Absenteeism: Management Control and True Causes.

Moyles, Marie Colette (1997) Absenteeism: Management Control and True Causes. Masters thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

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Abstract

Absenteeism is a serious problem which affects the profitability, competitiveness and productivity of industry. Costings of absenteeism in the U.K. are estimated at 11 billion pounds per annum. (Seacombe, 1995:26). Irish business loses hundreds of millions of pounds each year as a result of employee absenteeism. In 1992 the direct cost to industry in Ireland was £575 million. (I.B.E.C., 1993:1)

These significant costs represent direct costs only and take no account of indirect costs, such as cost of lost sales, replacement human resources and overtime to cover the absentees. Industry can no longer afford unnecessary absenteeism. Absences from the workplace pose practical problems not only for industry but for the economy as a whole. This requires examination and diagnosis.

Unless an organisation is overstaffed, the absence of an employee will result either in a loss of production or else impose an additional strain on those present.

Therefore, the control of absenteeism within an organisation is vital in order to ensure that the organisation remains profitable, competitive and reaches its maximum productivity potential.

A survey of literature indicates that absenteeism levels will decline if attendance control strategies are in place. (Edwards and Whitson, 1995:5).

This study proposes to test the hypothesis that effective management of attendance at work will reduce or eliminate unnecessary absenteeism.

Furthermore recent research in the topic area has purported to contain the causes for absenteeism in the workplace. In reality these causes are those as perceived by management and in actual fact may not be indicative of the real reasons for absenteeism. (IBEC, 1993:21).

This study proposes to address this anomaly by surveying the workers themselves and establishing the 'true' causes for absenteeism.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management > Human Resource Management > Absence Management
Divisions:	School of Business > Masters by Research
Depositing User:	SINEAD CORCORAN
Date Deposited:	22 Jun 2010 11:02
Last Modified:	14 Jan 2015 12:35
URI:	https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/311

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