unrest not only hampers production but also leads to ill health of the employees. Low Morale exists when doubt in suspicion are common and when individuals are depressed and discouraged i.e., there is a lot of mental tension. Such situation will have the following adverse consequences. 1. High rates of absenteeism and labour turnover. 2. Decreased quality. 3. Decreased Productivity. 4. Excessive Complaints and Grievances.

5. Frustration among the workers. 6. Lack of discipline. 7. Increase errors, accidents or injuries.

FACTORS AFFECTING MORALE: Employee Morale is a very complex phenomenon and is influenced by many factors on the shop floor. Several criteria seem important in the determinants of levels of workers Morale such as:

1. Objectives of the organization: Employees are highly motivated and their Morale is highly if their individual goal and objectives are in tune with organizational goal and objectives.

2. Organizational design: Organization structure has an impact on the quality of labour relation, particularly on the level of Morale. Large organization tend to lengthen their channels of vertical communication and to increase the difficulty of upward communication. Therefore the Morale tends to be lower. Against this flat structure increases levels of Morale.

3. Personal Factors: It is relating to age, training, education and intelligence of the employees, time spent by them on the job and interest in worth taken by them, affect the Morale of the employees. For examples if an employees is not imparted proper training he will have low Morale.

4. Rewards: Employees expect adequate compensation for their services rendered to the organization. Good system of wages, salaries, promotions and other incentives keep the Morale of the employees high.

5. Good Leadership and Supervision: The nature of supervision can tell the attitudes of employees because a supervisor is in direct contact with the employers and can have better influences on the activities of the employees.

6. Work Environment: The building and it appearance the condition of machines, tools, available at work place provision for safety, medical aid and repairs to machinery etc. all have an impact on their Morale.

7. Compatibility with fellow employees: Man being a social animal finds his words more satisfying if he feels that he has the acceptance and companionship of his fellow workers. If he has confidence in his fellow worker and faith in their loyalty his Morale will be high.

8. Job Satisfaction: If the job gives an employee an opportunity to prove his talents and grow personality, he will certify like it and he will have high morale.

9. Opportunity to share profit: one of the requirements of high morale is possibility and opportunity of progress in any concern. All worker should be given an opportunity of the progress and earn high wages without any discrimination.

MEASUREMENT OF MORALE

Morale is basically a psychological concept. As such the measurement of morale is a very difficult task to measure it directly. However the following methods are more commonly used to study employee morale.

1.Observation Method: Under this method evaluator observes the employees on work and records their behaviour, altitude, sentiments and feelings, which have developed in them. The changes in the attitude and behaviour of the employee are the indicators of high and low morale. 2.Attitude Surveys: In order to overcome the limitation of the above method attitude survey method is being largely employed in modern days. This method includes conducting surveys through questionnaires and interviews. This relates what the workers are looking in and what step should be taken to improve their approach towards work. 3.Company Records and Reports: The records and reports relating to Labour turnover, rate of absenteeism, the number of goods rejected, strikes and such other things, which are indicators of the level of morale. 4.Counseling: Under this method employees are advised to develop better mental health. So that they can imbide self confidence, understanding and self control. This method is used to find out the causes of dissatisfaction and then to advice the employees by way of remedial measures. The above methods of the measurement of the employees present only the tendencies or the attitude of the employee morale. The statistical measurement of morale is not possible because it relates to the inner feelings human beings. We can say that morale is increasing or decreasing, but can not measured how much it increased or in creased.

BUILDING OF HIGH MORALE

In order to achieve high morale among the employees the following suggestion may be followed. 1. Two-Way Communication:There should be a two-way communication between the management and the workers as if exercises a profound influences on morale. The workers should be kept informed about the organization polices and programmes through conferences, bulletins and informal discussions with the workers. 2. Show Concern. Large or small every business should have names on desks work stations or cubicles to show that a real person with worth works there not just a machine. Next ask their opinion whenever an opportunity arises rather than always telling them what to do or the way to do it. This allows employees to add their own creative thoughts to the work process, which then can lead to more of a feeling of ownership. Finally ask how they are with out wanting to know deeply personal data the boss can easily show on interest in the individual walkers.

3. Job Enrichment:This involves a greater use of the factors which are intended to motive the worker rather than to ensure his continuing satisfaction with the job he performs the idea is to reduce employee discontent by changing or improving a job to ensure that he is better motivated. 4. Modifying the work environment:This involves the use of teams of work groups developing social contacts of the employees the use of music regular rest breaks. 5. Rotation of Jobs: This is also one of important techniques to increase employee morale. Job rotation helps to reduce an employee's boredom.

