S/HR/96. How might the problems of absenteeism facing employers be resolved?

The essay aims to identify the main causes of absenteeism and related problems within the four main sectors; public services (i.e. education and health), manufacturing and production (i.e. construction and textiles), private services (i.e. IT and finance) and non-profit organisations (i.e. charities and care services). As will be seen the length of time and causes of absenteeism are varied. The essay will first consider, for analytical convenience, short-term absence of up to four weeks or twenty working days, and then long-term absence of four weeks or more. As there is no consensus on either the causes or the remedies of absence as much depends on the type of organisation and the labour and product markets in which they operate this is discussed further. The strengths and weaknesses of the remedies offered are also discussed.