Sick Leave Abuse: A Chronic Workplace Ill?
Article by Maureen Smith* Do you find that your employees are missing-in-action on a more frequent basis during the summer and during the holiday seasons? Studies show you’re right. Unscheduled worker absences are increasing and, according to various surveys, governmental agencies have the largest number of absences. According to CCH Incorporated, a company that produces electronic and print products for the tax, legal, securities, insurance, human resources, health care, and small business markets, unscheduled absenteeism can cost up to an average of $602 per employee, per year. This cost does not include indirect costs such as overtime pay for other employees, hiring temps, missed deadlines, lost sales, sinking morale and lower productivity. Indirect costs can add up to 25 percent to the direct costs, according to Employee Benefit News and HR News. In a survey of eleven U.S.-based telecommunications organizations, 72 cents of every dollar of costs related to employee absence stems fr