6. Incentive System: There should be a proper incentive system in the organization to ensure monetary and non-monetary rewards of the employees to motivate them. 7. Welfare Measures: Management must provide for employees welfare measures like canteens credit facilities sport clubs, education for their children e.t.c 8. Social Activities: Management should encourage social group activities by the workers. This will help to develop greater group cohesiveness which can be used by the management for building high morale. 9. Training: There should be proper training of the employees so that they may do their work efficiently and avoid frustration when the worker are given training they get psychological satisfaction as they feel that management is taking interest in them. 10. Workers Participation: There should be industrial democracy in the organization management should allow workers participation in management. Whenever a change to be introduced which effects the workers they must be consulted and taken into confidence workers must be allowed to put forward their suggestion and grievance to the top management. 11. Offers recognition of the employee efforts: It takes but a few seconds to say "Nice Job" "Well done", "Marked improvement", "You 're' on the right road" or any number of other phrases that communicate to the employee that you care about the job and about them and that you recognize an improvement in productivity. Also, employees can be given performance awards or have their name mentioned at staff meetings, posted on a notice boards or in employee inter office E-mail to say

that some one did a note monthly Job. All of these simple modes of painting out individual team or group behaviour serve as very strong methods of improving productivity self worth and morale.

Introduction to Attendance Management

(Created January 1987 and last edited March 2010)

The management of workplace attendance is an important aspect of supervision in the workplace.

The cost of absenteeism is greater than the direct payment of wages and benefits paid durance the absence. Organizations must also consider the indirect costs of staffing, scheduling, re-training, lost productivity, diminished moral, turnover, and opportunity cost. The indirect costs often exceed the direct cost of absenteeism.

Each occurrence of absence costs the employer an average of $2,500, which includes both direct and indirect costs (based on 9 days absent out of 250 working days and an average payroll of $35,000).

Effective supervisory efforts to manage attendance will affect a relatively small percentage of employees, but will result in substantial savings, increased productivity and morale.

Definition of Absenteeism

Absenteeism is the failure of employees to report for work when they are scheduled to work. Employees who are away from work on recognized holidays, vacations, approved leaves of absence, or approved leaves of absence would not be included.

Causes of Absenteeism

The causes of absenteeism are many and include:

y y y y y y y y y y y y y y

serious accidents and illness low morale poor working conditions boredom on the job lack of job satisfaction inadequate leadership and poor supervision personal problems (financial, marital, substance abuse, childcare eldercare etc.) poor physical fitness inadequate nutrition transportation problems the availability of income protection plans stress excessive workload employee discontent

Cost of Absenteeism

Absenteeism may have repercussions, which include:

Decrease in Productivity

y y y

employees may be carrying an extra workload, or supporting new or replacement staff employees may be required to train and orientate new or replacement workers staff morale and employee service may suffer

Financial Costs

y y y

overtime or agency cost for replacement workers cost of self-insured income protection plans premium costs may rise for insured plans

Administrative Costs

y y

staff time is required to secure replacement employees or to re-assign the remaining employees staff time is required to maintain and control absenteeism

Do You Have An Absenteeism Problem?

Many organizations allocate 3% of their labour budget for absenteeism based on an average of eight (8) working days missed per employee annually. Since the rate of absenteeism varies by industry, division and department it is best to compare to the most relevant benchmark available.

Sources of Absenteeism Statistics

Labour Reports, Workers' Compensation Board Statistics and Statistics Canada provide paid sick leave statistics.

Trends in Absenteeism

Surveys indicate the following generalities in absenteeism:

y y

The higher the rate of pay and the greater the length of service of the employee, the fewer the absences As an organization grows, there is a tendency towards higher rates of absenteeism

y y y y y

Women are absent more frequently than men Single employees are absent more frequently than married employees Younger employees are absent more frequently than older employees Older employees are absent for longer periods of time than younger employees Unionized organizations have higher absenteeism rates than non-unionized organizations

Understanding Absenteeism

The definition, causes, affects on productivity, and costs of absenteeism are quite clear. The challenge is to develop methods that support attendance and control absenteeism, in such a way as not to create mistrust, costly administrative procedures and systems avoidance. Traditional methods of absenteeism control exclusively utilizing disciplinary procedures have proven to be ineffective. It is almost impossible to create a fair disciplinary procedure, because even well run disciplinary systems, which treat similar actions with consistent repercussions, are usually seen as unfair. This perception is common, because discipline alone neither identifies nor addresses the root causes of absenteeism. Every employee who takes time off in defiance of company regulations has reasons, which they believe justifies their actions. Unless a management attendance program identifies and addresses the causes of employee absenteeism, it will be ineffective and viewed as unfair. Traditional disciplinary programs alone can, at best, give the illusion of control. It is no secret that there are ways to beat even the best systems. The fear of discipline often only increases the desire to avoid management systems.

