Employee Absenteeism, The "Lighter" Side

CareerBuilder’s 2010 annual survey on absenteeism provided some very unusual excuses that people gave for missing work. I thought I would provide us all with a laugh and celebrate the “ingenuity” of our co-workers.


• Employee said a chicken attacked his mom.
• Employee’s finger was stuck in a bowling ball.
• Employee had a hair transplant gone bad. (I had a co-worker call in one time because her “hair coloring” was all wrong!)
• Employee fell asleep at his desk while working and hit his head, causing a neck injury (Workers' Compensation?)
• Employee said a cow broke into her house and she had to wait for the insurance man.
• Employee’s foot was caught in the garbage disposal. (There has to be a real story here!)
• Employee called in sick from a bar at 5 P.M. the night before.
• Employee said he wasn’t feeling too clever that day.
• Employee was in a boat on Lake Erie, ran out of gas and the coast guard towed him to the Canadian side.


And to celebrate our upcoming holiday:

• Employee called in the day after Thanksgiving because she had burned her mouth on pumpkin pie.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Employee Burnout

As a result of the weak economy, employers downsize, oftentimes creating a "domino effect" that is easily visible to organization and employee both. In response to the loss of personnel, the organization reassigns job duties. The existing employee experiences an increase in the workload. Hand in hand with the increase in workload comes stress and burnout for the employee. The organization experiences reduction in work hours due to increased employee absenteeism, tardiness and reduced productivity. Additionally, employee burnout can be visibly felt by other employees thereby lowering team morale.

Stress in the workplace can be hurtful to both employees and organizations as employees loose interest in their jobs, feel tired and depressed. Morale can be the fuel that drives an organization forward or the fuel that feeds the fires of employee discontent, poor performance, and absenteeism (Ewton, 2007).

CareerBuilder’s annual survey on absenteeism shows 29% of workers have played hooky from the office at least once this year. Let's be honest. Yes, we have all done it. The survey states that 27% of employers think they are seeing an “increase in bogus sick excuses from employees due to continued stress and burnout caused by the weak economy.”

Here's how employers are responding:

• 29% reported they have checked up on an employee who called in sick.
• 16% said they’ve fired a worker for missing work without a proven excuse.
• Of the employers who checked up on an employee, 70% said they required the employee to show them a doctor’s note.
• 50% called the employee at home.
• 18% had another worker call the employee, and,
• 15% drove by the employee's house or apartment.

To help employees avoid burnout, insist employees use their vacation / PTO time. Try to reduce overtime. If overtime is required, try to give as much advance notice as possible. Give the employee a "mental health day."

Email Communication & "Netiquette"

During the drive into work this morning I was, as always, listening to my favorite radio station. This morning a listener phoned in with a rather unique dilemma. She had received (erroneously) an email from her Corporate Human Resources Department with an attachment that contained the salaries of all her co-workers. Ouch. (And shame to HR!) It seems as though she shared the same last name as the intended recipient. This issue aside, do you practice email “Netiquette?”

Ninety two percent of Internet users in the United States use email. That's a huge number since 73% of those living in the U.S. use the Internet (Information Please® Database, Pearson Education, Inc., 2008). At 92%, the potential for workplace email faux pas is tremendous. So what can you do to avoid potential errors?

1. Avoid being quick on the trigger. Remember that you can’t recall an email that has been sent in haste. It can’t be “unsent.”
2. Re-read your emails before sending them out, it could be a life-saver in the end.
3. Fill in the “to” section last to avoid sending the email prematurely or to the wrong party.

A couple of other email issues come to mind:

Is it possible for the message to be lost in a cloud of “fluff?” Yes! Try to be concise and clear with the message you wish to convey. Is the information that you mean to include in the email actually there? Did you answer all the questions thereby pre-empting further questions?

Can someone be offended by your “tone” in an email? Yes! Intent and meaning are hard to convey since the recipient receives only the words. They have no clue as to your frame of mind, or mood, at the time you wrote the email. And please, do not write in CAPITALS, no one wants to hear you SCREAM.

Is it possible to be too casual in an email? Yes! Avoid using the texting shorthand that has become so popular. Written communications are becoming short and abbreviated due to the increase in texting, Twitter, etc. This texting shorthand is a language tailored more for IM'g than email. Also, please use a salutation in your email, and maybe a closing. A courteous greeting may make your email less demanding and terse.

My rule of thumb has always been that, if it’s a business email, be professional. Avoid those little smiley faces. And, use spell check! Remember, your correspondence says a lot about you. Good or bad!