If absenteeism is to be controlled, the physical and emotional needs of employees must be addressed. In a 1985 study on "Rates of Absence among Nurses" it was found that 50% of absenteeism could be controlled through attending to employees physical and emotional needs.

Purpose of Attendance Management

The purpose of attendance management is to develop a willingness on the part of all employees to attend work regularly, and to assist them in motivating their co-workers to attend work regularly. This can be done through;

1. addressing the physical and emotional needs of employees 2. communicating the attendance goals of the organization so employees can understand and identify with them 3. dealing with cases of excessive absenteeism effectively and fairly to produce deterrence.

Successful administration of an attendance management program requires managers and supervisors to be aware of, and to create work environments in which the following can be actualized;

1. The greater the extent to which individuals identify with the goals of the organization and care what happens to it, the greater their motivation to be regular in attendance. 2. The more that people find their jobs meaningful to them, the greater their motivation to be regular in attendance. 3. As employees workloads increase due to the absence of a co-worker, peer pressure is exerted on the absent coworker to attend work on a regular basis. 4. The more people like working for the organization, the higher their motivation to attend regularly. Recognition of good employee attendance helps improve attendance. 5. Employees will have a lower absence ratio if they feel free to discuss their on-the-job problems with their immediate supervisor. 6. Employees with a low absence ratio feel confidence and have supportive relationships in their workplace. Low absence ratio employees are found to be more satisfied with their opportunity for promotion and upgrading.

Commitment to Attendance

This paper provides the information necessary to begin an effective attendance management program, which will yield long-term results. This paper is intended to be a guide rather than an instruction manual or policy. To make an attendance management program truly successful, it will require insight into the special dynamics present in your work place. It will require two-way communication, as both the needs of the employees and of management must be met if good attendance is to be achieved. Attendance is the responsibility of everyone, especially those who directly manage the human resources of your organization.

Attendance is not only an expectation; employers have the right to receive good attendance. Each and every employee has a contractual obligation to attend work regularly. All levels of management must believe in, be committed to, and communicate their expectations of good attendance. If a specific number of sick days are considered acceptable per employee, at best that will be the result. Employees will live up to the expectations that you set for them. Expectations must be clear to both management and employees in order for an attendance management program to get maximum results. Goals must be tangible. Attendance expectations must be clearly communicated and followed.

Income Protection

A common misconception about income protection plans is that they are a entitlements, like vacation benefit, and as such, should be fully utilized. The reality is that income protection plans are a form of insurance. The sole and only purpose of pay for sick leave is to assist in protecting employees against loss of income in the event of an unavoidable absence due to sickness or a non-work related injury. Use of income protection plans for any other purpose negates their intent and, therefore, is inappropriate. Communicating the true intent of income protection plans and our commitment to maintaining this original intent is an essential aspect of attendance management

The study of absenteeism is very important for any industry. The word absenteeism means the absence of an employee from work when he is scheduled to be present at in work place. An employer has available of work and employee is well aware of it, and when employer has no information in advance, that the employee will not reputed for duty for work if he has taken leave to which he is entitled or on ground of sickness or in case of accident. Thus absence may authorized or unauthorized willful or caused by circumstance beyond employee's control.

Absenteeism without genuine reason reflects of belonging and strictly speaking ought not be regarded as a disease, but more a symptom either of shoddy manpower planning which does not take into consideration working conditions and socio-cultural compulsion prevalent in society, or the presence of monotonous schedules at the work site leading to lowering of morale and motivation in the organization. It is therefore imperative that organization undertaken detailed analysis of the causes for absenteeism.

There are so many definitions of absenteeism as there are organizations but for our purpose we choose the definition given in the factories Act.

Absence is the failure of a worker to report for work when he is scheduled to work. A worker is considered as scheduled to work, when the employer has work available for him and worker is aware of it. A worker is to be treated as absent for purpose of these absenteeism statistics, even when he does not turn for work after obtaining prior permission. Absence of a worker on account of strike or lay-off that is voluntary.